Arthur Symons — For Api

London, Privately Printed at the Chiswick Press, 1913 . First edition. Cloth. An exceptional copy of the vanishingly scarce first edition of Arthur Symons's tribute to his beloved black dog, Api. Detailing the arrival of Api in their family, and his death and the aftermath. The vanishingly scarce first edition of this privately printed work from British poet, critic, translator and magazine editor Arthur Symons.In the publisher's original plain protective dust wrapper.This is a short, moving work in which Symons mourns the death of his pet dog, Api. He identifies Api as 'small, black, and has no tail', and explains that he died on Christmas Day, 1907. The work concludes with a passage in which Symons compares and contrasts love of a dog with love of a woman: 'both are in their way helpless and speechless [..] they draw out of us all our love and all our cruelty&apos. In the publisher's original cloth binding, with protective plain dust wrapper. Externally, fine. Dust wrapper back strip age tone, with loss to back strip head and tail, and chips and loses to rear wrap head and tail, and closed tear to front wrap tail. Internally, firmly bound. Pages clean and bright. Fine . Ill.: None. Fine/Good.