Object details
Object number
10.b.1.1
Creator(s)
Title
Poems
Date
1885
Medium
Printed ink on paper with watercolor drawings
Language
English
Publication Place
Boston
Binding Description
brown calfskin; gilt stamped crest; gilded lettering on spine; gilded edges; marbled end pages
Description
vii, 188 p. ; 15 cm. (HathiTrust rec. #008657492)
Dimensions
15.2 x 11.4 x 2.2 cm (6 x 4 1/2 x 7/8 in.)
Signatures, inscriptions, and markings
Inscribed in black ink (on title page) in Isabella Stewart Gardner's hand: I.S. GardnerIllustrated with watercolor drawings by the author.Enclosed: Note from Celia Thaxter, 1885 (ARC.009898) Enclosed: Letter to F. Marion Crawford (1854-1909) from Celia Thaxter (1835-1894), 20 March 1883 (ARC.005563)
Provenance
Gift from author Celia Thaxter (1835-1894) to Isabella Stewart Gardner on 14 March 1885.
Commentary
The author Celia Thaxter hand painted watercolor illustrations in this copy of her 1885 book of poems. Living most of her life on the Isles of Shoals, Thaxter drew inspiration from her coastal environment. Her home on Appledore Island was a gathering place for many literary and artistic luminaries of the day, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Sarah Orne Jewett, and Childe Hassam.Isabella displayed this book of poetry along with Thaxter’s collection Driftweed in the Blue Room.
Bibliography
Isabella Stewart Gardner. A Choice of Books from the Library of Isabella Stewart Gardner, Fenway Court (Boston, 1906), p. 67. ("...illustrated with water-color illustrations by the author")
Gallery
Blue Room
Rights and reproductions
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