The Hanging of the Crane

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Auction dateClassic
15.06.2023 10:00UTC -04:00
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CHRISTIE'S
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ID 967554
Lot 51 | The Hanging of the Crane
The Hanging of the Crane

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1875

LONGFELLOW, Henry Wadsworth (1807-1882). The Hanging of the Crane. Boston: James R. Osgood and Co, 1875.



Presentation copy of the first edition, inscribed by Longfellow to his daughter-in-law's sister, in publisher's morocco: "Cora Spelman / with the love and good wishes / of Henry W. Longfellow / Dec.8.1874." Sam Ward negotiated a record-breaking $4000 offer from the New York Ledger to print "The Hanging of the Crane" in December 1874—the highest price ever paid for a poem at the time. This fine book publication, with illustrations by Mary Hallock Foote, followed soon after. It is a charming fireside poem, inspired by a friend's comment on the cycle of family life. The recipient of this copy, Cora Spelman, who appears often in his letters to his daughter Alice, was the sister of Longfellow's daughter-in-law Hattie Spelman Longfellow. BAL 12166.



Quarto (215 x 145mm). Frontispiece, illustrated after Mary Hallock Foote (a few smudges, some toning). Original embossed brown morocco gilt by Macdonald & Sons (scuff); modern chemise and half morocco slipcase.

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