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Details
CAVAFY, Constantine (1863-1933). A collection of his autograph and printed poetry, comprising:
Autograph manuscript poem signed (‘?. P. Kafavis’), ‘Of Dimitrios Sotir (162-150 B.C.)’, n.d. [c.1915].
In Greek. 2¼ pages, c.250 x 202mm, 47 lines on 3 sheets of ruled notepaper, autograph emendations and cancellations (tape repairs, authorial cancellations occasionally damaging the paper, paper cropping not affecting the completeness of the poem foxing).
[And:]
Twelve printed poems, Alexandria: Kasimate & Iona, 1915-1916: Philellen (1915); Apoleipein ho theos Antonion (1915); Orophernis (1916); 2 sheets; Alexandrinoi Basileis (1916); 2 sheets; Zographismena (1916); Epega (1916); Makrya (1916); Thalassa tou Proiou (1916); Poly Spanios (1916); Ionikon (1916); He Polis (1916); Polyelaios (1916).
14 sheets in total, 237 x 155mm and 248 x 158mm, one poem per sheet unless noted otherwise, punch-holes at top left, staples removed, autograph correction to the page number and cancellation of publisher’s information on p.1 of Orophernis, pencil numbering in another hand across the sheets (thumbing and marginal soiling, creased where folded).
Rare poems – in manuscript and print – from one of Europe’s most individual and powerful poets of the 20th-century: Constantine P. Cavafy. Now enshrined as the most important figure in 20th-century Greek poetry, Cavafy remained an elusive presence during his lifetime, thanks to his unorthodox approach to circulating his work: his refusal to formally publish volumes of his poetry in favour of distributing individual poems – whether in manuscript form or printed on separate sheets – to a circle of friends and admirers means that there are no standard editions of Cavafy’s early work. In 1912, he began to systematically gather his published works into compilations consisting wholly or partly of the single-sheet poems: the first of these collections (of which ten are known) was circulated between 1912 and 1918.
The twelve poems here are early and rare: none of the poems printed by Cavafy in 1915 or 1916 have appeared at auction in recent years (APBC/RBH). The autograph manuscript poems given as gifts to his close friends are scarcer still – here we offer a complete draft for ‘Of Dimitrios Sotir (162-150 B.C.)’, a historical work from one of the most recognisable voices in modern European literature.
Autograph manuscript poem signed (‘?. P. Kafavis’), ‘Of Dimitrios Sotir (162-150 B.C.)’, n.d. [c.1915].
In Greek. 2¼ pages, c.250 x 202mm, 47 lines on 3 sheets of ruled notepaper, autograph emendations and cancellations (tape repairs, authorial cancellations occasionally damaging the paper, paper cropping not affecting the completeness of the poem foxing).
[And:]
Twelve printed poems, Alexandria: Kasimate & Iona, 1915-1916: Philellen (1915); Apoleipein ho theos Antonion (1915); Orophernis (1916); 2 sheets; Alexandrinoi Basileis (1916); 2 sheets; Zographismena (1916); Epega (1916); Makrya (1916); Thalassa tou Proiou (1916); Poly Spanios (1916); Ionikon (1916); He Polis (1916); Polyelaios (1916).
14 sheets in total, 237 x 155mm and 248 x 158mm, one poem per sheet unless noted otherwise, punch-holes at top left, staples removed, autograph correction to the page number and cancellation of publisher’s information on p.1 of Orophernis, pencil numbering in another hand across the sheets (thumbing and marginal soiling, creased where folded).
Rare poems – in manuscript and print – from one of Europe’s most individual and powerful poets of the 20th-century: Constantine P. Cavafy. Now enshrined as the most important figure in 20th-century Greek poetry, Cavafy remained an elusive presence during his lifetime, thanks to his unorthodox approach to circulating his work: his refusal to formally publish volumes of his poetry in favour of distributing individual poems – whether in manuscript form or printed on separate sheets – to a circle of friends and admirers means that there are no standard editions of Cavafy’s early work. In 1912, he began to systematically gather his published works into compilations consisting wholly or partly of the single-sheet poems: the first of these collections (of which ten are known) was circulated between 1912 and 1918.
The twelve poems here are early and rare: none of the poems printed by Cavafy in 1915 or 1916 have appeared at auction in recent years (APBC/RBH). The autograph manuscript poems given as gifts to his close friends are scarcer still – here we offer a complete draft for ‘Of Dimitrios Sotir (162-150 B.C.)’, a historical work from one of the most recognisable voices in modern European literature.
Brought to you by
Robert Tyrwhitt