Wilde oscar

1878 · 2178 — Oxford: Thos. Shrimpton and Son 1878. First edition. First edition. 12mo. 16pp. Original grey-green printed wrappers. Exceedingly scarce first edition with the publisher's printed crest appearing on the cover of the wrappers as well as on the title page. and a vignette woodcut appears on the last page. The prestigious Newdigate Prize Oxford's top award for poetry dates to early 1800's and the winner for 1878 was the young Oscar Wilde. The pamphlet was issued in the same year as was common with many of the early prize winners and is considered Wilde's first publication in book form. He worked on the poem a few years earlier while touring Greece as a student at Oxford. An exemplary the finest we have seen with no wrinkling or central creases as was commonly seen from folding to place in a pocket. Very small nick out of two corners very slight barely detectable browning to covers else extremely clean and bright. Extremely scarce in this condition. 16pp. <br/><br/> Thos. Shrimpton and Son unknown books