Poems (1869-70), The Exhumation Proofs Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1 1869 October 30
<artist/> <location/> <bibl/> <note/> </citnpictorial> <citnmythic> <name/> <culture/> <bibl/> <note/> </citnmythic> <citnhistorical> <event/> <place/> <date/> <bibl/> <note/> </citnhistorical> <citnautobiographical> <name/> <place/> <date/> <bibl/> <note/> </citnautobiographical> <citnscenic> <place/> <date/> <bibl/> <note/> </citnscenic> </listcitn> </source> <commentaries> <head>Commentary</head> <section type="intro"> <head>Introduction</head> <p>Although Fraser says that <cit>“The two heavily annotated partial copies in the Troxell Collection are unique” (<bibl> <xref doc="a.pulc.002.rad" link="dead" from="163" workcode="1-1870">Fraser</xref>, <pages>163</pages> </bibl>)</cit>, this statement is not correct. Indeed, the only complete copy of these proofs is not in the Troxell Collection at all, it is in the Huntington Library. It is bound together with a nearly perfect copy of the <xref doc="a.1-1870.tb1.raw">First Trial Book</xref>, first state. This <xref doc="a.1-1870.exhum.hunt.rad" workcode="1-1870">Huntington Copy</xref> of the Exhumation Proofs appears to be the only complete copy to have survived. It represents the second issue of these proofs and belonged to F. S. Ellis, DGR's publisher. Lewis (see <title level="bk"> <hi rend="i"> <xref doc="a.z1024.l49.rad" link="dead" from="187">The Trial Book Fallacy</xref> </hi> 187) does not record its existence.

The Exhumation Proofs print the poems that DGR wanted to recover from the volume of poetry he buried in his wife's coffin in 1862. This volume was removed from the grave on 5 October, at which point DGR began copying out the poems he wanted and revising them. When he had completed the process of copying and revising, he sent the texts to the printer. The first issue of the proofs was printed off on 30 October 1869, and a second issue was printed sometime thereafter to incorporate changes DGR made in the first issue. Collating the several copies shows that DGR used copy 1 of the first issue as his own working copy. He must have sent copy 2 to Ellis with corrections for the texts of the first five poems only. The second issue of the proofs was then pulled as DGR was still correcting <xref doc="a.1-1848.s55.raw">Dante at Verona</xref> (pages 47-67).

Six poems were printed in the Exhumation proofs: <xref doc="a.1-1849.raw">A Last Confession</xref> (pages [1]-21), <xref doc="a.3-1848.raw">Jenny</xref> (pages 23-37), <xref doc="a.50-1869.raw">The Portrait</xref> (pages 39-41), <xref doc="a.43-1849.raw">The Sea-Limits</xref> (pages 43-44), the first of the three <xref doc="a.2-1849.s102.raw">“Old and New Art”</xref> sonnets, “St. Luke the Painter” (page 45), and <xref doc="a.1-1848.s55.raw">Dante at Verona</xref> (pages 47-67).

Textual History: Composition

Textual History: Revision

Production History

Reception

Iconographic

Printing History

Pictorial

Historical

Literary

Translation

Autobiographical

Bibliographic

Troxell, “The Trial Books” , 184-187 . Fraser, “The Rossetti Collection of Janet Camp Troxell” , 163 . Lewis, <hi rend="i"> <xref doc="a.z1024.l49.rad" link="dead" from="187">The Trial Book Fallacy</xref> </hi> , 187 .

 Huntington Exhumation Proof Poems (1870): Exhumation Proofs, Second Issue (complete), Huntington copy Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1869 November (early November) 0 Poems (1870): Exhumation Proofs, First Issue (partial), Princeton/Troxell (copy 1) Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1869 October 30 (late October) 0 Poems (1870): Exhumation Proofs, First Issue (partial), Princeton/Troxell (copy 2) Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1869 October 30 (late October) 0 Poems (1870): Exhumation Proofs, Second Issue (partial), Princeton/Troxell (copy 1) Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1869 November (early November) 0 Exhumation Proofs for the 1870 Poems, Second Issue, copy 2 Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1869 November (early November) 0