Item #2178 [Wilde, Oscar] Ravenna. Oscar Wilde.

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[Wilde, Oscar] Ravenna

Oxford: Thos. Shrimpton and Son, 1878.

First edition. 12mo. 16pp. Original grey-green printed wrappers. Exceedingly scarce first edition with the publisher's printed crest appearing on the cover of the wrappers as well as on the title page and a vignette woodcut appears on the last page. The prestigious Newdigate Prize, Oxford's top award for poetry, dates to early 1800's and the winner for 1878 was the young Oscar Wilde. The pamphlet was issued in the same year, as was common with many of the early prize winners, and is considered Wilde's first publication in book form. He worked on the poem a few years earlier while touring Greece as a student at Oxford. An exemplary copy, with no wrinkling or central creases as was commonly seen from folding to place in a pocket. Very small nick out of two corners, very slight (barely detectable) browning to covers, else extremely clean and bright. 16pp.

Price: $2,500.00   Item #2178

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