This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/1/2023
BARNITZ, David Park (1877-1902). The Book of Jade. New York: Doxey’s at the Sign of the Lark, [1901].
Small 8vo. Original pictorial black cloth stamped in yellow and red, top edge gilt, others uncut (faint stain on upper cover, ends a bit worn, hinges cracked, indecipherable ownership signature on front pastedown).
FIRST EDITION, LIMITED ISSUE, number 555 of 600 copies. Barnitz, an Orientalist scholar and bright Harvard graduate, at the young age of twenty-three “was addicted to all drugs, and had a background of extraordinary experiences. Held the curious pose of an aristocratic man of the world, combined with all his bizarre and degenerate predilections and desires…Died at his Kansas home, a victim of drugs and resulting ill health. Except for the manuscript of ‘Chave’… The Book of Jade is his only work” (early typed biography tipped to front free endpaper). Barnitz dedicated this work to the French poet Charles Baudelaire who often wrote of his experience of drug-induced states of mind. A Horowitz high spot.