Robert Frost — The Complete Poems of Robert Frost (1949). Signed Limited Edition, No. 379 of Only 500 Copies.
A scarce and highly coveted example of the 1949 signed limited edition of The Complete Poems of Robert Frost, published by Henry Holt & Company in New York. This is copy number 379 of just 500 issued, signed by Frost on the limitation page as required. Frost was already a four‑time Pulitzer Prize winner at the time, and this edition marked a major milestone in his career, gathering the full body of his poetry to date in a single, large‑format volume.
What really makes this copy unique is an additional inscription on the upper colophon page: “To Stella K. Putnam from her son's faithful friend, Robert Frost - Ripton Vermont - August 1949.” Signed and dated in the year of publication, only four months after the book’s release, adding a desirable layer of personal association and early‑issue provenance.
The volume features the tipped‑in photographic frontispiece portrait of Frost by Clara E. Sipprell, printed on white wove parchment paper opposite the title page. With only 500 copies produced, this remains one of Frost’s most sought‑after postwar signed editions, admired for its craftsmanship and its position near the culmination of Frost’s long and celebrated career.
Condition: Large 8vo, 642 pages. Bound in heavy beige linen cloth with gilt spine lettering. Printed on thick white wove paper with blue‑green topstain and matching blue‑green endpapers. The spine shows faint sunning and toning, with a bit of spotting and staining to the front board. Corner tips rubbed with some fraying, and slight softening to the spine ends. Internally clean, bright, and well‑preserved. A solid, very good example of a notoriously fragile limited issue.
A cornerstone Frost collectible—scarce, tightly held, and increasingly difficult to obtain in honest condition. Signed and additionally inscribed by America’s most celebrated poet of the twentieth century. Essential for any serious Frost collection or library of American poetry.