Literature & Literary Studies

Although Willa Cather lived most of her adult life in New York City, she never forgot or stopped loving the "sea of grass"--the open, untamed country of her youth. Gathered together in this unique collection are the novel O Pioneers!--Cather's famous elegy to the land and to the pioneer spirit--and two of her greatest shorter works, A Lost Lady and "The Bohemian Girl." An evocative celebration of Cather's life and work, this special Collector's Edition is illustrated with portraits of Cather and a selection of photographs and drawings that capture the grandeur of the Western frontier.

A Secret Location on the Lower East Side, based on a 1998 exhibition at The New York Public Library, documents the confluence of the New American Poetry with the mimeo revolution. The various strains identified in Donald Allen's watershed anthology The New American Poetry, 1945-1960 (Grove, 1960)--Beat, Black Mountain, New York School, San Francisco Renaissance, and others--extended into and evolved throughout the 60s and 70s, finding expression in "underground" magazines and presses. Focusing on the small press publishing scene on the West Coast and in downtown New York City, this book offers a glimpse into that mimeo revolution, through descriptions and checklists for over 80 

In this controversial novel, Edith Wharton leveled her most biting critique at the limitations that her society placed upon the ambitious woman. In the novel, Wharton's magnificent anti-heroine, Undine Spragg, ruthlessly sells herself to whatever man she believes can provide her with the success she desires; the character is viciously and precisely rendered by the author. With photographs by Alvin Langdon Coburn and drawings by Charles Dana Gibson, this Collector's Edition evokes the atmosphere of nineteenth-century New York, and brings us closer to the author herself, with letters in her hand and other archival traces of her life from the Library's special collections.

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The New York Public Library Collector's Editions

Favorite masterpieces of world literature illustrated by rare and beautiful materials from the Library's collections and featuring an elegant, distinctive design, with foil-trimmed covers with matching endpapers; compact, easy-to-hold size; and modern, readable type. Each book includes a biography of the author, a short essay about the images and artifacts from the Library used to illustrate the text, and suggestions for further reading.