H.L. MENCKEN. [Selection of work, by or with contributions from him]. N.Y. [etc.]: 1900-18.18 vols.

Henry Louis MENCKEN (1880-1956). [Selection of works, some by Mencken, some with contributions from him].  New York, Boston [and elsewhere]: 1900-1918. 18 works or part works, various sizes. Various bindings, most in excellent condition, see below). Provenance: Alexander F. Haas collection (most with reference numbers at the front, added by Haas). (18)

An interesting selection, mostly first editions (see below), generally in better than average condition.

‘H. L. Mencken was unquestionably the most provocative and influential journalist and cultural critic in twentieth-century America. … Edmund Wilson wrote: “Mencken’s mind . . . has all the courage in the world in a country where courage is rare.” That courage may sometimes have been coupled with an inflexible stubbornness that led him into positions hard to defend. But to succeeding generations of writers and readers, Mencken was the figure who had risked charges of heresy and sedition and almost single-handedly brought America into a new cultural era. To read him is to be plunged into an era whose culture wars were easily as ferocious as those of our own day, in the company of a critic of vast curiosity and vivacious frankness..’ (https://loa.org/books/331-prejudices-first-second-third-series).

Comprising:

1.New England Magazine Vol.XXII, No.3. May 1900. Octavo. Wrappers (soiled). ‘Auroral. A Poem’ by Mencken is on p.275.

2.The Bookman for April. New York: Dodd Mead & Company, 1902. Octavo. Wrappers (worn). ‘A Ballade of Protest’ by Mencken is on p.140.

3.The Red Book Magazine edited by Karl Edwin Harriman. Chicago: August 1906. Octavo. Wrappers. “The Last Cavalry Charge’ by Mencken is on pp.487-497.

4., 5. & 6.The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. 3 copies, different editions: 1. Boston and London: John W. Luce & Co ., 1908. 1st edition (with pp. 322-5). Cloth. Excellent. Frey 3a; 2. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1908. 1st English ed. 2 copies. Excellent and a bit bumped. Frey 3c.

7.Evolution: A Fantasy by Langdon Smith. Boston: John W. Luce & Co ., 1909. Octavo. First edition. Boards (rodent damage to both boards). “The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche,” by Mencken facing verse XIV. Fray B2

8.A Doll’s House.. Edited with introduction and notes, by … Mencken. Boston: John W. Luce & Co ., 1909. 12mo. First thus. Red cloth, t.e.g. (No d/j [not required?], otherwise excellent). Frey C1

9.Little Eyolf … Edited, with introduction and notes, by … Mencken. Boston: John W. Luce & Co ., 1909. 12mo. First thus. Red cloth, t.e.g. (rodent damage to edge of upper cover). Frey C2

10. & 11.Men versus the Man: A Correspondence between Robert Rives LaMonte, Socialist, and H. L. Mencken, Individualist. New York: Henry Holt & Co ., 1910. Octavo. 2 copies: a). dark red ribbed cloth, lettered in gilt. Annotations by a philosophy student. 1st issue binding ; b). orange/red cloth, lettered in black, later issue binding, dust-jacket. Frey A1.

12.The Gist of Nietzsche. Boston: John W. Luce & Co ., 1910. Small 8vo. Cloth, glassine wrapper (tears to wrapper otherwise excellent). Frey C3

13.A Book of Burlesques. New York: Knopf, April 1920. Octavo. Blue cloth, d/j. (d/j chipped). Frey 5c (?)

14.Blanchette and the Escape: Two Plays by Brieux with preface by H.L. Mencken. Boston: John W. Luce & Co., 1913. Octavo, first edition thus. Original cloth (Without d/j, spine very slightly faded, otherwise excellent). Frey B5

15.By Rail or Water published annually … vol. No 13. 1914 edition [Facts of Interest to Travelers and Importers]. Baltimore: Arthur W. Robson, [1913?]. “Strange, far-off places.” pp. 25-6. Octavo. Cloth with paper panel on upper cover (slight discoloration to paper panel, otherwise excellent). Frey B6.

16.Pistols for Two by Owen Hatteras. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1917.  (George Jean Nathan wrote the Mencken sketch; H. L. Mencken wrote the Nathan profile.) Small octavo. Red/purple wrappers. Excellent copy. Frey A3

17.Damn! A Book of Calumny. New York: Philip Goodman Co., 1918. Small octavo. Second printing. Blue/green cloth, gilt lettering, (v. slight discoloration to spine, no d/j but otherwise excellent). Frey 8b.

18.Damn! A Book of Calumny. New York: Philip Goodman Co., 1918. Small octavo. Fourth edition. Orange cloth, black lettering, (v. slight discoloration to upper cover, no d/j but otherwise excellent). Frey 8d.