Catalogue of American Poetry, Comprising Duplicates from the Collection of the Late C. Fiske Harris, of Providence, R. I.
Providence: For Sale by Wm. T. Tibbitts, 1883. Item #823 Square 12mo. 170 x 135 mm., [6 ¾ x 5 ¼ inches]. 83 pp. Original plain blue paper wrappers stitched as issued; front wrappers missing, spine chipped, title-page chip at corners and at spine, but intact; light water staining throughout. A bit fragile but sound. This copy with pencil notes on first leaf that indicate a previous owner used this as a guide to his own collection, marking books that he owned with a “C”, those he sold with a symbol of a “check”. Called by some the first American catalogue devoted to American poetry, this list of books includes 1,078 titles for sale, each described in short-title format and priced. Some of the descriptions include short annotations giving some historical reference to the work. The collection contains many 18th century imprints, including the 1723 edition of Gloria Britannorum printed by James Franklin of Boston for $ 3.00, Freneau’s Poems, Monmouth, N.J., 1795 for $6.50, and two copies of Wheatley’s Poems, London 1773 priced at $3.50 each and the Walpole, N.H. edition printed in 1802 for $ 1.50.
Price: $300.00