THE GARDEN OF THE BEES & OTHER POEMS; (Poet's First Book) Original Author Designed/Dated Bookmark Laid In

Campbell, Joseph (Seosamh macCathmhaoil)

Published by W. Erskine Mayne / NM.H. Gill & Son, Belfast, Ireland, 1905

Campbell's rare first book. 12mo, 5 1/2 in. x 4 1/2 in.; (14 cm.) pp. [2],67, [3 (blank)]pp. including an initial blank leaf included in the pagination. Tan wrappers with fold-in flaps. Front panel with decorative lettering and a Celtic-style strapwork design (probably also by the author) printed in black. with black title and publisher's emblem to front. Wee bit chipping to spine, with loss of 1/4 in. of paper to top and 1/16th in. to bottom. First (sole) edition. Title page strikingly printed in black and red and with a very attractive design by the author. (WITH ORIGINAL AUTHOR-DESIGNED BOOKMARK LAID IN). Joseph Campbell (1879-1944), who wrote under the Gaelic form of his name Seosamh Mac Cathmhaoil, was a poet, playwright, folklorist and nationalist activist. Steeped in Ulster folklore which he gained from his mother, and a fierce sense of nationalism from his father, Campbell was ".proud of the north's radical and dissenting tradition, he loved its robust vernacular and believed that its racial and linguistic differences had created a rich and resilient culture; his own work adraws heavily on both Gaelic legend and Scottish folk-tale. Soon after the publication of (t)his first volume of verse, The Garden of the Bees (1905), he moved to Dublin, where he obtained work as a clerk in the forestry department." (Wikipedia) ".Around 1900 he joined the Gaelic League, used the Irish form of his name, Seosamh macCathmaoil , and became a fluent Irish-speaker. He became a member of the informal Firelight club that regularly met at Ardrigh, the home of F. J. Bigger (qv), and at a feis in Antrim in June 1902 he met Padraic Colum (qv) who became a lifelong friend." (Dictionary of Irish Biography). Seller Inventory # 87790

Bibliographic Details

Title: THE GARDEN OF THE BEES & OTHER POEMS; (...
Publisher: W. Erskine Mayne / NM.H. Gill & Son, Belfast, Ireland
Publication Date: 1905
Binding: Softcover
Condition: Very Good
Edition: First Edition.