The Spell Of the Yukon and Other Verses

The Spell of the Yukon and other Verses was originally published under the name of Song of a Sourdough outside the U.S., before other verses were added. The collection of poetry and prose narrates the world through the eyes of Robert Service, a Scottish poet and writer. The Book contains well known verses about the Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon a decade earlier, particularly the long, humorous ballads, "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and "The Cremation of Sam McGee." His work portrays the complex relationship between a growing industrial society and the natural beauty of the land. 

I am the land that listens, I am the land that broods;

Steeped in eternal beauty, crystalline waters and woods.

Long have I waited lonely, shunned as a thing accurst,

Monstrous, moody, pathetic, the last of the lands and the first;

Visioning camp-fires at twilight, sad with a longing forlorn,

Feeling my womb o'er-pregnant with the seed of cities unborn.

Edward Stern & Co. published a First Edition, First Printing in Philadelphia, 1907. Published prior to the Barse & Hopkins edition. The hardcover is bound in ribbed cloth, with pictorial paper overlay and gilt titling.

Barse & Hopkins published a First edition, First Printing in New York, 1907. The hardcover is bound in green cloth with gold gilt.  

Dodd, Mead & Company published a First Edition, later printing in New York, 1951. The hardcover is bound in cloth covered boards and often features a ribbed paper cover with pictorial overlay.