Oak Knoll

Privately printed in an edition of 30 unnumbered copies for private distribution (Magee no.529; Broomfield A38a[1]). This copy has been inscribed by Robinson Jeffers to Melba Bennett on the title page: "To Melba / with all good wishes / Robin." There are glue traces on the lower front pastedown, indicating that a bookplate has been removed or fallen out, with a small newspaper clipping of Jeffers verse "FOR U. J." taken from the February 27, 1941 edition of The Washington Post affixed above it, with resultant offsetting to the following page.This is the second state, with a pp. 9-10 cancel leaf tipped to p. 11. This copy shows signs of foxing, else is very good or better.

Melba Berry Bennett (1901-1968), whose father Henry Berry made a fortune as a gold prospector in Alaska, married Francis "Frank" Bennett (1898-1973) in 1921 and graduated from Stanford University in 1922. The couple settled in Palm Springs, California where they owned and operated the Deep Well Guest Ranch. Melba was a writer and an active participant in community affairs. An interest in Robinson Jeffers led to Robinson Jeffers and the Sea (1936) and The Stone Mason of Tor House: The Life and Works of Robinson Jeffers (1966). Other books include Often I Wonder (1939), In Review: Poems (1946), Palm Springs Garden Book (1957), and a series of pamphlets titled Famous Libraries of Europe (1958-1968).

Foreword by Frederick Mortimer Clapp. This edition predates the trade printing of Hungerfield by two years. Sixteen of the thirty copies are held at institutions; incredibly scarce.