JOAQUIN, ET AL.

Miller, Cincinnatus H. (Joaquin Miller)

Published by S.J. McCormick, Portland, OR, 1869

Joaquin Miller's rare second book. 24mo, 5.75 in. x 4.25 in., pp. 112. Joaquin Miller's second book, in a limited edition -- quite scarce and uncommon on the market. Forest green cloth boards with blind-stamped double-frame to front and back, and gilt title to front. Light rubbing to edges; corners nudged. Bookbinder's sticker to front pastedown. Previous owners' names to front free endpaper. Two inch closed tears pp. 83/84 and 85/86. The 1869 first edition was limited to 500 copies. j"George Himes [once] the aged curator of the Oregon Historical Society Museum" printed.'Joaquin, , Et Al. for S. J. McClkormick, 105 Front Street, Portland. Mr. Himes granted an interview for [Alfred Powers's "History of Oregon Literature". "Miller entered my office, a shabbily dressed man, unkempt in apearance with a long beard, shaggy and clay-colored, and long hair. One pantaloon was stuck in a boot, and the other drooped over the boot. He had a very abrupt and business-like manner. All the time I knew him he kept this same manner." Joaquin Miller paid "one hundred and n inety-two dollars for Joaquin, Et Al.[and] McCormick's one hundred dollars to have it fancily bound.He displayed them in the store of S.J. McCormick. The price was fifty cents. Little attention was given to them. I had fifty copies of the first edition of "Joaquin, Et Al. but I gave them all away. They are extremely scarce because in '72 the store of S.J. McCormick burned and about half of the books with it." in a fire which started in a Chinese Laundry. Joaquin Miller (his adopted pen name), 1837 - 1913, was a "frontiersman poet" who lived at the time of great exploration across the American West, moving between mining towns and agricultural areas, spending time in California during the great Gold Rush period. He lived amongst the Modoc Indians for a year and, reputedly, took a Native American woman as his first wife, producing two children. When he visited England his "American Wild West" looks and reputation led to his acquisition of the nicknames "Poet of the Sierras" and "Byron of the Rockies". At the age of 31 Miller got his first poetry collection published but Specimens sold very few copies. A second attempt, Joaquin, met with similar failure. Shortly after this his second wife filed for divorce due to her husband s "neglect". Three years later Miller tried his luck in England and his status as a "wild west oddity" established his name in British press and literary circles. He was called a "licensed libertine" and described as "charming, amiable, and harmless". (from My Poetic Side). Seller Inventory # 87761

Bibliographic Details

Title: JOAQUIN, ET AL.
Publisher: S.J. McCormick, Portland, OR
Publication Date: 1869
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good
Edition: First Edition.