John Greenleaf Whittier • In War Time and Other Poems Leatherbound First Edition
Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1864. Hardcover. 1st edition. Rebound in full Moroccan leather. Hubbed spine with gilt stamped title, scrollwork to compartments. Gold stamped border to the board edges and turn-ins. Top edge gilt. Marbled endpapers. 152pp. ads following (22pp). VG+. Ding to top fore edge. Top corners lightly rubbed; boards show mild rubbing and flecking, with leather darkened in spots, particularly at bottom back. Moderate spotting to front matter. Pages crisp, showing occasional edge toning and, lesser, smudges.
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...Whittier's Quaker pacifism did not prevent him from being an ardent supporter of the Union cause when the Civil War broke out. He admired President Abraham Lincoln and was particularly proud of having voted for him four times, as a citizen and as an elector in 1860 and 1864. Whittier wrote many patriotic poems during the war, of which "Barbara Frietchie" is the most famous. In War Time and Other Poems, published in 1864, included several fine examples of Whittier's public poetry-"Thy Will Be Done" and "Ein Feste Berg ... ," for example-in addition to several more "home ballads," including "Cobbler Keezar's Vision," "Amy Wentworth," and "The Countess." This volume was republished in 1865 under the title National Lyrics and included "Laus Deo," in which Whittier joyously recorded the death knell of slavery, the moment for which so much of his career had been a preparation." (Poetry Foundation)
