First edition (there was only one printing of this edition)
The publishing and binding history of the first edition is complicated. The best account is given in Joan St. C. Crane, Robert Frost: A Descriptive Catalogue of Books and Manuscripts in the Clifton Waller Barrett Library, University of Virginia (Charlottesville, 1974), entries A3 and A3.1. The grouping of copies of the first edition below reflects her analysis; her terminology has been used. See also H. B. Collamore, “Some notes on modern first editions,” The Colophon, n.s., v. 3, no. 3 (summer 1938), p. 354-58, at p. 355-56, for the variants in binding A.
| RFA 14 1914 | First issue, binding A, variant A (coarse green cloth, stamped in gold, with “D. NUTT” on spine 17 mm tall). 1 copy. * Copy 1. Inscribed by Frost for Earle Bernheimer, with the full text of “The pasture” (with punctuation varying from the printed text); later inscribed “and thence from him and me to Amherst College gladly, April 30, 1951”; accompanied by a copy of Nutt’s prospectus for the work, which Frost has dated “July 19, 1937” and added the note: “It is more than twenty years since I saw one of these. R.F.” (the prospectus is in the vault signatures file). Purchased at the Bernheimer sale, December 1950. |
| RFA 14 1914a | First issue, binding A, variant B (coarse green cloth, stamped in gold, with “D. NUTT” on spine 13 mm tall). 2 copies. * Copy 1. Inscribed by Frost for Jack W. C. Hagstrom (Class of 1955) “for having found it this year 1959”; with Hagstrom’s bookplate. Originally in a green cloth slip-case, in a green cloth chemise (shelved with the volume). Gift of Jack W. C. Hagstrom. * Copy 2. Signed by Frost (1919); in a different ink (at a different time?), he has written a note facing the title page: “You will hear the difference between these poems and other peoples’ poetry explained in a way you mustn’t be in a hurry to believe. These of mine are supposed to be colloquial as distinguished from elevated. They may or may not be elevated but they are hardly a bit more colloquial than any real poetry would have to be however lyrical and seemingly far removed from the dramatic. RF”; Frost has also noted below the contents: “The three marked belong to the Derry New Hampshire days. The rest were written in 1912-1913 in Beaconsfield England” (there are check marks next to “The death of the hired man,” “The black cottage,” and “The housekeeper”), and has made textual corrections on pp. 32 (to “A hundred collars”) and 83 (to “The code”). Gift of Martin K. Howes (Class of 1926), on the occasion of the dedication of the Robert Frost Library. |
| RFA 14 1914b | First issue, binding C (fine green cloth, front cover blind-stamped). 2 copies. * Copy 1 has a gift inscription from F. Alan Porter to A. Ernest Porter, Christmas 1919. Gift of Martin K. Howes (Class of 1926), John S. Van E. Kohn, and Lawrance Thompson on the occasion of the retirement of Newton F. McKeon (Class of 1926). * Copy 2 is from the library of E. Merrill Root (Class of 1917). Gift of Mrs. E. Merrill Root. |
| RFA 14 1914c | First issue, binding D (blue cloth). 1 copy. * Copy 1. Inscribed by Frost “For to rest with Jack Hagstrom a while anyway”; from the library of C. Day Lewis; with the bookplate of Jack W. C. Hagstrom (Class of 1955). Gift of Jack W. C. Hagstrom. |
| RFA 14 1914d | First issue, binding E (green cloth, 202 × 145 mm). 3 copies. * Copy 1 is inscribed by Frost to George F. Whicher (Class of 1910), with Whicher’s bookplate. Gift of George F. Whicher. * Copy 2 is inscribed by Frost to Marion E. Dodd “in friendship”; and inscribed by her to Jack W. C. Hagstrom (Class of 1955), with his bookplate. Gift of Jack W. C. Hagstrom. * Copy 3 is inscribed by Frost to Margaret Olds (later Margaret Olds Strahl), with the first four lines of “The pasture.” Gift of Margaret Olds Strahl. |
| RFA 14 1914e | First issue, binding F (green cloth, 196 × 151 mm). 4 copies. * Copy 1 is inscribed by Frost to George F. Whicher (Class of 1910), Christmas 1932, with Whicher’s bookplate. Gift of George F. Whicher. * Copy 2 is inscribed by Frost to Joseph Blumenthal, Amherst, November 1934. Gift of Joseph Blumenthal. * Copy 3 is inscribed by Frost to Martin K. Howes (Class of 1926) “from his friend”; with four lines from “The death of the hired man” and Frost’s ms. emendation (to “A hundred collars”) on p. 32; in original (?) unprinted translucent dust jacket. Gift of the Estate of Martin K. Howes. * Copy 4 is inscribed by Frost to Hugo Saglio (Class of 1931), 1934; with the remains of a similar dust jacket. This copy is unopened, and kept in that state for bibliographical purposes. Gift of Hugo Saglio. |
| RFA 14 1914f | Second issue, binding B (half brown cloth). 1 copy. *Copy 1. From the library of J. C. Hammond. Gift of J. A. Guest (Class of 1933) and Elizabeth M. Guest. |
Second edition
There were at least 21 printings of this edition, through April 1940. A list of printings appears on the verso of the title leaf; the second printing is designated “Third edition” on its title leaf verso, but in later printings it is recorded as a reprinting.
A special printing of this edition, with illustrations by James Chapin, was published in 1919. Though technically part of the second edition (printed from the same setting of type), despite Cranes designation of it (A3.3) as the “second American edition,” it was not viewed by the publisher as part of the sequence of printings, and is here treated separately (see “1919” below).
| RFA 14 1915 | First printing ([March] 1915; blue cloth). 1 copy. * Copy 1. Inscribed by Frost to Jack W. C. Hagstrom (Class of 1955), 1953, with 3 lines from “The most of it.” In dust jacket (detached at one fold) with misprint “fain” in the London Times review excerpt and Holt device 16 × 12 mm; with remains of a glassine dust jacket, and a cut piece from the front of a later dust jacket with the type in a different setting. In a protective case. Gift of Jack W. C. Hagstrom. |
| RFA 14 1915b | Second printing ([June] 1915, but with “Third edition” in printing history statement; blue cloth). 3 copies. * Copy 1 is signed by Frost, New York, March 1924. Gift of the Estate of Martin K. Howes (Class of 1926). * Copy 2 is inscribed by Frost to E. Merrill Root (Class of 1917), incorporating a previous inscription from “Grandma Root, 1920.” Gift of Mrs. E. Merrill Root. * Copy 3 is in dust jacket (cracked at folds), with correct “faint” and Holt device 19 × 16 mm; bookplate of Leta A. Bentley. Gift of Jack W. C. Hagstrom (Class of 1955). |
| [Third printing (August 1915). No copy owned by Amherst.] | |
| RFA 14 1915d | Fourth printing (October 1915; blue cloth). 2 copies. * Copy 1 has the bookplate of Jack W. C. Hagstrom (Class of 1955). Gift of Jack W. C. Hagstrom. * Copy 2 has the full text of “For once, then, something” written out and initialed by Frost on the front free endpaper, with numerous variants from the printed version; with the bookplate of George F. Whicher (Class of 1910). Gift of George F. Whicher. |
| RFA 14 1915e | Fifth printing (December 1915; blue cloth). 2 copies. * Copy 1. Source unknown. * Copy 2 is inscribed by Frost to Mr. & Mrs. Trueworthy White, May 15, 1916, “in friendship.” Gift of Mildred Reynolds Caldwell. |
| RFA 14 1915f | Sixth printing (May 1916; blue cloth). 1 copy. * Copy 1. Inscribed by Frost “For Mabel Loomis Todd in part payment for her gift to usall of Emily Dickinson’s poems.” Purchased from Millicent Todd Bingham. |
| RFA 14 1915g | Seventh printing (May 1917; blue cloth, with 129 mm between printer’s imprint on spine and lower rule of title panel). 3 copies. * Copy 1 is signed by Frost “Eng 16, Amherst, 1918,” with the signature of Philip N. Youtz (Class of 1918), dated 1918, a student in the course. Frost has written out and initialed the full text of “The dunes” on p. [viii], and made ms. corrections on pp. 32 and 79. Annotations by Youtz on several poems are explained in his essay “Robert Frost’s comments on his poetry” (MS Frost 380). Gift of Philip N. Youtz. * Copy 2 has the signature of Harold H. Plough (Class of 1913). Gift of Harold H. Plough? * Copy 3 is in dust jacket (with price on spine cut out and price on front effaced; “7th printing” at top of front), with the signature of Evelyn B. Droman, 1920. Purchased. |
| RFA 14 1915ga | Seventh printing (May 1917; dark green cloth, with imitation silk texture, with 126 mm between printer’s imprint on spine and lower rule of title panel). 1 copy. * Copy 1. With the full text of “Nothing gold can stay” (with major substantive variants from the printed version) written out an signed by Frost on the front free endpaper, Ann Arbor, December 1921 (the poem was first published in 1923). Gift of Frank E. Reed (Class of 1957). |
| RFA 14 1915gb | Seventh printing (May 1917; black leather). 1 copy. * Copy 1. In a blue cloth protective case. Gift of Martin K. Howes (Class of 1926). |
| [Eighth printing (May 1920). No copy at Amherst.] | |
| [Ninth printing (May 1921). No copy at Amherst.] | |
| RFA 14 1915j | Tenth printing (July 1922; half green cloth and green boards; frontispiece portrait of Frost; with title-page imprint dated 1914). 1 copy. * Copy 1. Bookplate of the Clinton K. Judy Memorial Library, California Institute of Technology. Purchased with the Jack W. C. Hagstrom (Class of 1955) Fund. |
| [Eleventh printing (November 1922). No copy at Amherst.] | |
| RFA 14 1915ℓ | Twelfth printing (April 1923; half green cloth and green boards; frontispiece portrait of Frost; with title-page imprint dated 1914). 1 copy. * Copy 1. Signed by Frost. Source unknown. |
| RFA 14 1915m | Thirteenth printing (December 1924; half green cloth and green boards; frontispiece portrait of Frost; with title-page imprint dated 1914). 2 copies. * Copy 1. Source unknown. * Copy 2 has the signature of Kathryn James. Source unknown. |
| RFA 14 1915n | Fourteenth printing (December 1925; half green cloth and green boards, with no panel on front and rules at top and bottom of spine; frontispiece portrait of Frost). 1 copy. * Copy 1. Signed by Frost, Amherst, 1926; with the signature of Newton F. McKeon (Class of 1926) and his notes on an inserted slip. Gift of Mary Maury McKeon. |
| RFA 14 1915na | Fourteenth printing (December 1925; half green cloth and green boards, title and author in panel on front and title on spine with rules top and bottom, no rules at foot of spine; frontispiece portrait of Frost). 1 copy. * Copy 1. With the bookplate of Jack W. C. Hagstrom (Class of 1955). Gift of Jack W. C. Hagstrom. |
| RFA 14 1915o | Fifteenth printing (November 1926; half green cloth and green boards; frontispiece portrait of Frost). 2 copies. * Copy 1 has the signature of Marjorie Greenbie, South Hadley, March 1927. Gift of Mrs. Barrie B. Greenbie. * Copy 2 is signed by Frost, and by Richard H. Templeton, Jr. (Class of 1931), January 1928. Gift of Richard H. Templeton. |
| RFA 14 1915p | Sixteenth printing (November 1927; half green cloth and green boards; frontispiece portrait of Frost). 3 copies. |
| RFA 14 1915q | Seventeenth printing (January 1929; half green cloth and green boards; frontispiece portrait of Frost). 1 copy. * Copy 1. With the signature of H. Young. Gift of Mrs. Eugene T. Mudge, in memory of Eugene T. Mudge (Class of 1934). |
| RFA 14 1915r | Eighteenth printing (July 1930; half green cloth and green boards; frontispiece portrait of Frost). 4 copies. * Copy 1 has the bookseller’s label of the Old Corner Book Store, Boston. Purchased. * Copies 2-4 are signed by Frost, dated 1932, in dust jacket. They came from a small collection of books found in storage at Holt in 1985. Gift of Henry Holt and Co. |
| [Nineteenth printing (October 1932). No copy at Amherst.] | |
| RFA 14 1915t | Twentieth printing (March 1935; half green cloth and green boards; frontispiece portrait of Frost). 1 copy. * Copy 1. Signed by Frost; in dust jacket. Gift of Katharine C. Cowles. |
| RFA 14 1915u | Twenty-first printing (April 1940; half green cloth and green boards; frontispiece portrait of Frost). 1 copy. * Copy 1. In dust jacket. Source unknown. |
| RFA 14 1915ua | Twenty-first printing (April 1940; full green cloth; frontispiece portrait of Frost). 1 copy. * Copy 1. Inscribed by Frost to Jack W. C. Hagstrom (Class of 1955); with Hagstrom’s bookplate. Gift of Jack W. C. Hagstrom. |
Second edition, illustrated printing
| RFA 14 1919 | The only printing (1919; half green cloth and green boards, with gold label on front). 2 copies. * Copy 1 is inscribed by Frost for the Amherst College Library; in dust jacket. Gift of Robert Frost. * Copy 2 is inscribed by Frost to George F. Whicher. Gift of the Estate of George F. Whicher. |
Third edition
This edition was edited by Edward Connery Lathem, and is illustrated with woodcuts by J. J. Lankes. Thirteen poems have been added by the editor, all previously published in other books of poems by Frost.
| RFA 14 1977 | First printing (1977; blue cloth). 2 copies. * Copy 1 is in dust jacket. Purchased with the Sargent H. Wellman ’12 Memorial Fund. * Copy 2 is in dust jacket, with the bookplate of Jack W. C. Hagstrom (Class of 1955). Gift of Jack W. C. Hagstrom. |