Composition as Explanation.
Stein, Gertrude COMPOSITION AS EXPLANATION London Published by Leonard & Virginia Woolf at The Hogarth Press 1926 12mo; light greenish-grey paper covered boards; spine stamped in black; front and rear covers decorated with bold abstract design; previous owner's signature; spine a tad used, rear endpapers, covers faded as is common for this volume; else a handsome copy of a delicate production, the pages fresh and bright.
First edition of one of Stein's most famous manifestos on the art of writing. Issued (without dustwrapper) as Number One in the Hogarth Essays, Second Series -- the decorated boards are thought to have been executed by Vanessa Bell, although the artist is strangely uncredited. The number of copies printed is unknown, but was certainly small (1000 constituted a large run at the time for the Woolf's private press; the print run on this volume was almost certainly less than that). This is Stein's eight book length publication and the only Stein work ever published by Virginia Woolf. Woolmer, A CHECKLIST OF THE HOGARTH PRESS, 110; Wilson, GERTRUDE STEIN: A BIBLIOGRAPHY, A8.
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