Collection of the three earliest editions of Gelett Burgess's beloved nonsense poem THE PURPLE COW, demonstrating the rhyme's increasing popularity — including the scarce first printing of THE LARK, where the poem first appeared.
Overall very good plus.
Price: $1,500.00
"I never saw a Purple Cow, / I never hope to see one; / But I can tell you, anyhow, / I'd rather see than be one."
Humorist and occasional rabble-rouser Gelett Burgess founded the little magazine THE LARK after his resignation from his instructor post at Berkeley — following his involvement in the toppling of a statue of a noted pro-temperance figure. The first number of THE LARK, featuring Burgess writing under an array of amusing pseudonyms, contains what would become his most famous work: a four-line nonsense poem about a strangely colored bovine. It was the preeminent piece of the number, and received a standalone publication the same year, followed by a more deluxe hardcover edition a few years later. Burgess's love-hate relationship with the poem is neatly encompassed by a rhyme that appears above a self-portrait at the end of the 1899 edition: "Ah, yes, I wrote the "Purple Cow" – / I'm sorry, now, I wrote it; / But I can tell you Anyhow / I'll Kill you if you Quote it!" All three of these titles are scarce individually. Together, they make a delightful assemblage.
San Francisco: William Doxey, 1895; [1899]. Three items: The Lark No. 1; The Purple Cow! (1895); The Purple Cow! (1899). 7.5'' x 5.5'' (1895 editions); 9.25'' x 6'' (1899 edition). 1895 volumes in original black-and-white pictorial wrappers, saddle-stapled; 1899 volume in original purple boards. All illustrated in black and white, THE LARK with loose plate in brown tones as issued. THE LARK with [12] unopened pages; PURPLE COW (1895) with [12] pages on textured paper; PURPLE COW (1899) with [32] pages. All housed in black clamshell box. Wrappers of 1895 volumes with light edgewear and toning, a bit of chipping to THE LARK; boards of 1899 volume with some wear and mild warping, a bit of edgewear carefully filled. String binding of 1899 volume detached from boards. Leaves of 1895 editions with some toning, a bit of chipping to THE LARK, PURPLE COW (1895) with a few careful repairs to margins. All sound and complete.
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