Songs of Summer
Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1857. First Edition. 12mo, viii, 229, [12] pages, publisher's original brown cloth covered boards. Sides blind stamped with an arrangement of double rules with a single leaf at the corners. Publisher's catalog in the rear dated April 1857. Songs of Summer (Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1867) is a collection of lyric poetry by Richard Henry Stoddard, one of the central figures of mid-19th-century American letters and a prominent voice in the New York literary circle. This copy is inscribed by Stoddard, “S. Coleman with regards of R. H. Stoddard,” very likely to Samuel Coleman (1844–1920), the American artist, etcher, and critic who moved within the same literary–artistic milieu. The presentation inscription places the book firmly within the cultural networks of the period and elevates it from a signed example to an appealing association copy, linking a noted poet with a contemporary visual artist and critic. Issued by the important Boston firm of Ticknor and Fields, the volume represents Stoddard at the height of his career and is increasingly uncommon in inscribed form, particularly with a meaningful contemporary association.
BAL 19070, binding A. Slight rubbing and wear to top and bottom of spine, else in very good + condition. Item #210
Price: $375.00