The Man With the Hoe
San Francisco: The Book Club of California [printed by John Henry Nash], 1916. Coyle, Ray. Custom Binding. One of 300 copies, quarto size, [14] pp., in a custom binding, with the scarce photograph. Fine. Item #23110108
Edwin Markham (born Charles Edward Anson Markham, 1852-1940), is best known today for his poetry and some non-fiction, including "California the Wonderful". In 1922 he wrote a poem in honor of President Abraham Lincoln, which was selected from 250 entries to be read at the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.
His best-known poem this one, "The Man with the Hoe", named for the French painting of the same name by Jean-Francois Millet. As with so many others of this era, including Jack London, Edwin Markham publicly spoke out against the incredible hardships then endured by many working people. This poem was first presented at a public poetry reading in 1898 and quickly became so popular that he both lectured to labor groups as well as continued his poetry readings. This book opens with "A Comment By the Poet", a preface, in which he sets forth his apologia for the poem: he states "The Hoe-poem is not a protest against labor: it is a protest against drudgery, against oppression. For under right conditions labor is beautiful and holy. What is true labor? It is not the sorrow of man: it is the joy of man". A beautiful poem, with both deep meaning and right purpose, presented in a lovely format by John Henry Nash.
This copy in a custom half-leather binding by the Abbott-Brady bindery, with a cloth jacket and matching slipcase. The "Abbot" in the bindery name likely Frank Howard Abbott, Jr., whose Ex-Libris was in other books in this collection. Abbott was the founder of Abbott Corporation, who began a printing company in 1906.
Most importantly, the famous photograph, almost always missing, is present in this copy, although it has been removed from the too-large folder (the cause of so many having been mislaid) and is tipped-in to the copyright page at the gutter.
___DESCRIPTION: In a custom binding of half-leather over green cloth, gilt lettering on the spine, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers, fore- and bottom edges uncut, double-ruled upper border in blue on all pages, frontispiece illustration of the author as a black and white drawing, decorative border (repeated on each page) on title page by Ray F. Coyle, opening capital initials of both preface and poem in red; handset Original Old Style Italic and Caslon Old Style on handmade San Marco paper, binding quarto size (11 1/4" by 7 7/8"), unpaginated with 12 leaves (not counting the free endpapers) with fourteen leaves, including a blank (i), frontis portrait (ii), title page (iii), copyright notice (iv), preface (v-x), poem (1-3), colophon (4); issued in an edition of 300 copies, this no. 188. The volume protected by a green cloth jacket, and then by a matching slipcase of quarter leather over green paper.
___CONDITION: Volume overall in fine condition, the leather smooth and supple (although the spine has sunned from the original green to brown), the corners straight and unrubbed, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and it is entirely free of prior owner markings; the aforementioned sunning to the spine, else fine. The cloth jacket near fine, clean, with minor edgewear; the slipcase very good, strong and sturdy without splits or tears, the cloth sides clean and free of wear, the leather spine sunned, with spots of soil and wear.
___CITATION: BCC 100, No. 2; O'Day, pp. 3-4.
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Price: $450.00