First Edition ‘The Waste Land’ in Cotswolds sale

A 1923 first edition of TS Eliot’s epic classic The Waste Land is one of the leading lots in The Cotswold Auction Company’s June auction.

Eliot’s classic long poem was one of the most influential works of 20th-century literature, reflecting the sense of spiritual and cultural crisis that followed World War One. Rich in symbolism, it makes frequent references to classical literature and mythology, and established Eliot’s reputation as one of the greats of literary modernism.

The version up for auction – estimated at £1,800 to £2,500 – is a first edition published by Virginia Woolf and her husband Leonard’s Hogarth Press. The Woolf’s set up the publishing house to champion new and innovative writing, including members of the Bloomsbury Group of writers, artists and intellectuals – and Eliot.

While Eliot was not a formal member of the Bloomsbury Group, the Woolfs were the first to publish his epic poem in book form in the UK. Virginia Woolf typeset the poem herself.

Auctioneer Liz Poole said: “This is a historic first edition – published by Virginia Woolf and her husband in 1923, it was the first book publication of The Waste Land in the UK, though the poem had already appeared in book form in the US in 1922.”

The Cotswold Auction Company is offering ‘The Waste Land’ as part of its June 3 auction of Books, Medals, Militaria, Coins, Stamps and Collectables at its saleroom in Cheltenham.