The Religious Poems of Lionel Johnson [SIGNED & OWNED BY GLENWAY WESCOTT]

(Poetry) JOHNSON, Lionel; MEYNELL, Wilfrid

New York: The Macmillan Co., 1916. First American Edition. Hardcover. 4 5/8 X 7 1/2 Inches. 134 [6] PP. Very Good / Very Good. Item #9374

First American Edition in original grey cloth binding with gilt title stamping to front cover. Ownership signature of "Glenway Wescott / Monroe Wheeler" on the front pastedown in the hand of Wescott. While no direct evidence exists of Johnson having influenced Wescott, I would venture to say that his own keeping of this book meant it was important. We were lucky enough to obtain a few books that Wescott gave to friends Clark Dobson and Jack Horner in his final years. An exceptional association copy.

Glenway Wescott and Monroe Wheeler shared a long-term romantic and domestic partnership that lasted for decades, beginning in the 1920s. Their relationship was marked by deep mutual loyalty and intellectual companionship, even as it allowed for emotional complexity and openness, including their now famous trio that included George Platt Lynes. Living together both in Europe and the United States, they created a shared life centered on art, literature, and close friendships, forming a quietly enduring bond that supported each man’s creative and professional pursuits.

Glenway Wescott was an American novelist, essayist, and diarist whose work captured the emotional subtleties of human relationships with elegance and restraint. Born in Wisconsin in 1901, he became part of the expatriate literary scene in 1920s Europe, where his writing drew on both Midwestern roots and cosmopolitan influences. Though his published output remained relatively small, his reputation endured through the precision of his prose and the insight of his journals, which revealed a deeply reflective and observant mind. He was the model for the character Robert Prentiss in Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. Wescott is also cherished for his candor about his homosexuality in overtly homophobic times.

Monroe Wheeler was a central figure in shaping modern American cultural institutions. As a longtime director of publications and exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, he played a key role in defining how modern art was presented to the public. With a background in fine press publishing, he combined aesthetic discipline with intellectual curiosity, quietly influencing generations of artists, writers, and curators through his editorial vision and institutional leadership. Alongside Barbara Harrison, he established Harrison of Paris, a press publishing limited-edition deluxe hard-cover books. Barbara would later become Barbara Harrison Wescott after she married Glenway's brother Lloyd in 1935. The Press lasted from 1930 to 1934 although Barbara went on to fund Glenway's lavish lifestyle for most of his life. Barbara and Lloyd were extremely close with Glenway and Monroe. The four of them experienced live together through travel and the time they spent at Haymeadows, their New Jersey farm.

Price: $200.00