An original painting of a young woman created and signed by Plath at age 16. Before she settled firmly on poetry in college, she seriously considered majoring in art. $135,000. Share on Facebook Tweet Forward via E-mail

Type Punch Matrix will feature more than two dozen items from the life and career of Sylvia Plath at the 64th annual New York Antiquarian Book Fair, April 4 - 7 at the Park Avenue Armory.

“Many of these items have never before been seen publicly,” said Rebecca Romney, co-founder of Type Punch Matrix. “For decades most were in the private collection of a friend of Plath’s mother Aurelia, and he acquired them directly from her. We’re excited to give people the chance to see these items in person for the first time.”

Among the most significant is a copy of Karl Jaspers’s Tragedy is Not Enough (1953), a book Plath used for one of her first classes at Cambridge in 1955. “It’s heavily underlined and annotated by Plath throughout,” said TPM co-founder Brian Cassidy. “But what is most remarkable and moving are two particular annotations.”

The first references her 1953 first suicide attempt and subsequent institutionalization, events that would inspire and inform her novel The Bell Jar. The second is a passage marked by Plath in Jaspers’s discussion of Shakespeare, specifically the characters Prospero and Ariel from The Tempest. “This section was underlined by Plath 10 years before her collection Ariel appeared," said Cassidy. "In many ways, you can see the beginnings of her two most famous books right here.”

Other highlights include:
the signed contract for Plath’s first appearance in Seventeen magazine, an important early supporter of her writing

original works of art by Plath, including a Fauvist-inspired gouache portrait of a young woman

a juvenile poem The Snowflake Star written entirely in her hand

a mimeographed reading list for one of her sophomore English classes at Smith College, with notes in her hand about an upcoming blind date

These items will be displayed alongside important editions from throughout Plath’s career including her first separate publication, A Winter Ship, one of only 60 copies printed, as well as a beautiful example of the true first edition of The Bell Jar, published under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas.

“Taken as a whole, we hope the collection presents an intimate and revealing look at one of our most enduring and influential poets,” said Romney. “It’s also a great introduction to the delights of collecting and the excitement of the New York Book Fair.”