I bought this beautiful book from one of my pickers last summer. The cover captivated me, and I know I leafed through it quickly before putting on one of my bookshelves. There was no time then to actually read it or even look at it closely, but this morning I pulled it from the shelf and sat down with it.
Oh. My.
What a beauty this book is! My copy was published in 1882 but the condition is incredible. The pages are of heavy, low-sheen paper, and are filled with poems about home, and the most beautiful Victorian illustrations.
There are 249 pages in all, and included are poems by some poets we all might recognize: Elizabeth Barrett Brown, Robert Burns, William Wordsworth, Sir Walter Scott, John Greenleaf Whittier, Samuel Coleridge, Robert Herrick, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and many others.
There are poets whose names are not familiar to me, too: Helen Hunt Jackson, Samuel Sumner, May Riley Smith, etc. While most of the poems are rhyming and written in standard forms, there are some more experimental pieces too. The creators of the engravings in the book are identified for the most part, although some seem to be anonymous pieces.
It is hard to believe this lovely book survived in such good condition; the gold on the cover shines like new, and the binding is surprisingly tight.
I spent a happy hour or two just browsing, reading pieces here and there and marveling at the engravings. A pleasurable way to spend a rainy, foggy morning.
There is only one copy available on Amazon, and although the condition doesn't sound quite as good as mine, still for $15 I think it is a fine buy for anyone looking for something to remind them of the pleasures of home. And those illustrations are worth every penny.
Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.
