🌿 MOORE, Marianne. Observations. Dial Press, 1925. Poetry Landmark – Second       Edition with Dust Jacket From the Library of Helen Hartness Flanders.
 
A near fine copy of Marianne Moore’s Observations — the poet’s first “legitimate” collection and a cornerstone of modernist literature. This 1925 second edition, published one year after the scarce 1,000-copy first printing, earned Moore the Dial Award and widespread acclaim. Notably, it is the earliest edition to feature a dust jacket.
 
💬 Critic John Longenbach ranks Observations among “the greatest verbal works of art of the 20th century... like The Waste Land or Ulysses, it speaks for itself.” And John Ashbery echoed: “I am tempted simply to call [Moore] our greatest modern poet.”
📖 Details
Publisher: New York: The Dial Press, 1925
Format: 8vo, 120pp including notes and index
Binding: Original black boards with white paper spine label (still crisp and unfaded)
Edges: Uncut
Condition: Near fine overall with only light wear at spine tips and corners.
🧵 Dust Jacket: Exceptionally scarce. Present but worn, with chipping and edge creases; several closed tears now neatly repaired on the verso with archival tape. Large piece lacking from upper rear cover — though still complete enough to be display-worthy.
📚 Provenance: From the personal library of Helen Hartness Flanders — renowned folklorist and daughter of Vermont Governor James Hartness — with her ownership signature on the front flyleaf. A fitting association, given both Moore’s and Flanders’ deep reverence for cultural voices often overlooked.
💡 Why It Matters:
This edition stands not only as a literary treasure, but as a testament to Moore’s precision, restraint, and musicality — virtues shared with Flanders’ own scholarly pursuits. Collectors will note its pivotal position in the history of modern poetry and its uncommon survival with jacket intact.