A book of poems inscribed by WB Yeats to his “first lover” was sold for $15,000 (€10,400) at an auction in New York today.
The volume of poems by William Blake was given to the English novelist, Olivia Shakespear, by the Irish poet in 1896.
Yeats embarked on a short-lived romance with Shakespear in 1896 which ended because, by his own admission, he could not rid the image of Maud Gonne from his mind.
However, both remained close friends and confidants for the rest of their lives.
The book was sold at Doyle New York's rare book auction from the estate of Omar Shakespear, Olivia Shakespear's grandson, a poet and translator in his own right, who died last year.
