LORD TENNYSON’S WORKS — POEMS I & II Annotated by Alfred Lord Tennyson | Edited by

Hallam, Lord Tennyson Macmillan and Co., Limited, St. Martin’s Street, London — 1908 The

Eversley Edition | Half Leather | Gilt-Tooled Raised-Band Spines

The Eversley Edition — Tennyson’s definitive annotated collected works.

The Eversley Edition of Tennyson’s Works, published by Macmillan in 1907–1908, is the

authoritative collected edition of the poet’s work — annotated by Tennyson himself and edited by

his son Hallam, Lord Tennyson. The complete set comprises nine volumes. These two volumes

contain the Poems: Volume I includes “The Talking Oak,” “Love and Duty,” “The Golden Year,”

“Ulysses,” “Tithonus,” “Locksley Hall,” “Godiva,” “The Day-Dream,” “The Sleeping Beauty,” “The

Sleeping Palace,” “The Arrival,” “The Revival,” “The Departure,” “Moral,” “L’Envoi,” “Epilogue,”

“Audley Court,” “St. Agnes’ Eve,” “Sir Galahad,” and more. Volume II continues with the major

poems of the 1840s–1860s.

The Frontispiece Portrait

Volume I opens with a sepia portrait frontispiece captioned: “Alfred, Lord Tennyson, from a

portrait in the possession of Hallam, Lord Tennyson. Drawn by G.F. Watts, R.A., August, 1891.”

George Frederic Watts (1817–1904) was one of the most celebrated portrait painters of the

Victorian era, and his portraits of Tennyson are among the most iconic images of the Poet

Laureate. This frontispiece is toned at the edges but the portrait itself is clear and striking.

The Lynde Selden Provenance

Both volumes bear two bookplates on the front pastedown: a heraldic bookplate with a coat of

arms, the family motto “Liberty above all things,” and the name “Selden” in script; and a

circular Ex Libris label reading “Ex Libris / Lynde Selden.”

Lynde Selden (1892–1972) was a retired executive of the American Express Company who died

at age 80 in Greenwich, Connecticut. His obituary was published in the New York Times on

September 27, 1972. The Selden bookplate is documented in the collection of the American

Antiquarian Society. The Selden family has deep American roots, and the heraldic bookplate

reflects the family’s long-established identity. These volumes passed through the hands of a

genuine American figure of standing.

Condition

Half leather bindings in Good condition — gilt-tooled spines with raised bands, blue-gray cloth

boards. Volume I shows some leather wear at the lower spine; Volume II is cleaner. Title pages

show light moisture staining at the bottom margin. Interior pages toned but clean and legible.

Full condition details in photographs.