Shamrock Song by Tynan, Katharine - 1939

San Francisco: Printed for Albert M. Bender's St. Patrick's Day Party [by the Grabhorn Press], 1939. Limited Edition. No binding. Near fine. One of 100 copies, broadside printed in black, red and green. A scarce early bit of ephemera from the Grabhorn Press, a broadside printed for Albert Bender's "St. Patrick's Day Party"; no copies online as of this writing, OCLC records 10 copies.

Albert Maurice Bender (1866-1941) was a noted San Francisco patron of the arts and bibliophile; in addition to being a prominent member of Bay Area book clubs such as the Book Club of California and the Roxburghe Club (of which he was a founding member); he also aided many well-known artists at the beginning of their careers, this being especially true of Ansel Adams, whose first published portfolio was financed by Bender.

Being a native of Dublin, Albert Bender had the habit of celebrating St. Patrick's Day by giving a party; this broadside printed to commemorate the 1939 celebration in an edition of 100 copies. The poem, "Shamrock Song", was written by Katharine Tynan (1859-1931), who was involved in the Irish Literary Revival and was the author of more than 100 novels and a dozen books of poetry (n.b., from the web site of the Poetry Foundation).

___DESCRIPTION: Broadside printed letterpress, with a red initial capital and the colophon statement in green, printer's device "L" in black; broadside measures approximately 17.5" by 11.75", with the print area being approx. 12" by 7".

___CONDITION: Almost fine, the broadside is clean with only light toning around the perimeter, free of soiling or prior owner markings, the ink colours are all deep and bright; very light edgewear and one short (approx. 1/2 inch) closed tear at the upper right-hand corner.

___CITATION: Grabhorn Press Bibliography, Miscellaneous 1934-1940, p. 180.

___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details; all, please note that the broadside has been stored rolled up as a scroll, and will be shipped in the same manner.

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