1840 Dartmouth College Ode-

An Ode, Sung by the Graduating Class of Dartmouth College, July, 1840. 

Hanover; E.A. Allen, Printer: 1840.

A 9-stanza song which begins-

"And is it so, that we no more,
Together meet in classic halls?
No longer search for hidden lore
Within these long accustom'd walls?"

The apparently original composition goes on to hit most of the points such odes do- we met strangers, part lifelong friends, so long to the good, easy life, and so on, but also strikes on one important point nearer everyday life in the 19th century than the 20th or 21st-

But retrospection brings to mind
Names once recorded with our own,
Who now have answer'd Death's demand
And though they live, from us they're gone".

The last lines show that life in rural New Hampshire bordering Vermont is much the same now as it was then-

Farewell, these Academic shades,
These quiet walks - these sweet alcoves-
These tow'ring hills and hidden glades,
These pleasant streams, and shady groves".

 Single sheet. 4.5"x7.5". Unevenly cut. Minor soil. [40050] $100-

Civil War Marriage Poem for a Union Soldier -

"Lines Composed for and sung at the marriage of Mr. & Mrs. Marquis L. Holt"

New Hampshire, 1864. 

Marquis Lafayette Holt (1845-1934) and Rocene Sherwin (1844-1929) were married on March 20, 1864 in Mason, New Hampshire. Marquis was serving in the 3rd New Hampshire Regiment at the time; on August 24, 1864 he was promoted to the rank of Sargent Major of Company A, and he ended the war as a Lieutenant in Company E. After the war he became a minister and moved to Nebraska, where he is listed in 1880 as a reverend affiliated with the Congregational Christian Churches of the United States, serving in Plainfield, Knox County. He is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Neligh, Nebraska.

The 3-stanza, 12-line poem makes several references to the ongoing war- "We wish you, dear friends, joy unmixed with sorrow / And years of contentment when peace's bright to-morrow / Has spread her broad mantle o'er all our dark land / Then, as now, may you trust in an all-guiding hand". Single sheet. 4.25"x5.25", soil. [40049]   $100-

Our Latest Catalog-

As the dark days of January give way to February’s ever-brightening afternoons, and weather-prognosticating rodents strut their stuff for the camera lights, I find myself oddly transported back by echoes of fading holiday carols which tinkle in my brain- Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree -what the heck are you still doing up in the living room? 

The plan was for the Book Elves to have it removed by the Sooper-Dooper Bowl, at the very latest. And yet it sits, dripping brown needles.  More ominously, the concept of a Valentines Day Tree has been suggested, with red paper hearts hot-glued to the tinder-dry needles. I fear an event more reminiscent of the 4th of July, with blazing Roman candles... Boxes, boxes, where did the Book Elves hide the ornament boxes? Oh, right- they used them for sledding.

My work here has just begun,
but here’s the new catalog,
so go have some fun!

The new issue of Bookin'! is here.