Casey at the Bat
Chicago: A. C. McClure & Co., 1912.
First stand-alone book edition of Ernest Lawrence Thayer's mock-heroic poem about a baseball player who strikes out. Unpaginated (31 pp.), illustrated with 13 full page offset lithographs printed in orange and black, each facing a corresponding verse. Bound in publisher's green felted paper-covered boards stamped in color and gilt. Near Fine with light rubbing to covers and fading to gilt. Contents lightly toned with occasional thumbing, penciled gift inscription dated 1918 to half-title verso. A very attractive little book, in much nicer condition than normally found. Ernest Thayer composed "Casey at the Bat" for his San Francisco Examiner column in 1888. The poem was wildly popular, somewhat to the author's surprise, and has ranked high in the baseball literary canon ever since.
Price: $1,750