The Cow's in the Corn: A One-Act Irish Play in Rhyme, this copy a singular 20th century convocation of five literary associations, being copy #51 of 91 signed by Frost, also signed by the publishers James & Hilda Wells, accompanied by a 17 October 1929 autograph letter signed by Frost's friend and fellow poet Edward Arlington Robinson thanking Wells for the gift of a copy, and featuring the bookplate of the great bibliophile Frederick B. Adams with his notes on provenance.
Gaylordsville: The Slide Mountain Press, 1929. First Separate Edition. Hardcover. This is a singular copy of the limited, numbered, and signed first separate edition of Frost's whimsical "One-Act Irish Play". While other copies of the 91 produced often feature just Frost's signature, this copy is signed and dated in three lines on the half-title: "Robert Frost | Franconia | 1929" in addition to being hand-numbered "51" and signed by the publishers "James R. Wells & Hilda Wells" on the colophon. Frost's dated Franconia signature, along with superlative condition of the book, which is still housed in the original envelope, would render this copy special. Rendering it truly exceptional is provenance. This book is housed in a special pamphlet binder with an integral envelope. This binder houses the book and original publisher’s envelope, as well as a 17 October 1929 autograph letter signed from Frost's friend and fellow poet Edward Arlington Robinson to the publisher thanking him for the gift of this copy. The pamphlet binder and provenance notes within are those of the great bibliophile Frederick B. Adams Jr., evidenced by Adams’s handwriting and bookplate.
Condition of the volume is near-fine. The illustrated paper-covered boards are clean, square, and tight. The original printed paper spine label is intact. The contents, printed on laid paper with untrimmed fore and bottom edges, are clean, with no spotting, soiling, or previous ownership marks. Robinson's ALS is near fine, complete, with just a tiny bit of soiling and a miniscule closed tear at the bottom edge. It retains its original, neatly slit, franked envelope, hand-addressed by Robinson. The original laid paper envelope housing the book, on which is typed "Robert Frost, THE COW'S IN THE CORN" is complete and unsealed, with only minor wear to extremities. Most of the face of the envelope is filled with Adams’s notes about Frost's 7 September 1929 letter to the publisher, requesting that Wells "send the... books along for me to sign and so earn a maximum royalty on the retail published price." Further notes from Adams fill the flap side of the binder’s larger, tipped-on envelope that houses both the book and its original envelope. Adams discusses Robinson's perhaps cheeky comment in his letter that "the Frost book" for which he thanks Wells for sending "appears to be a masterpiece of drama and suspense." Adams also notes Wells's previous publication of Robinson's Fortunatus (1928) and notes that this copy of "The Cow's in the Corn" lacks the errata slip present in some other copies. Adams's case (identified by a sticker as a "PHOTOMOUNT PAMPHLET BINDER... Manufactured By GAYLORD BROS.") is quarter dark red buckram over gray paper-covered sides with two paper labels affixed to the front cover, one for the book, the other for Robinson's ALS to Wells. Adams's distinctive bookplate is affixed to the inner front cover. The case shows modest shelf wear to extremities.
"Franconia" in Frost's inscription is the town in northwest New Hampshire where Frost and his family made their home on a farm from 1915 to 1920, and summered for 18 years thereafter. The home is now a museum that hosts poetry conferences, workshops, and an annual festival.
That E. A. Robinson received and commented on this copy gifted by the publisher represents a lovely intersection of two great contemporary poets. Early in Frost's career, he developed "a friendship based on mutual admiration" with fellow poet and playwright Edward Arlington Robinson (1869-1935), who was then considered the leading poet of New England. Robinson would win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry three times (1922, 1925, 1928) - second to Frost's still-unrivalled four (1924, 1931, 1937, 1943). Quite remarkably, between them, these two poets won nearly a third of the first 22 Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry awarded.
This may help explain why the first and second publications of The Slide Mountain Press were of Robinson and Frost, respectively. Wells has been described as "an attractive playboy, with money enough to engage in fine press printing." Intriguingly, "Wells sent Frost a check for $61.42 in October 1929 for his part in the publication, but Frost returned it and requested ten copies of the book instead."
Adams's bookplate and notes carry their own significant literary weight. Frederick Baldwin Adams Jr. (1910-2001), a personal friend of Frost, was one of the twentieth century’s great bibliophiles and "one of the most prominent members of the American rare-book world." Adams was Director of the Pierpont Morgan Library, President of the Grolier Club, and President of the Association Internationale de Bibliophile. Adams assembled major collections of the works of Robert Frost, of which this book was a part, Thomas Hardy, and Virginia Woof, as well as “a formidable collection of radical literature, perhaps the largest in the United States and capable even of rivaling Russian holdings.” During his 1948-1969 tenure as director, “the Morgan made some of its most spectacular acquisitions and completed its transition from a private library to a public institution, with research facilities, educational opportunities, and an exhibitions program.”
References: Crane A13; American Antiquarian Society; Parini. Item #008740
Price: $3,750.00