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A collection of five Christmas Poems 1953, 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1963, all in the issues printed for distribution by Frost himself.

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‘Though I only met Frost on three occasions, I felt the warmest affection for him … The Christmas poems which he sent his friends each year were ever welcome reminders of Frost’s genial good nature. The last I received from arrived on the morning that I read of his death in the newspaper. Sad as it was to me, I think he would have appreciated the irony of that’ (Bridson, Prospero and Ariel).

The printer Joe Blumenthal first produced a Christmas card setting one of Robert Frost’s poems, without the author’s permission, in 1929. When Frost found out some time later he asked Blumenthal to produce some more for his friends, and from 1934 until 1962 Frost issued a card every year, 25 of which were printed by Blumenthal’s Spiral Press. Many are illustrated with original woodcut designs by local artists and the print runs varied from as little as fifty for the early cards to as many as 17,055 for his final card (The Prophets really Prophesy). For each card there were up to twenty different issues, for distribution by Frost, his publishers, his friends, &c. Frost also retained twenty-five sets of all the different issues of each card. All of the present collection are from the issues printed for Frost himself.

The cards comprise:

One more Brevity. New York, Spiral Press, 1953. Pp. [12]; illustrations by Philip Grushkin; small stain to one page, else very good, stapled in the original wrappers, booklabel of D.G. Bridson, inscribed ‘To Geoffrey Bridson from Robert Frost after the pleasantest sort of encounter Dec 13 1956’, namely the recording they made together – see Prospero and Ariel, pp. 214-5). Crane B25 (one of 587 printed for distribution by Frost).

A-wishing Well. New York, Spiral Press, 1959. Pp. [12]; illustrations by Thomas W. Nason; fine, stapled in the original wrappers, booklabel of D.G. Bridson. Crane B31 (one of 670 printed for distribution by Frost).

Accidentally on Purpose. New York, Spiral Press, 1960. Pp. [10]; fine, stapled in the original wrappers, booklabel of D. G. Bridson. Crane B32 (one of 700 printed for distribution by Frost).

The Wood-pile. New York, Spiral Press, 1961. Pp. [10]; cover and illustrations by Thomas W. Nason; fine, stapled in the original wrappers, booklabel of D.G. Bridson. Crane B33 (one of 700 printed for distribution by Frost).

The Prophets really prophesy as Mystics, the Commentators merely by Statistics. New York, Spiral Press, 1962. Pp. [12], fine, stapled in the original wrappers, booklabel of D.G. Bridson, with a note in his hand ‘This Christmas Card, from one of the few people I really respect, arrived on the day that Robert Frost’s death was announced. 29.1.63.’ Crane B34 (one of 800 printed for distribution by Frost). Bridson had last met Frost in person at the National Poetry Festival in Washington in 1962.

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