THE PASSING OF THE BACKHOUSE" WHEN MEMORY KEEPS ME COMPANY AND MOVES TO SMILES OR TEARS/ A WEATHER-BEATEN OBJECT LOOMS THROUGH THE MIST OF YEARS,/ BEHIND THE HOUSE AND BARN IT STOOD, A HALF A MILE OR MORE,/ AND HURRYING FEET A PATH HAD MADE, STRAIGHT TO ITS SWINGING DOOR..
1900 · [n.p.
by [Riley, James Whitcomb; Dodd, Robert Leonard]
[n.p., 1900. Broadside poem, 5" x 10-1/4". 48 lines, Very Good.
A humorous poem, attributed to James Whitcomb Riley, Robert Leonard Dodd, and others. An early printing in leaflet form carries the statement: "An Unpublished Poem by James Whitcomb Riley found among his manuscripts after his death." BAL attributes it to Robert Leonard Dodd. Other sources attribute it to Charles T. Rankin, who held a copyright to the poem. Russo & Russo's BIBLIOGRAPHY OF JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY discusses the lack of evidence to conclude Riley's authorship. Whoever the true author may be, this poem was amusing enough to continue to be reprinted and quoted to the present day.
BAL VII:270. Russo & Russo 233. (Inventory #: 36107)
A humorous poem, attributed to James Whitcomb Riley, Robert Leonard Dodd, and others. An early printing in leaflet form carries the statement: "An Unpublished Poem by James Whitcomb Riley found among his manuscripts after his death." BAL attributes it to Robert Leonard Dodd. Other sources attribute it to Charles T. Rankin, who held a copyright to the poem. Russo & Russo's BIBLIOGRAPHY OF JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY discusses the lack of evidence to conclude Riley's authorship. Whoever the true author may be, this poem was amusing enough to continue to be reprinted and quoted to the present day.
BAL VII:270. Russo & Russo 233. (Inventory #: 36107)