{"product_id":"1871-first-edition-william-cullen-bryant-s-the-song-of-the-sower-42-wood-engravings-including-winslow-homer","title":"1871 First Edition—William Cullen Bryant’s The Song of the Sower—42 Wood Engravings Including Winslow Homer","description":"\u003cp class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003eA handsome first edition of \u003cstrong\u003eWilliam Cullen Bryant’s \u003cem\u003eThe Song of the Sower\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, published in New York by D. Appleton \u0026amp; Company in 1871 and illustrated with \u003cstrong\u003e42 engravings on wood\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIssued as an elegant Victorian gift book, this separately published edition combines Bryant’s celebrated pastoral poem with an extensive series of finely executed illustrations. Contributing artists included \u003cstrong\u003eWinslow Homer, Harry Fenn, William John Hennessy, Victor Nehlig, Casimir Clayton Griswold, and others\u003c\/strong\u003e, with the designs translated into wood engraving by W. J. Linton and several notable contemporary engravers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe volume remains in its striking original green publisher’s cloth. The front cover is richly ornamented in gilt and black with sheaves of grain, grasses, flowers, and wheat surrounding the gilt title—an especially appropriate binding for Bryant’s meditation upon sowing, agricultural labor, nature, and the harvest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe poem begins:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“The maples redden in the sun;\u003cbr\u003eIn autumn gold the beeches stand;\u003cbr\u003eRest, faithful plough, thy work is done\u003cbr\u003eUpon the teeming land.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBryant was one of nineteenth-century America’s leading poets and the longtime editor of the \u003cem\u003eNew-York Evening Post\u003c\/em\u003e. The inclusion of work by \u003cstrong\u003eWinslow Homer\u003c\/strong\u003e, one of America’s most important artists, gives the book additional appeal to collectors of American art and illustrated books.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn opening blank contains a handsome full-page manuscript presentation dated \u003cstrong\u003e“Brooklyn, Nov. 20th, 1875,”\u003c\/strong\u003e addressed to “Miss Mattie…” and incorporating inspirational lines by Adelaide Anne Procter and Philip James Bailey. A later pencil notation reads “W. C. Bryant”; however, the inscription is not represented as being in Bryant’s hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBibliographical details:\u003c\/strong\u003e New York: D. Appleton \u0026amp; Company, 1871. First separate illustrated edition; copyright entered in 1870. Illustrated with 42 wood engravings. Approximately 9 × 7 inches.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Original green cloth with bright gilt and black decoration. Moderate rubbing and edge wear, with fraying and small losses at the spine ends and wear at the corners. The front inner hinge is cracked and substantially weakened, with partial separation visible. Pages exhibit light toning and occasional minor marks, but the illustrated leaves shown remain clean, sharply printed, and attractive. Contemporary 1875 presentation inscription on the front blank. Sold as an antique volume with the expected evidence of age and use.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Signature Documents LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52771540795674,"sku":null,"price":556.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2221\/0931\/files\/IMG_2735.jpg?v=1788181912","url":"https:\/\/www.thearchiveauthority.com\/en-ca\/products\/1871-first-edition-william-cullen-bryant-s-the-song-of-the-sower-42-wood-engravings-including-winslow-homer","provider":"Signature Documents LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}