SONGS AND OTHER VERSE

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1896. No. 77 OF 150 COPIES on Holland paper. 210 x 125 mm. (8 1/4 x 4 7/8"). 3 p.l., ix-xi, [1], 217, [1] pp.
Publisher's half vellum over pale blue boards, smooth spine lettered in gilt, top edge gilt, in a (slightly worn), probably early 20th century, blue cloth chemise. Title and first page of text printed in black and red. Front pastedown with armorial bookplate of Eugene Field (see below). BAL 5819. Faint offsetting from chemise (on pastedown) and from tissue guard (on title page), otherwise A VERY FINE COPY, the text with only the most trivial imperfections, and the binding especially clean.

This is a particularly well-preserved copy of a limited edition of a posthumous collection of Field's poetry, covering the gamut of styles he explored during his career. There are idylls inspired by the Greek poet Bion, a love song in the manner of Heine, and an "Egyptian Folk Song" in addition to charming verses for children and humorous poems about Western characters. A journalist by trade, Field (1850-95) began inserting amusing verses into his newspaper column while writing for the St. Louis Times-Journal, but warned "Don’t ever call my stuff poetry." His forays into writing for children produced classics like "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" and "The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat," and earned him the sobriquet "the poet of childhood." ANB attributes his enduring appeal to "his subject matter . . . the fireside and family, nostalgic reminiscences of an age of innocence." The "Eugene Field" bookplate at the front could not have been affixed by the author, since he died the year before publication; it may well have been put there by Eugene Field II (1887–1944), a notorious forger who at various times and places forged his father's signature as well as those of writers Bret Harte, Rudyard Kipling and Mark Twain as well as presidents Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. (RBH records additional copies of "Songs and Other Verse" at auction in 1954 and 1936 with a "Eugene Field" bookplate.) Whether our dust jacket was issued with the volume (we've found no evidence of such a publisher's jacket) or added by an early owner (Eugene the son?), it has certainly done its job of keeping the covers here especially clean and bright..