The Kasîdah by Sir Richard Burton | 1931 Illustrated Edition | Philosophical Copy w/ Provenance
$165.00
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📖 No One Else Can Tell It — A Provenance Statement
“Oh you told me exciting things. These are things that no one else can ever tell me. Remember that. No one else can ever tell me the things you told me.”
— Joyce Hanson, San Bernardino Oral History Project (2003), in conversation with Madeline Switzer
This book carries more than poetry. It carries memory—etched in pencil stars, inked in a sister’s gift, pressed into a bookplate designed by a woman who once wired voices across the air.
First owned by Helene G. Switzer, one of America’s early radio engineers and an Occidental College graduate, then inscribed by her sister Madeline Switzer, a seamstress, public historian, and storyteller whose 2003 oral history interview lives on in the San Bernardino Public Library archive. The recipient, Richard Pierse, may have been a cousin—Helene and Madeline’s mother was born a Pierce—or another thoughtful steward in their extended community.
Later, the book entered the library of Dr. Martin Lockley, the Welsh-American evolutionary scientist and philosopher. His faint pencil star notations ("✶")—visible throughout—mark moments of resonance and reflection.
Together, these hands formed a quiet chain of thinkers, readers, and collectors. Scientists. Storytellers. Women who built memory into the walls of public life.
There is only one like it. Once gone, it cannot be told again.
✨ The Kasîdah of Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî
Illustrated by Willy Pogány | David McKay Company, 1931
From the Martin Lockley Library | Ex Libris: Helene G. Switzer
Appears to Be Signed by Illustrator (See Photos)
This 1931 edition of The Kasîdah—Sir Richard Burton’s visionary metaphysical poem written in the voice of a fictional Sufi mystic—is a rare blend of literary invention and visual grace. Illustrated in luminous black-and-white by Willy Pogány, the work is Burton’s philosophical response to The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.
It is not a translation, but a literary artifact of spiritual inquiry—a book of fate, humility, doubt, and eternity.
🔎 Provenance & Markings
• Dr. Martin Lockley Library — includes Lockley’s faint pencil stars (“✶”), a known reading mark in his philosophical texts
• Ex Libris bookplate of Helene G. Switzer — early broadcast engineer and community builder
• Gift inscription from Madeline Switzer to Richard Pierse, possibly a cousin or peer in California's civic circle
• Signature in pencil believed to be that of illustrator Willy Pogány, consistent with known examples (not authenticated)
đź“š Book Details
• Title: The Kasîdah of Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî
• Author: Sir Richard Burton
• Illustrator: Willy Pogány
• Publisher: David McKay Company, Philadelphia
• Year: 1931
• Format: Hardcover, illustrated boards and spine titles
• Pages: Unnumbered; poetry and full-page plates
• Size: Approx. 9.25" x 6.75"
đź“– Condition
• Clean pages, crisp deckled edges
• Faint, thoughtful pencil marks (Lockley notation)
• Light rubbing to corners and spine crown
• Front endpaper shows Switzer bookplate + handwritten inscription
• Pogány-like pencil signature appears on illustrated plate (see close-ups)
📦 Shipping & Wrapping
• Ships archivally wrapped with full insurance
• Free U.S. shipping | International calculated at checkout
• Gift-ready note available by request
🕯️ Final Offering
Let this volume serve as both relic and companion—its verses undimmed, its margins gently starred by minds who read with reverence. Whether drawn to Burton’s metaphysical experiment or Pogány’s spectral lines, this is a book for the seeker’s shelf—a gift of thought carried forward, across hands, disciplines, and time.
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Do you ship internationally?
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Do you ship internationally?
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That said, if you’re located internationally and see something you love, you’re welcome to reply to a Dispatch email or join the mailing list and send a note. I occasionally make exceptions for subscribers on a case-by-case basis.
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Do you ship internationally?
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That said, if you’re located internationally and see something you love, you’re welcome to reply to a Dispatch email or join the mailing list and send a note. I occasionally make exceptions for subscribers on a case-by-case basis.
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