HUMAN SHOWS: Far Phantasies, Songs and Trifles.

First edition, first printing. Original green cloth lettered in gilt to the spine, with a decorative roundel featuring the author's initials stamped in gilt to the front panel, in the buff dustwrapper. A near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the contents clean throughout. Spotting to edges and endpapers. All edges untrimmed (quite a few remaining uncut). In the dustwrapper, nicked to tips and corners, with a short closed tear (c. 1 cm) to the upper edge of the front panel. Otherwise in very good shape indeed. Priced 7/6 net to the spine. A nice copy of Hardy's seventh collection of poems.

'Human Shows', Hardy's seventh (and penultimate) collection of poems, was the last book to be published during the author's lifetime. Most of its 152 poems were written after the war, with a handful dating from the 1860s and 90s. Published on 20 November 1925 in an edition of 5000 copies. (Purdy, pp. 234-248)