The Most Precious Poetry

 

Even during national poetry month, we all to often hear there is little demand for poetry from today’s readers. But in the world of rare books, poets are revered by bibliophiles and collectors, and AbeBooks regularly sells examples of their finest work for four-figure prices. T.S. Eliot, Wilfred Owen, Charles Bukowski, Robert Frost and many other famous poetic names from the 20th century are in steady demand, while Robert Burns, William Blake, Lord Bryon, John Keats and William Wordsworth ensure 19th century poetry is not forgotten. And then there is Shakespeare and the two Johns – Milton and Donne.
From haikus to epics, from limericks to sonnets, from strict rhyme schemes to free verse, poetry is a vast genre covering countless subjects. Dip into the world of collectable poetry and also discover the 10 most expensive poetry books ever sold by AbeBooks.

Fantastic First Editions

The Colossus
Sylvia Plath


First Edition
All Copies

Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect
Robert Burns

First Edition
All Copies

Let Us Compare Mythologies
Leonard Cohen

First Edition
All Copies

A Boy's Will
Robert Frost


First Edition
All Copies

It Catches My Heart in its Hands
Charles Bukowski

First Edition
All Copies

Responsibilities and Other Poems
William Butler Yeats


First Edition
All Copies

The Raven
Edgar Allan Poe



First Edition
All Copies

Tulips and Chimneys
e.e. Cummings


First Edition
All Copies

Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie
Maya Angelou

First Edition
All Copies

La Barcarola
Pablo Neruda



First Edition
All Copies

AbeBooks' Top 10 Most Expensive Poetry Sales

1. = Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems
John Keats
Sold for: $8,500

First edition published in 1820, the book is Keats' third and last book.

First Edition
All Copies

1. = Poems, 1909 - 1925
T.S. Eliot
Sold for: $8,500

First edition, one of 85 copies numbered and signed by Eliot. The limited edition has a plain cream buckram binding and contains many of the poet's canonical works. Pictured is the general 1925 first edition which is not signed.

First Edition
All Copies

3. Poems
Wilfred Owen
Sold for: $8,460

First edition with an introduction by fellow war poet Siegfried Sassoon. Included in this copy was a note by Miss M.M.C. Rayner, who tutored Owen.

First Edition
All Copies

4. The New Creatures
Jim Morrison
Sold for: $7,500

A limited edition of poetry - one of two self-published books from the lead singer of The Doors that had just 100 copies of each.

First Edition
All Copies

5. Tibullus cum commentariis Cyllænii Veronensis
Tibullus, Catullus and Propertius
Sold for: $6,527

Published in 1500, this tome includes the collected works of three of the famous Latin love poets.

All books by Tibullus

6. Selected Poems
Ezra Pound
Sold for: $6,050

First edition, limited to 100 copies, signed by Pound and hand numbered (this was No.3). The poems were selected and edited by T.S Eliot to be published in 1928.

First Edition
All Copies

7. Divina Commedia
Dante Alighieri
Sold for: $6,000

First edition of the first translation of Dante's Divine Comedy into English. Also contains preliminary essays and notes by the Reverend Henry Boyd.

First Edition
All Copies

8. Poemes
Charles d'Orleans
Sold for: $5,866

Charles of Valois (1394-1465) became the Duke of Orléans in 1407 but is best remembered for writing poetry as a prisoner of war. This book of his poetry was published in 1950 as a limited edition with 100 original lithographs by Matisse, only 1,230 copies were printed.

Matisse copies

9. Lyrical Ballads, with other Poems Vol. 1
William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Sold for: $5,410

First edition from 1800 of Wordsworth’s collection of poems, which included The Rime of the Ancient Mariner as well as the famous preface, the Manifesto of the Romantic Movement.

First Edition
All Copies

10. The Collected Poems
D.H. Lawrence
Sold for: $4,893

A limited first edition, one of 100 numbered copies signed by Lawrence. This 1928 two-volume collection comes with a cream dust jacket that is especially prone to wear making fine copies highly desirable. (The 1932 UK first edition is pictured)

s First Edition
All Copies