John G Whittier LETTER ABOUT POEM LAUS DEO CELEBRATING LINCOLN\'S 13TH AMENDMENT
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John G Whittier LETTER ABOUT POEM LAUS DEO CELEBRATING LINCOLN\'S 13TH AMENDMENT :
$2500.00
We are listing here an important historical document in the context of Lincoln succeeding in passing the 13th Amendment: A 3-page letter by John Greenleaf Whittier pasted in his book of poems, \"The Tent on the Beach and Other Poems\". [The book is a First Edition published by Ticknor and Fields, Boston, 1867. Hardcover. Very Good. Maroon cloth cover with title in gold on front cover and spine (a bit faded; head and heel a bit bumped).] On the inside back cover of the book: a bookplate of Stephen H. Wakeman.Whittier\'s letter is complete, whole, some tiny tears, and faded but quite legible. The letter refers to a poem which appears in “The Tent on the Beach”, page 122 and is titled: Laus Deo! On hearing the bells ring on the passage of the constitutional amendment abolishing slavery.The letter is dated Amesbury, written as Quaker date of 9, 2nd mo (9th February) 1865. Whittier moved to Amesbury, Massachusetts in 1836. The letter refers to the poem being submitted to the “New York Independent”, an anti-slavery newspaper. Further research confirms that the poem was published in the New York Independent the same day the letter was written.The 13th Amendment was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865. (Remember the recent movie Lincoln, which is all about Lincoln getting the 13th Amendment passed by Congress!) The 13th Amendment was ratified by the States almost a year later, on December 6, 1865, thus before the end of the Civil War.
The letter reads (for as far as we can decipher because the text has faded):
My dear friend,I was glad to get thy kind letter and read it with hearty sympathy. I was sitting in a mid-week meeting when the Bell of our village rang the peal of Freedom. I cannot describe my emotions as memory ran over the past & hope & faith pointed to a glorious future for our country & for the long-suffering slaves.The feeling of the moment was contrived into an ??? Hymn of Thanksgiving which I have sent to the NY Independent.I did not understand the proceedings of the Hist. Society and the death of ??? are to be printed in any form, but if so, mite thee take the trouble to see that my letter is actually(?) published.I have been busy for the last fortnight in trying to do something for the Freedmen. We are doing a good deal just seen in our Society (Friends) but I am glad to see that others are taking hold of the good work. We shall raise $500 to $600 here in cash and $150 in name in clothing-- besides the contributions of Friends which is for the support of the new ??? at Washington.
Ever truly thy friend,
SIGNED Further research shows:This note was found at the “THE ANNUAL OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR DOCUMENTARY EDITING2013, VOLUME 34”:\"Laus Deo!\" was first published in the New York Independent of February 9, 1865. The anti-slavery newspaper was established as a Congregationalist weekly in December 1848. When published in the Independent, the poem was preceded by the headline \"The Triumph of Freedom\" and a statement from the editor: \"[W]e were meditating some fit words to celebrate in our present columns the illustrious act [the Thirteenth Amendment], when, among the letters to our table, came the ever-welcome handwriting of our friend John G. Whittier, enclosing a lyric whose poetic ring made so tame our plain, prosaic thoughts, that we here give his song in place of our speech.\" \"Laus Deo!\" was later collected in The Tent on the Beach and Other Poems (1867).
John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate for the abolition of slavery in the United States. He is usually listed as one of the Fireside Poets. Whittier was strongly influenced by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Highly regarded in his lifetime and for a period thereafter, he is now remembered for his poem Snow-Bound, and the words of the hymn Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, from his poem \"The Brewing of Soma\", frequently sung to the tune \"Repton\" by Hubert Parry. A staunch abolitionist, Quaker poet Whittier (1807-1892, born in Haverhill, Massachusetts) also wrote pastoral poems that reflect rugged New England life. Probably best remembered today for his patriotic poem “Barbara Frietchie”, he was once honored with holidays in some New England states.
Provenance: This book came from the collection of Stephen H. Wakeman whose Bookplate is pasted in the rear inside cover. Stephen H. Wakeman (1859-1924) was a renowned American literature enthusiast and book collector and a life-long New Yorker who made his fortune in produce, as head of John Wakeman & Co., Beans and Peas. A biographical sketch of Wakeman in Grolier 75 (1959) states: “[Wakeman] had three children, the last born in 1900. The same year Mrs. Wakeman joined the Roman Catholic Church and her husband found the consuming interest of his life in collecting books. In 1904 he ceased to traffic in beans and peas in order to devote all his time and energy to books.”
In George S. Hellman’s book, Lanes of Memory (1927), a collection of autobiographical essays, this quote appears: “If you can get that,” said Mr. Wakeman, “all right. But remember that the collection is to be offered to no one but Mr. Morgan. . . “ Hellman (1878-1958) was a writer and editor as well as a dealer and collector of rare autographs, manuscripts, books and art. In the early 20th century, Hellman sold exceptional literary material to J. Pierpont Morgan and other prominent collectors. Hellman facilitated the sale of collector Stephen H. Wakeman’s remarkable gathering of American literary manuscripts to Morgan. Hellman described this event in his book.
Although Hellman is hardly remembered, Wakeman remains alive to specialists through the famous sale of his library of American literature in New York at the American Art Association in 1924 (minus the manuscripts sold to Morgan). The sale catalogue and its contemporary reprint served as a basic bibliographical tool for decades and is an astonishing record of a dedicated collector’s achievement.
John G Whittier LETTER ABOUT POEM LAUS DEO CELEBRATING LINCOLN\'S 13TH AMENDMENT :
$2500.00