18 x 12 cm. 2 sheets, 44 pages. Contemporary original cloth binding with colored paper endpapers. - First edition. In the fall of 1899, the collection of poems "Romantic Songs" was published as the first independent publication by E. Pierson. Hesse contributed 175 marks to the production costs. The print run was 600 copies, of which only 54 had been sold by January 1900. The poems were written in 1897 and 1898. After compilation, only a few weeks passed before publication. "How important this little book seemed to me in the fall of 1899 when I held the first copy of my first book in my hand! I have remained true to what I began back then, but it was a laborious path, and the effort was not worth it," quoted from Mileck. From the collection of Hermann Hesse's personal physician and friend Karl Huck (1880-1947), with a handwritten dedication on the title page to his wife Ida. A very fine copy of this rare publication. - Wilpert/Gühring 2/1. - Mileck II,1.