Two Poems for Christmas

(Palo Alto): Privately printed, 1958. Folded, dented, marked from handling, with original mailing envelope. Folding broadsheet, 16-1/2 x 7-3/4 in. rag paper, folded in thirds and printed on both sides in black and red; with separate handwritten greeting on gray laid paper. "I Have Lighted the Candles, Mary" (1941) and "Nothing Has Changed" (1958), one of 200 copies (unstated) printed by letterpress for distribution to friends as a Christmas card. The colophon states: "Hand-set in Baskerville Types and printer by John Hunter Thomas on rag papers of the last century which were used in the preservation of botanical specimens." The printer was a Stanford botanist and hobbyist printer. Three panels as well as the verso of handwritten greeting (by Miriam Patchen) are embellished by original drawings in pencil and ink, although whether by Kenneth or Miriam Patchen is unclear. A partially legible inscription reads " . . . Very drunk - that is what you will see. . ." All of the sketches are of faces. It is also possible that the drawings were made by the recipient of the Christmas greeting, Charles Mills, a composer and jazz musician who set some of Patchen poems to music. Morgan B4.