The Tower. London: Macmillan, 1928. First Edition. Pp, 110, uncut & unopened. Olive green cloth, designed in gilt by Sturge Moore, depicting ‘The Tower’ of Ballylee, Co. Galway. Neat ink name to front free endpaper, 2 small newspaper clippings pasted verso titlepage. A near fine copy; without dust jacket. Housed in collector’s solander box.

Yeats’ single most important collection of poems, containing “Sailing To Byzantium”, “Nineteen Hundred and Nineteen”, “Leda and the Swan”, “Among School Children” & “All Souls’ Night”, among other masterpieces. Yeats himself was very pleased with The Tower’s reception. He wrote his friend Lady Gregory that “Tower is receiving great favour.”

The beautiful image on the upper cover shows Thoor Ballylee reflected in the still water below it. The image suggests both Yeats’ poetic self-reflection & the meditative quality of his verse.

Thomas Sturge Moore (1870 1944) was an English author, poet and wood engraver especially noted for his bookplate designs. He designed several bindings for Yeats, however this is by far his most notable one.

[Wade 158]