THREE MEMORIAL POEMS

Lowell, James Russell. THREE MEMORIAL POEMS. Boston: James R. Osgood, 1877. First edition. Original terra cotta cloth, gilt, red edges. Mild rubbing to spine ends, but a nice bright copy. The author's own copy with his ownership inscription at front dated December 22, 1876, just one week after publication. Lowell also had copies in green and blue cloth which he identically inscribed. The blue cloth copy is in the Parkman Howe Library at University of Florida (JRL 205) and the green cloth copy is in a private collection in Cambridge. Lowell's library was given to Harvard shortly after his death, but others were retained by his daughter Esther Lowell Cunningham, who also took back part of her father's library in 1912. Contains Lowell's Ode on the 4th of July, 1876, and two other memorial verses. This copy also has the signature of Ezra Ripley Thayer and the blindstamp of his daughter Polly Thayer Starr at her Weir River Farm estate. Ezra's brother, William Roscoe Thayer (1859-1923) was one of 12 students in Lowell's Dante class at Harvard and Lowell's only student in a class on Don Quixote, and a friend of Esther Lowell Cunningham. William graduated in the same Harvard class as Teddy Roosevelt (1881) and they remained close. William wrote an account of Lowell as a teacher in `Scribner's Magazine' (Oct., 1920). This book probably came into William's hands directly from Lowell or from Esther. Mac Donnell PARKMAN HOWE LIBRARY JRL 205. BAL 13154.