Francois Villon. 
 
The Villon Society: 1892. Gilt-stamped vellum boards, slightly bowed. Mild soiling and fading on the exterior, spine darkened, some evidence of interior repair. Light foxing on the pages. Number 215 in a limited run of 250, this being Hart Crane's copy with his bookplate affixed to the front board. Good.
 
Unexpurgated translation of the original outlaw poet. Villon lived a short, mysterious life of hard partying, theft, murder, and eventually, exile. This finely crafted book links him to another infamous poet, Hart Crane, also known for his prodigious drinking and running afoul of the social mores of his day. That any of Crane's books survived his wild lifestyle and the subsequent passage of time after his early, untimely death in 1932, is a minor miracle; the fact that this is also the work of a kindred spirit is a major one.
 
"My days are quickly spent."