Selected Poems — The Folio Society | John Betjeman | 2004 | First Impression | Drawings by Peter Bailey | Fine in Slipcase

A fine first impression of the Folio Society's celebrated 2004 edition of Selected Poems by Sir John Betjeman — Britain's best-loved Poet Laureate, and one of the great originals of twentieth-century English verse.

Edited and introduced by Alan Powers, this selection draws from across Betjeman's career, from the early wit and ebullience of Mount Zion (1932) through to the elegiac late poems of A Nip in the Air (1974), presenting the full range of a poet whose combination of comic genius, technical brilliance, and profound melancholy made him a national institution. The introduction offers a perceptive and affectionate account of Betjeman's place in English literature and culture.

Bound in cloth printed with a cheerful, characteristically English design by Peter Bailey — vignettes of church towers and cyclists set against a cream and taupe patterned ground — with the author's name and title in bold display lettering. Illustrated throughout with Bailey's drawings. Typeset in Walbaum and printed on Blackfriars Wove Paper by Cambridge University Press. 222 pp.

Housed in the original maroon card slipcase.

This copy is in fine, first impression condition throughout — cloth bright and fresh, pages clean and unmarked, binding tight, slipcase sound and clean. An excellent example of one of Folio's most charming poetry productions of the 2000s.

A delightful gift or addition to any collection of English poetry or fine Folio Society editions.