Poems of the "Old South

Boston: Old South Fair Committee, 1879. POETRY. The rare deluxe autograph edition, published two years after the trade edition. Signed or inscribed by each of the six poets. Small octavo (7 1/8 x 5 3/4 inches; 180 x 147 mm). [2], 35, [1, blank] pp. With a sheet signed by each of the authors inserted to face the beginning of their respective poem. With frontispiece, historiated initials and engraved vignettes throughout. Publisher's original red-brown cloth binding bound in at the back.

Beautifully bound by Grabau in full nineteenth-century brown morocco. Boards stamped in gilt with green and red morocco floral onlay. Spine lettered and stamped in gilt with red and green morocco onlay. Gilt board edges. Gilt dentelles. Tan watered silk endpapers. Top edge gilt. With previous owner's armorial bookplate on front free endpaper, and inscription in old ink on front fly-leaf. Housed in a brown cloth slipcase. An about fine copy.

Provenance: The bookplate in this copy is or Roy Arther Hunt. The inscription on the facing page reads "To Roy Arthur Hunt, a descendant of Reverend Thomas Thacher the first Pastor of the Old South Church. Born in England, May 1, 1620. Installed as Pastor of Old South, February 16, 1670. Died in Boston, October 15, 1678."

"The Old South Meeting House, also known as the Old South Church (Boston, Mass.), was built in 1729 as a Puritan meeting house. It was an assembly spot for prominent meetings from colonial times through the American revolution. The building was restored after the revolution and remained an active church until 1872. It was saved from demolition in 1877 when it was established as a museum. A volume was published to help raise funds for the preservation entitled, Poems of the "Old South" (Boston: William F. Gill & Co., 1877). It was published again in 1879 by the Old South Fair Committee. Both published versions include a note on verso of the title page: 'Published for the benefit of the Old South preservation fund.'" (Harvard, Houghton Library).

It is estimated that less than 100 copies of this edition were produced, and has been considered the rarest limited signed edition of nineteenth century American literature. "The book was first published in 1877 and features works that reflect the culture, history, and traditions of the American South during the antebellum period. The poems in this collection cover a wide range of themes, including love, nature, patriotism, slavery, and the Civil War." (Amazon).

BAL 9134.

HBS 69242.

$4,500.