Travelling Without a Valid Ticket Howard Sergeant 1982 1st Ed Signed Poetry
 
Title & Bibliographic Details
 
Travelling Without a Valid Ticket By Howard Sergeant
Signed by the author on the title page.
Published 1982 by Rivelin Press, Bradford
ISBN: 0-904524-39-6
Design and printing by Tony Ward
Typeset by Bryan Williamson at Arc & Throstle Press, Waterside Mill, Todmorden.
Illustration on the title page by Jean Sergeant.
Cover illustration by D. Godfrey.
 
Edition Statement
 
This edition was limited to 1000 copies, of which 26 copies were specially lettered A–Z and signed by the author.
This copy is signed by the author but is not lettered, meaning it belongs to the standard limitation rather than the specially lettered issue.
As no later edition is recorded and the book was first issued by Rivelin Press in 1982, this is considered the first edition and first printing.
 
Historical & Bibliographic Context
 
This poetry sequence originally appeared in the South East Arts Review before being published in booklet form by the Yorkshire-based small press Rivelin Press.
Small press poetry publishing flourished in Britain during the late twentieth century, providing an important platform for contemporary poets outside mainstream commercial publishing.
Travelling Without a Valid Ticket is particularly personal in tone, reflecting on the author’s childhood at Cliffe Common near Selby and on his relationship with his grandfather, who worked on the railway.
 
About the Author
 
Howard Sergeant (1914–1993) was a highly influential figure in British poetry. He founded and edited Outposts Poetry Quarterly, one of the longest-running independent poetry magazines in Britain.
Over his career he edited nearly sixty anthologies and helped introduce many emerging poets to a wider audience through his Outposts Modern Poets Series.
His contributions to literature were widely recognised. He was awarded an MBE in 1978 for services to literature and later received the Henry Shore Award and the Dorothy Tutin Award for his work promoting poetry.
 
Binding & Exterior Description
 
The book is issued in staple-bound card covers with a colour illustration of a train on the front cover.
The booklet is housed in its original semi-transparent protective jacket, which carries the title on the front and additional publishing information on the inner flaps.
The jacket remains intact and has protected the book well, showing only:
light surface marks
a very small tear to the top edge
The underlying card cover remains clean, intact, and robust, with only very light wear consistent with age.
 
Interior Condition
 
The pages remain bright and well preserved.
They are generally neat, clean, and uncreased, with only:
occasional small or light marks
light rusting visible on the staples at the inner margin of pages 8–9
There are no tears to the pages.
There is no pen or pencil present other than the author’s signature on the title page.
The booklet remains tightly bound.
 
Physical Details
 
Pagination: 14 pages plus imprint page
Dimensions: 21.3 × 14 × 0.2 cm
Weight: Approximately 45 g
Binding: Staple-bound booklet
 
Rarity & Collector Notes
 
This publication was produced in a limited edition of 1000 copies, typical of British small press poetry publishing of the period.
Copies signed by the author appear only occasionally on the market and are desirable to collectors of:
modern British poetry
small press publishing
signed literary works
Yorkshire literary history
While not extremely rare, signed copies of limited press poetry booklets can be notably scarcer than standard unsigned examples.
 
Provenance
 
Signed on the title page by
Howard Sergeant.
No further ownership inscriptions are present.