Songs of three centuries

Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1876. FIRST EDITION. First edition. In addition to being a writer, Whittier was a collector of poetry, songs and music. This anthology includes lyrics written by a number of famous celebrity-types that were certainly not known for their artistic endeavors. These include people such as Sir Walter Raleigh, Edmuch Spenser, George Herbert, Abraham Cowley, and Sir Humphry Davy, to name just a few. Others such as Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Thomas Browne, Milton, Joseph Addison, John Gay, Wordsworth, Walter Scott, Charles Lamb, and Longfellow are included as a nod to the more literary types. The list of authors (after the contents) is quite astounding.

Whittier (1807-92) grew up in a poor Quaker farming family. His first poem to be seen in print appeared in 1826 in the Newburyport Free Press, where the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison was editor. Under Garrison’s encouragement Whittier actively joined the abolitionist cause and edited newspapers in Boston and Hartford. He was associated with the Atlantic Monthly Magazine from 1857 until his death. Until the Civil War, he became increasingly involved in the abolitionist cause, serving in numerous capacities on the local, state and national levels. He was also involved in the formation of the Republican Party.

BAL, 11341.