My Gift and Greeting, And Other Gems of Thought from the Poets

London: Ernest Nister, 1890. Stiff wraps. Very good +. No date [c. 1890]. Printed by E. Nister at Nuremburg (Bavaria).
12mo; [16pp]; gilt stamped stiff scalloped-edge wrapper with chromolithographed pastoral scene in a fan shaped cartouche to front; gold cord binding; all edges gilt; decorated title page; 7 full page sepia illustrations with titles; light shelf soiling; very good plus. Features poetry from: Clifton Bingham (1859-1913), E. [Edith] Nisbet (1858-1924), [Henry Wadsworth] Longfellow (1807-1882), Adelaide Procter (1825-1864), and HMW, presumably Helen Maria Williams (1761-1827). All included poets are British with the exception of Longfellow. Bingham was not only a poet but a lyricist and frequently wrote for children. Nister's selection of poets may be most interesting for his choice of women. All three were social activists and non-conformist. Nesbit was a political activist and co-founder of the Fabian Society, Procter was a feminist and champion of the unemployed and homeless, and Williams was an ex-patriot living in France. She was a religious dissenter and abolitionist, a supporter of the ideals of the French Revolution she spent some time in a French jail.