Note: The Waste Land is widely regarded as one of the one important poems in the English Language, with allusions to the First World War, brokenness and loss are overriding themes. We are privileged to offer a first edition copy in this auction.
Thomas Stearns Eliot OM (26 September 1888 – 4 January 1965)
T.S. Eliot was an American-British poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor. He is considered to be one of the 20th century’s greatest poets, as well as a central figure in English-language Modernist poetry. His trials in language, writing style, and verse structure reinvigorated English poetry.
The Hogarth Press
The Hogarth Press, operated by Leonard & Virginia Woolf, is one of the iconic English art publishers and who printed works of many of the leading Avant Garde English authors of the early 20th Century. Printing was a hobby for the Woolfs, and it provided a diversion for Virginia when writing became too stressful. The couple bought a handpress in 1917 for £19 and learnt how to use it. The press was set up in the dining room of Hogarth House, where the Woolfs lived, lending its name to the publishing company they founded. In July they published their first text, a book with one story written by Leonard and the other written by Virginia. Between 1917 and 1946 the Press published 527 titles. It moved to Tavistock Square in 1924 and in 1946 the business was then acquired by Chatto & Windus.
