"Caligula Germanicus". Autograph Manuscript Poem

Saltus, Edgar (1855-1921)

About this Item

A single sheet, approx. 8 ½ in. x 11 ¾ in. containing an early draft of a poem by Saltus written in pencil apparently while he was at the Manhattan Club. A small article from the N. Y. Times, Jan. 9, 1915 is pasted on the sheet under the title "Calilgula Germanicus." The newspaper article reads: "Germans have been captured lately in whose possession was found the last proclamation of the Kaiser that 'If compelled to retire from Poland, leave standing neither house nor town; leave only the bare earth underfoot.' Well, the road to Berlin does not end at the Polish frontier." In the upper left corner of the sheet is written: "Edgar Saltus Manhattan Club Stamped Envelope." Then follows the poem: "Felon, live hideously while you can, /Reptiles and vermin and all shapes unclean,/All things debased and all that do demean,/The shade of Herod and of Gengis Khan,/The ghoul Tiberius and the fiend Ivan,/ The octopus and, yes, the Lampsacene, /These only now do call you kin, I ween,/For felon though you be, you are not man. Live then, while yet you may, and devastate. /But hark! A blare of Russian bugles comes. /With it, the fanfares of arisen France/Shall ring, in trumpet notes, your nearing fate,/When, to the Belgian and the British drums,/The Cossack stallions on your sceptre dance. [signed] Edgar Saltus." The published versions (in "For France" & "Poppies and Mandragora") are slightly different from that shown in this document. Included with the sheet is a typed catalogue slip which shows the name "Kahanowicz" (Alexander Kahanowicz [?] a noted book collector.) From the personal collection of noted bookseller Peter Keisogloff (1900-1995). The sheet has been folded for mailing. Repairs have been made to the reverse using brown paper tape, and there is an unrepaired horizontal split near the bottom. Saltus manuscript material is very scarce.

Seller Inventory # ABE-5340286630

Bibliographic Details

• Title: "Caligula Germanicus". Autograph Manuscript Poem
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)