India’s Love Lyrics by Laurence Hope (1923 Decorative Reprint) - Exotic Poetry & Art Deco Binding 🌶️📜🌺

This volume is an authenticated later printing (1923) of India’s Love Lyrics, including The Garden of Kama, the highly popular and controversial poetry collection by Laurence Hope. Published by Dodd, Mead and Company, this book is a significant artifact of Edwardian and Jazz Age exoticism.

The book's collectible value is primarily secured by its high Aesthetic Premium—the unique, small-scale red decorative binding featuring a gilt lotus motif and ornate spine design. This piece is a strong acquisition for collectors who appreciate finely bound poetry and literature that defined the era's fascination with the British Raj.

2. About the Artwork/Book/Object 📖✍️✨

India’s Love Lyrics is a collection of deeply sensual and melancholy poems, presented as translations of verses by Indian poets. The poems explore themes of passionate love, loss, desire, and death, set against the atmospheric backdrop of India. The content list reveals the exotic, atmospheric settings, with titles like "Song of Khan Zada," "The Teak Forest," "Kashmiri Song by Juma," and "Afridi Love".

The book features the famous poem "Less than the Dust," which begins: "Less than the dust, beneath thy Chariot wheel, / Less than the rust, that never stained thy Sword, / Less than the trust thou hast in me, O Lord, / Even less than these!". The book's unusual small, compact format enhances its aesthetic appeal as a dedicated volume of verse, and the endpapers are a unique mottled tan and red.

3. About the Artist/Author/Maker ✍️🏛️

Laurence Hope is the pseudonym for Adela Florence Nicolson (1865–1904), a British poet who spent much of her adult life living in India. Her poetry, which was presented as translations of local love lyrics, was a massive commercial success but remains controversial due to its highly erotic themes and the ambiguous authorship.

Nicolson was married to a British Army officer, which allowed her to experience the social and cultural environment of the British Raj firsthand. Her tragic life, which ended in suicide shortly after her husband's death, added a layer of romantic melancholy to her published work. This volume confirms her identity with other collections, noting her as the "Author of 'Stars of the Desert,' 'Last Poems'".

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜

This book was printed in 1923, during the height of the Jazz Age and the final decades of the British Raj in India. The poetry, originally published two decades earlier, was instrumental in shaping the Western romantic view of the East as a place of exotic, unbridled passion.

The immense popularity of Hope's poetry reflects the Edwardian era's fascination with Orientalism and its use of exotic settings to explore themes considered taboo in polite English society. The book is a time capsule that documents a specific cultural moment where the romantic and the political merged under the umbrella of British imperialism. The poetry’s enduring popularity demonstrates the cultural power of these romanticized narratives during the interwar period.

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️

This volume is tailored for a Curator of Edwardian Decorative Arts and Poetry and a Scholar of British Colonial Literature. The Ideal Collector seeks editions that are aesthetically superior and represent the popular literary trends of the 20th century.

The book belongs in a collection focused on Poetic Translations, Women Authors of the British Raj, or Fine Decorative Bindings. The unique, small format and the visually striking gilt lotus and red binding make it an appealing display piece for a luxury library.

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️

This book is an authenticated later printing from 1923, making it 102 years old. As a later edition of a mass-market bestseller, it is a common edition. The later printing status mandates a mandatory deduction from the elusive 1902 First Edition.

The book's value is entirely secured by its Aesthetic Premium—the unique small format and the superior decorative binding with its ornate gilt stamping. The volume is a strong acquisition for its visual appeal and structural integrity, compensating for its commonality of content.

7. Condition 🔎📚✨

This is a 1923 hardcover reprint lacking the original dust jacket. The binding is a red cloth with black and gilt stamping.

• Positive Qualities:

  • The binding is tight and square, providing excellent structural integrity.

  • The gilt stamping on the spine and the lotus motif on the front board are crisp.

  • The unique small format is intact and structurally sound.

  • The interior text is clean and free of markings or foxing.

• Imperfections:

  • The cloth boards show moderate rubbing and shelf wear, typical for a book of this age.

  • The gilt on the spine shows light fading in the text box.

  • The pages are uniformly age-toned.

  • The absence of the original dust jacket mandates a significant deduction.

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

• The author, Adela Florence Nicolson (Laurence Hope), died tragically at the age of 39 by suicide in India, shortly after her husband's death from typhoid.

• The poems are presented as if told by local male voices, such as "Mahomed Akram" and "Khan Zada", a literary conceit that added to the book's exotic appeal.

• The content page reveals a poem titled "Less than the Dust," which was later set to music and became a famous song during the early 20th century.

• The dedication refers to the author as the "Author of 'Stars of the Desert,' 'Last Poems'," collections that cemented her reputation as a chronicler of Indian romanticism.

9. Supporting Information 🏷️📦💰

• Title: India’s Love Lyrics, including The Garden of Kama

• Author: Laurence Hope (Adela Florence Nicolson)

• Year of Publication: 1923 (Printing Date)

• Publisher: Dodd, Mead and Company

• Place of Origin: New York

• Format/Binding: Hardcover, Red Decorative Cloth Boards with Gilt Stamping (Small Format)

• Edition: Later Reprint Printing (Original Copyright 1902)

• Rarity: Common Edition, High Aesthetic Premium (Small Format)

• Verbatim Transcription of Inscription/Marking: None.