1893 First Edition "Oak and Ivy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Item Details
A rare 1893 first edition of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s first book of poetry, Oak and Ivy (Dayton, Ohio: United Brethren Publishing House). Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) was a highly influential poet and one of the first African-American writers to achieve an international reputation for his literary work. As a teenager Dunbar wrote poems and short stories in his spare time. After finishing high school in 1892, Dunbar was encouraged by friends and acquaintances (including his high school classmate, Orville Wright) to publish a book of his poetry. The Wrights not having the wherewithal to publish the book themselves, Dunbar took his book, Oak and Ivy, to the printing press of the local United Brethren church, had a number of copies printed, and sold them himself (often to people who passed through on the elevator which Dunbar operated as his then-current occupation.) Three years later Dunbar’s poems came to the notice of American novelist and critic William Dean Howells, whose approving review in Harper’s Weekly catapulted Dunbar into national fame.
Update: To give readers an idea of this book’s rarity, according to Allen and Patricia Ahearn in Collected Books: A Guide to Identification and Values, there were ‘reportedly 500 copies printed. 250 destroyed by fire.’ (See Links.)
Condition
- The top of the front cover has a light ink stain.
- There is a thin one-inch tear to the top of the front free endpaper.
- The pages have darkened slightly (and uniformly) with age.
Update: In response to a bidder’s query, each page of this book was turned and examined. They were found all to be tightly bound, not loose.
Dimensions
Item #
15CIN457-096
Additional Information
