Acquisitions (12): The Nonesuch / Reynard Libraries

William Hazlitt: Selected Essays (1930)

•


Francis Meynell (1891-1975)

The Nonesuch Library (1927-77)

[The last in the series to be issued - Shelley (1951) - acquired in Whangarei 11/2/16]:

Blake: Poetry and Prose (1927)

For many years, since I first acquired Geoffrey Keynes's wonderful Nonesuch Blake as a teenager, I've been attempting to complete a set of these books. There's an excellent account of them given on the Series of Series website:

The Nonesuch Library consists of a series of 15 single volume editions compiling key literary works of major writers and poets published beginning in 1927. These titles were part of the publisher’s “unlimited” (as opposed to limited edition) publications. While cheaper and less extravagant, the unlimited titles published by Nonesuch had a very high quality of editing and production.

The Nonesuch Compendious Series (1934)

The anonymous author points out that, while the series originated in England, at the Nonesuch Press (founded by Francis and Vera Meynell, with their friend David Garnett, in 1923), "in 1926 the Nonesuch Press formed an agreement with Bennett Cerf, of the Modern Library (and, in 1927, Random House), to distribute Nonesuch titles in the US." This was just the beginning of a complex set of manoeuvrings between publishers, owners, and distributors on both sides of the Atlantic, which resulted in some of the later books (notably De Quincey, Jonson, Lewis Carroll & Pushkin), emanating from the US rather than the UK:

The 15 titles in the unnamed / Compendious / Nonesuch Library series are difficult to sort out bibliographically for several reasons: the earlier books were printed in the UK and some copies (starting 1926) were shipped to the US where they were bound and jacketed by Random House. Later, it seems that Random House printed some of the books themselves. Some of these may have been sold in the UK as well as the US. The jacket designs (like the series name) are not consistent and special jackets (say for the centenary of an author’s birth date) may have been used on particular printings of a title. Book titles also varied from book to jacket in some cases. Thus we have a series with varying names, printed in the UK and sold in the UK and the US, or printed in the US and sold in the US (and maybe the UK for specific titles) often with multiple dates and in inconsistent bindings and jacket designs with varying titles for the same book in some cases. For a fancy press, Nonesuch was not very consistent with this series.

Here are the titles I've managed to collect so far:

1. 1927 - Blake. Complete Poetry and Prose. Ed. Geoffrey Keynes.
2. 1929 - Donne. Complete Poetry and Selected Prose. Ed. John Hayward.
3. 1930 - Hazlitt. Selected Essays. Ed. Geoffrey Keynes.
4. 1932 - Gilbert. Plays & Poems. Preface by Deems Taylor.
5. 1933 - Coleridge. Complete Verse, Select Prose & Letters. Ed. Stephen Potter.
6. 1934 - Morris. Prose, Verse, Lectures & Essays. Ed. G. D. H. Cole.
7. 1934 - Swift. Selected Writings in Prose & Verse. Ed. John Hayward.
8. 1935 - Shakespeare. Anthology. Ed. Herbert Farjeon.
9. 1936 - Pushkin. Poems, Prose & Plays. Ed. Avrahm Yarmolinsky.
10. 1938 - Whitman. Complete Poetry and Selected Prose & Letters. Ed. Emory Holloway.
11. 1938 - Milton. Complete Poetry and Selected Prose. Ed. E. H. Visiak.
12. 1938 - Jonson. Selected Writings. Ed. Harry Levin.
13. 1939 - De Quincey. Selected Writings. Ed. Philip Van Doren Stern.
14. 1939 - Lewis Carroll. The Complete Works. Introduction by Alexander Woollcott.
15. 1949 - Byron. Selections from Poetry, Letters & Journals. Ed. Peter Quennell.
16. 1951 - Shelley. Selected Poetry, Prose & Letters. Ed. A. S. B. Glover.

•


Advertisement (1927)

Books I own are marked in bold:

1. Blake. Complete Poetry and Prose. Ed. Geoffrey Keynes (1927)
   • Blake, William. Poetry and Prose: Complete in One Volume. Ed. Geoffrey Keynes. 1927. The Centenary Edition. London: the Nonesuch Press / New York: Random House, 1948.
   • Keynes, Geoffrey, ed. Poetry and Prose of William Blake: Complete in One Volume. The Compendious Series. 1927. London: The Nonesuch Press / New York: Random House, 1961.

Blake: Complete Poetry and Prose (1927)



2. Byron. Selections from Poetry, Letters and Journals. Ed. Peter Quennell (1949)
   • Byron, George Gordon, Lord. Selections from Poetry, Letters and Journals. Ed. Peter Quennell. London: The Nonesuch Press, 1949.

Byron: Selections from Poetry, Letters and Journal (1949)



3. Lewis Carroll. The Complete Works. Introduction by Alexander Walcott (October 1939)
   • Carroll, Lewis. The Complete Works: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; The Hunting of the Snark; Through the Looking Glass; Sylvie and Bruno; Sylvie and Bruno Concluded; All the Early and Late Verse, Short Stories, Essays, Phantasmagoria. Games, Puzzles, Problems, Acrostics, and Miscellaneous Writings. Illustrated by John Tenniel. Introduction by Alexander Woollcott. 1939. Modern Library Giant. New York: The Modern Library, n.d.

Lewis Carroll: The Complete Works (1939)



4. Coleridge. Complete Verse, Select Prose and Letters. Ed. Stephen Potter (1933)
   • Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Select Poetry & Prose. Ed. Stephen Potter. 1933. London: The Nonesuch Press, 1950.

Coleridge: Select Poetry & Prose (1933)



5. De Quincey. Selected Writings. Ed. Philip Van Doren Stern (April 1939)
   • De Quincey, Thomas. Selected Writings. Ed. Philip Van Doren Stern. London: The Nonesuch Press / New York: Random House, 1939.

De Quincey: Essays, Reminiscences, Sketches (1939)



6. Donne. Complete Poetry and Selected Prose. Ed. John Hayward (1929)
   • Donne, John, Dean of St. Paul’s. Complete Poetry and Selected Prose. Ed. John Hayward. 1929. The Compendious Series. London: The Nonesuch Press, 1962.

Donne: Complete Poetry and Selected Prose (1929)



7. Gilbert. Plays & Poems. Preface by Deems Taylor (1932)
   • Gilbert, W. S. Plays & Poems: Including the Complete Texts of the Fourteen Gilbert & Sullivan Operas, Three Other Gilbert Plays and All the Bab Ballads. Illustrations by the Author. Preface by Deems Taylor. New York: Random House, 1932.



W. S. Gilbert: Plays & Poems (1932)



8. Hazlitt. Selected Essays. Ed. Geoffrey Keynes (1930)
   • Hazlitt, William. Selected Essays: 1778-1830. Ed. Geoffrey Keynes. Centenary Edition. London: The Nonesuch Press, 1930.

Hazlitt: Selected Essays: 1778-1830 (1930)



9. Jonson. Selected Writings. Ed. Harry Levin (1938)
   • Jonson, Ben. Selected Writings: Plays, Poems, Masques, Criticism. Ed. Harry Levin. New York: Random House, Inc., 1938.

Jonson: Selected Writings: Plays, Poems, Masques, Criticism (1939)



10. Milton. Complete Poetry and Selected Prose. Ed. E. H. Visiak (March 1938)
    • Milton, John. Complete Poetry and Selected Prose: With English Metrical Translations of the Latin, Greek and Italian Poems. Ed. E. H. Visiak. Foreword by Sir Arnold Wilson. 1938. The Compendious Series. London: The Nonesuch Press, 1952.

Milton: Complete Poetry and Selected Prose (1938)



11. Morris. Prose, Verse, Lectures & Essays. Ed. G. D. H. Cole (March 1934)
    • Morris, William. Stories in Prose / Stories in Verse / Shorter Poems / Lectures and Essays. Ed. G. D. H. Cole. 1934. Centenary Edition. London: The Nonesuch Press, 1946.

William Morris: Prose, Verse, Lectures and Essays (1934)



12. Pushkin. Poems, Prose & Plays. Ed. Avrahm Yarmolinsky (1936)
    • Pushkin, Alexander. Poems, Prose & Plays. Ed. Avrahm Yarmolinsky. 1936. A Modern Library Giant. New York: The Modern Library, 1943.
    • Yarmolinsky, Avrahm, ed. The Works of Alexander Pushkin: Lyrics; Narrative Poems, Folk Tales, Plays; Prose. 1936. London: The Nonesuch Press / New York: Random House, n.d.

Pushkin: Poems, Prose & Plays (1936)



13. Shakespeare Anthology. Ed. Herbert Farjeon (1935)
    • Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works: The Text and Order of the First Folio with Quarto Variants & a Choice of Modern Readings Noted Marginally: To Which are added Pericles and the First Quartos of Six of the Plays with Three Plays of Doubtful Authorship: Also the Poems according to the Original Quartos and Octavos. Ed. Herbert Farjeon. 1929. Introduction by Ivor Brown. 4 vols. London & New York: The Nonesuch Press & Random House, 1953:
      1. The New Nonesuch Shakespeare: The First of Four Volumes: Comedies, with the Prefatory Matter from the First Folio, the Note on the Text by Herbert Farjeon and a New Introduction by Ivor Brown.
      2. The New Nonesuch Shakespeare: The Second of Four Volumes: Histories, and Troylus and Cressida, According to its Placing in the First Folio.
      3. The New Nonesuch Shakespeare: The Third of Four Volumes: Tragedies, and Pericles. With Three Plays of Doubtful Authorship Namely: Two Noble Kinsmen; Edward III; Sir Thomas Moore.
      4. The New Nonesuch Shakespeare: The Last of Four Volumes: Poems: Venus and Adonis; The Rape of Lucrece; The Sonnets; A Lovers Complaint; The Passionate Pilgrime; Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Musicke; The Phoenix and the Turtle.

Shakespeare: The Complete Works (1929-33)



14. Shelley. Selected Poetry, Prose & Letters. Ed. A. S. B. Glover (1951)
    • Shelley, Percy Bysshe. Selected Poetry, Prose & Letters. Ed. A. S. B. Glover. London: The Nonesuch Press, 1951.

Shelley: Selected Poetry, Prose and Letters (1951)



15. Swift. Gulliver’s Travels and Selected Writings in Prose & Verse. Ed. John Hayward (November 1934)
    • Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver’s Travels and Selected Writings in Prose & Verse. Ed. John Hayward. The Compendious Series. London: The Nonesuch Press / New York: Random House, 1934.

Swift: Gulliver’s Travels and Selected Writings in Prose & Verse (1934)



16. Whitman. Complete Poetry and Selected Prose & Letters. Ed. Emory Holloway (March 1938)
    • Whitman, Walt. Complete Poetry and Selected Prose & Letters. Ed. Emory Holloway. 1938. London: The Nonesuch Press, 1964.

Walt Whitman: Complete Poetry and Selected Prose & Letters (1938)

Strictly speaking, one would have to admit that the Nonesuch Shakespeare I've put in above does not really form part of the compendious series - but given that there was originally a Shakespeare Anthology included, I thought it fair enough to add it to the total.

W. S. Gilbert: Plays & Poems (1932)

There is one more somewhat anomalous adjunct to the original fifteen, as the anonymous author of the 'Series of Series' post explains:

While not officially part of the unnamed / Compendious / Nonesuch Library series, The Plays and Poems of W.S. Gilbert was advertised with that series and the book, at least, was of similar size and design. The jacket, below (missing its front flap) advertised other Random House titles including the Modern Library.

.

W. S. Gilbert: Plays & Poems (1932)

•

The Reynard Library
(1950-71)

Another, analogous series, The Reynard Library, produced a dozen or so titles, starting in 1950. Again, there's an excellent account of this on the Series of Series website.

Dr. Johnson: Prose and Poetry (1950)

The fact that it was issued by Rupert Hart-Davis, a firm co-founded by David Garnett, in partnership with Harvard University Press, makes it clear that it was meant in some sense to be regarded as a successor to the Nonesuch compendious series (no new titles came out from the latter after 1951, though the original 15 continued to be reprinted well into the 1970s).

Here is their list of titles:

1. 1950 - Browning. Poetry and Prose. Ed. Simon Nowell-Smith.
2. 1950 - Goldsmith. Selected Works. Ed. Richard Garnett.
3. 1950 - Dr Johnson. Prose and Poetry. Ed. Mona Wilson.
4. 1950 - Sterne. Selected Works. Ed. Douglas Grant.
5. 1952 - Dryden. Poetry, Prose and Plays. Ed. Douglas Grant.
6. 1952 - Macaulay. Poetry and Prose. Ed. G. M. Young.
7. 1954 - Matthew Arnold. Poetry and Prose. Ed. John Bryson.
8. 1955 - Carlyle. Selected Works. Ed. Julian Symons.
9. 1955 - Wordsworth. Poetry and Prose. Ed. W. M. Merchant.
10. 1957 - Newman. Prose and Poetry. Ed. Geoffrey Tillotson.
11. 1962 - FitzGerald. Selected Works. Ed. Joanna Richardson.
12. 1968 - Cowper. Poetry and Prose. Ed. Brian Spiller.
13. 1970 - Blake. The Letters of William Blake. Ed. Geoffrey Keynes.

•


Advertisement (1971)

1. Matthew Arnold: Poetry and Prose. Ed. John Bryson (1954)
   • Arnold, Matthew. Poetry and Prose. Ed. John Bryson. The Reynard Library. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1954.

Matthew Arnold: Poetry and Prose (1954)



2. Blake. The Letters of William Blake. Ed. Geoffrey Keynes (1970)
   • Keynes, Geoffrey Kt., ed. The Letters of William Blake with Related Documents. 1956. 2nd edition. 1968. 3rd edition. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980.

The Letters of William Blake (1970)



3. Browning: Poetry and Prose. Ed. Simon Nowell-Smith (1950)
   • Browning, Robert. Poetry and Prose. Ed. Simon Nowell-Smith. The Reynard Library. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1950.

Browning: Poetry and Prose (1950)



4. Carlyle: Selected Works, Reminiscences and Letters. Ed. Julian Symons (1955)
   • Carlyle, Thomas. Selected Works, Reminiscences and Letters. Ed. Julian Symons. 1955. The Reynard Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1963.

Carlyle: Selected Works (1955)



5. Cowper: Poetry and Prose. Ed. Brian Spiller (1968)
   • Cowper, William. Poetry and Prose. Ed. Brian Spiller. The Reynard Library. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1968.

Cowper: Verse and Letters (1968)



6. Dryden: Poetry, Prose and Plays. Ed. Douglas Grant (1952)
   • Dryden, John. Poetry, Prose and Plays. Ed. Douglas Grant. 1952. The Reynard Library. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1964.

Dryden: Poetry, Prose and Plays (1952)



7. FitzGerald: Selected Works. Ed. Joanna Richardson (1962)
   • Fitzgerald, Edward. Selected Works. Ed. Joanna Richardson. The Reynard Library. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1962.

FitzGerald: Selected Works (1962)



8. Goldsmith: Selected Works. Ed. Richard Garnett (1950)
   • Goldsmith, Oliver. Selected Works. Ed. Richard Garnett. The Reynard Library. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1950.

Goldsmith: Selected Works (1950)



9. Dr Johnson: Prose and Poetry. Ed. Mona Wilson (1950)
   • Johnson, Dr Samuel. Prose and Poetry. Ed. Mona Wilson. The Reynard Library. 1950. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1963.

Dr Johnson: Selected Works (1950)



10. Macaulay: Prose and Poetry. Ed. G. M. Young (1952)
    • Macaulay, Thomas Babington. Prose and Poetry. Ed. G. M. Young. The Reynard Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1952.

Macaulay: Prose and Poetry (1952)



11. Newman: Prose and Poetry. Ed. Geoffrey Tillotson (1957)
    • Newman, Cardinal. Prose and Poetry. Ed. Geoffrey Tillotson. The Reynard Library. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1957.

Newman: Prose and Poetry (1957)



12. Sterne: Selected Works. Ed. Douglas Grant (1950)
    • Sterne, Laurence. Memoirs of Mr. Laurence Sterne; The Life & Opinions of Tristram Shandy; A Sentimental Journey; Selected Sermons and Letters. Ed. Douglas Grant. The Reynard Library. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1950.

Sterne: Selected Works (1950)



13. Wordsworth: Poetry and Prose. Ed. W. M. Merchant (1955)
    • Wordsworth, William. Poetry and Prose. Ed. W, M. Merchant. The Reynard Library. 1955. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1967.

Wordsworth: Poetry and Prose (1955)

The 'Series of Series' author casts doubt on the validity of including Blake's Letters in this list (which also, somewhat ominously, brings it to 13!) but has had to concede the point, given it is "listed [in] several places as a Reynard Library title published by Harvard University Press."

Dr. Johnson: Prose and Poetry (1950)

•

• category - English Poetry (pre-1900) / English Prose (pre-1900) etc.

•