ELIOT, Thomas Stearns, Collected Poems (Faber and Faber, London), 1939 [third impression]

8vo; pp. 191

Poor condition: spine repaired with strong tape; countless inserts and annotations

An extraordinary object: a copy of Eliot’s Collected Poems that has been used as an archive over a period of nearly 70 years, from its first acquisition in 1939 (inscribed as such to the front endpaper) into the early years of the 21st century (dates on some inserts).

The book is prefaced with a card note, dated May 2006, which reads

Please note that this book must be kept in bag as it contains so many loose bits and is falling apart. Acquired by J.O. in 1938 or ’9, probably 9. Handle with care! The most read book in the house apart from dictionaries + similar reference books.

J.O. is John Olmsted, who apparently studied the text at a University of London Institute of Education course in 1955 – Neatly annotated handouts for this course are inserted throughout the book. Many further readings and periods of annotation are in evidence: cross referencing with T.S.E.’s biography, adding footnotes and comments...

A true archive in book form, and a record of continuous reading for c.70 years.