8vo - 21 x 16.5 cm.; 52 pp. Black cloth on boards with a cream paper on spine and red lettering on same. This is one of the Ideogramic Series which was edited by Ezra Pound. At the time of printing, the series had 3 volumes in it of which this is #1. Pound provided the foreword and notes for this edition, subtitled "An Ars Poetica". No additional printings are noted. The notes which were finished by Pound from preliminary work by Fenollosa are commentaries on the ideograms themselves with paraphrased translations. Pound introduces his role in the finishing of the notes as being that of "a very ignorant man." The notes include 5 pages or plates of Chinese characters or ideograms. The DJ (clipped and in Brodart) is quite browned/yellowed with the back panel being quite soiled, stained and dirty. The DJ edges are chipped on the top with a tear on the front fly fold over. The book itself is tight, square and clean with the only defects of note being a browning of the cream paper on the spine, DJ shadiows on the free end papers, and a general but mild age-toning of the text paper. A previous owner's name has been blacked out on the ffep and there is a bookseller's (Bombay) stamp on the bottom of same.

Pound Poetry Ideograms Chinese Fenollosa Ars Poetica