CATHER, Willa (1873-1947). [The Prairie Trilogy:] O Pioneers! 1913. -- The Song of the Lark. 1915. -- My Ántonia. 1918. All Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ALL FIRST EDITIONS, FIRST ISSUE.
Sale 1023 - The Library of Jack Charles Davis, Sold to Support Charitable Institutions
May 3, 2022
9:00AM CT
Live / Chicago
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$1,000 -
1,500
Price Realized
$938
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Lot Description
CATHER, Willa (1873-1947). [The Prairie Trilogy:] O Pioneers! 1913. -- The Song of the Lark. 1915. -- My Ántonia. 1918. All Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
3 works in 3 volumes, 8vo. Portrait frontispiece in The Song of the Lark; illustrated plates after W. T. Benda in My Ántonia. All in original cloth bindings (slight rubbing to corners, My Ántonia with a few small stains to the spine and lower joint).
ALL FIRST EDITIONS, FIRST ISSUE: O Pioneers! bound in vertically-grained cloth with the period touching the "O" in the imprint on the spine; The Song of the Lark with ads on copyright page printed in a box, and with "moment" (lacking the "s") on p.8); My Ántonia with the plates printed on glazed paper.
Cather's Prairie Trilogy, published in relatively rapid succession, immediately experienced critical and mainstream success, and Cather was praised for her use of American vernacular to tell the story of regular American characters during the era of the new frontier. The works explore the themes of coming of age, isolation, rural versus city life, exploration and discovery. The final installment, My Ántonia, considered Cather's masterpiece, received on overwhelmingly positive critical response. Crane A6.a.i [binding a]; A8.a.i [binding a]; A9.
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