The Ballad Of A Nun

John Davidson [Hand-Signed by Alexander Davidson - his Son in 1904]

Published by W.H. ALLEN, London and New York, 1895

About this Item

John Davidson (11 April 1857 to 23 March 1909) was a Scottish poet, playwright and novelist, best known for his ballads. He also did translations from French and German. In 1906 he was awarded a civil list pension of £100 per annum and George Bernard Shaw did what he could to help him financially, but poverty, ill-health, and his declining powers, exacerbated by the onset of cancer, caused profound hopelessness and clinical depression. Late in 1908, Davidson left London to reside at Penzance. On 23 March 1909, he disappeared from his house there, under circumstances which left little doubt that he had drowned himself. Among his papers was found the manuscript of a new work, Fleet Street Poems, with a letter containing the words, "This will be my last book." His body, which was discovered by some fishermen in Mount's Bay on 18 September, was, in accordance with his known wishes, buried at sea. In his will he desired that no biography should be written, none of his unpublished works published, and "no word except of my writing is ever to appear in any book of mine as long as the copyright endures." - The assumption that he took his own life is consistent with what is known of his temperament and his ideas. In The Testament of John Davidson, published the year before his death, he anticipates this fate: "None should outlive his power. . . . Who kills Himself subdues the conqueror of kings; Exempt from death is he who takes his life; My time has come." There was a small photocopy of a newspaper article inside this book. It is a reward notice for £20 for any information which would lead to the discovery of John Davidson. I'll leave this in the book for the new owner. - Davidson's poetry was a key early influence on important Modernist poets, in particular, his compatriots Hugh MacDiarmid and Wallace Stevens. T.S. Eliot was especially fond of the poem 'Thirty Bob a Week'. - CONDITION OF BOOK: This is a small book with greenish brown leather binding with gold gilt decoration to the front board and gold lettering to the spine. The front and rear boards are in a fairly good condition. There is minimal scuffing to the edges and corners. The green leather upper is very scuffed and faded on the spine although the gilt lettering to the spine is still legible. The boards are firmly bound to the inner page block. - The quality of the paper within the book is superior quality. The book is hand signed by the Author's Son in 1904 - On the full title page is the publication date, which I originally thought translated to 1905 MDCCCCV, but this is not a correct Roman Numeral. The numerals and the groups of numerals written in subtractive notation must be written from left to right, in descending order of their values, from high to low. Some symbols (letters) can be repeated up to 3 times in a row: but as you can see, there are four CCCC's, so it is effectively an error date and as the Author's son has signed the book is 1904, I want to subtract the V[5] from the final C [100] which would make the publication date as 1895. Signature reads: To my friend A. Manoukian, from Alexander Davidson - Xmas 1904. There are six beautiful illustrations by Paul Henry and all are present. The ballad consists of 38 pages and there are a further 4 pages to the rear advertising other literary works. Light browning and very occasional foxing throughout. All pages are clean and tightly bound. - E N D - Our orders are shipped within 1 or 2 business days. - Thanks for your interest and I hope you like the book enough to buy it.

Seller Inventory # 000735

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Ballad Of A Nun
• Publisher: W.H. ALLEN, London and New York
• Publication Date: 1895
• Language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Paul Henry
• Edition: FIRST EDITION & FIRST PRINTING
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket Was Issued
• Signed: Hand-Signed by Author's Son -
• Seller catalogs:
  • Antiquarian - Hand-Signed