Notebook in the autograph of Hugo Manning, copying out the beginning of his sequence of poems 'Beyond the Terminus of Stars'.

18pp., in a 16mo notebook. In good condition, in lightly-worn decorative paper boards. The entire volume is in Manning's autograph, with a title-page reading: 'BEYOND THE TERMINUS of STARS | A Sequence | HUGO MANNING | PHOENIX PRESS | LONDON | W.8 | First published in 1949'. Sections I ('What new life stirs in the worst of pain') to VIII ('Many wear masks in this pathological drama:') are copied out complete, and IX ('When the bird of sundown sheds its blood of darkness,') ending with the line 'Graduated in Lisbon at a cabaret for tourists,'. A fair copy, without any apparent revisions. It is unclear why Manning would have gone to this trouble, and why he broke off abruptly midway through section IX. Perhaps it was a gift for a friend (bought with a copy of Manning's "Modigliani" inscribed to Gerald Long and wife)..