📚 Celia Thaxter's First Book (1872) Poems - Riverside Press / Hurd & Houghton, NY
 
An evocative first edition of Celia Thaxter’s debut volume of poetry, featuring some of her most beloved pieces: “The Sandpiper,” “Land-Locked,” “The Great White Owl,” and “Kingfisher.” This 1872 publication helped establish Thaxter’s voice as the poetic soul of the Isles of Shoals and remains essential reading for lovers of American literary romanticism and coastal New England mystique.
 
🌊 Special Features
Signed photograph affixed to the front flyleaf: Original 3½" × 2¼" portrait of Thaxter with her clipped ink signature—an intimate and rare association piece.
Scarce publisher’s binding variant: Flexible brown cloth boards, blind-stamped borders front and back, gilt title and floral motif to front panel only; no spine title. BAL notes no binding priority, and examples in this state are seldom seen.
Restoration: Professionally rebacked with new cloth spine for stability and preservation.
Condition: 12mo 4"x6"- 86pp. Corners rubbed, with a small chip to lower edge and front tip. Some intermittent foxing and a faint upper margin dampstain, not affecting legibility. Reddish-brown coated endpapers and page edges retain a rich hue.
 
🕊️ A meaningful blend of poetic heritage and tactile charm—this is a wonderful artifact from the life of one of 19th-century America’s most resonant female voices.