America's Best-Loved Poet: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet expertly placed in history to form a bridge between the literary traditions of Old Europe, and the new transcendalist traditions of the birthing America. He was held in great esteem even in his own lifetime, achieving great fame in the pre- and post- unified United States of America. By the end of his life he was conducting tours of his house where he lived, as well as making the single greatest sale of any poetry collection of his day ($3000!).
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a New England poet, born in Portland, Maine, in 1807. He took to poetry and literary study from an early age, and his personal circumstances were wealthy enough that his father could afford to finance his trips abroad to Europe to study and learn French, Spanish, and Italian. His hard working ethic and his apt translations of the ancient world poet Horace, Dante, and many more quickly brought him to the attention of the New England intelligensia, and he was offered teaching and librarianship posts for most of his working life.
When Wadsworth embarked on his own poetic career, he found that his blend of European neo-classical style and recent American history (Hyperion, The Song of Hiawatha) appealed to a young country that was still questioning itself about its own cultural roots. Perhaps one of the greatest contributions that Wadsworth made, was to help forge this imaginative link between America the Republic and the classical and romantic worlds of Europe and the Mediterranean. America the Republic had echoes of the heroic Norse sagas, the polis of Greek Athens, the splendour of the Renaissance.
All poets suffer in the collector's eye by the mechanics of their presentation: their truly original works are often scraps of paper, and their work only becomes profitable when bound together in large quantities such as 'Collections of Verse' or 'The Works of…' The same is true of Wadsworth. In this way it is perfectly possible to acquire some very good collected editions of Wadworth poems, for as little as a few hundred dollars. However, aside from such classics as Hyperion (first edition bound by Ticknor and Fields Boston, 1868 for $400), I would urge looking to a slightly more selective work: Tales of a Wayside Inn, Ticknor and Fields Bostom, 1863 - which has the first appearance of his famous American epic 'The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere'.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Coplas De Don Jorge Manrique. Allen and Ticknor, Boston, Massachusetts (1833). Translated from the Spanish, with an introductory essay on the moral and devotional Poetry of Spain by Henry W. Longfellow.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Outre-Mer. Harper and Brothers, New York (1835). A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea; 2 volumes.
Longfellow, Henry W. Hyperion. Samuel Coleman, New York (1839). A Romance; With tipped-in signature of Longfellow; 2 volumes.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Voices of the night. John Owen, Cambridge (1839). Early state, with two of the first issue points retained (pages 18 and 23 have the original readings; the first page of the contents and page 78 include the corrections); 900 copies printed.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Poems on Slavery. Published By John Owen, Cambridge (1842). Together with; Voices of the Night (Sixth Edition), The Spanish Student (Fourth Edition) and The Belfry of Bruges (First Edition)
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Spanish Student. John Owen, Cambridge (1843). A Play, In Three Acts
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Poets and Poetry of Europe. Carey and Hart, Philadelphia (1845). and Poetry of Europe with Introductions and Biographical Notices by Longfellow.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Belfry of Bruges and Other Poems. John Owen, Cambridge (1846). Includes two well-known Longfellow compositions:The Arrow and the Song (I shot an arrow in the air.) andRetribution (Though the mills of God grind slowly); 1000 copies printed.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Evangeline. Thomas Y. Crowell and Company, New York and Boston (1847). A Tale of Acadie.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Evangeline. William D. Ticknor and Company (1847). A Tale of Acadie.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Estray. William D. Ticknor and Co, Boston (1847). A Collection of Poems; A poetry anthology with contributions by Longfellow, and many others; 1150 copies printed.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Evangeline. William D. Ticknor and Company, Boston (1848). KEMBLE, Fanny; a Tale of Acadie
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Kavanagh. Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, Boston (1849).
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Kavanagh. John Walker, London: David Bogue, Liverpool (1849).
Longfellow, Henry W. The Golden Legend. David Bogue, London (1851).
Longfellow, Henry W. The Golden Legend. Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, Boston (1852). With cut signature of Longfellow; 3600 copies printed.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Song of Hiawatha. David Bogue (1855). First Issue withdove fordived, p.96, line 7
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Song of Hiawatha. Ticknor and Fields, Boston (1855). The following points occur : Page 27,heron notcurlew; page 32,in the moon notto the melancholy; Page 39 and Page 268, lines 11 and 14wahonomin notwahonourn; Page 96, line 7.dove fordived; Page 278, 4th line from bottom,omemee notpigeon; 5250 copies
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. EVANGELINE. Ernest Nister, and in New York by E. P. Dutton and Co., London (1856). A Tale of Acadie; Illustrated in color by Arthur Dixon, including 12 full-page, full-color plates and many, manyE other color and in-text illustrations
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. EVANGELINE. Ticknor And Fields, Boston (1856). A Tale of Acadie
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. George Routledge and Co, London (1857). A New Edition, Illustrated with Upwards of One Hundred Designs, Drawn By John Gilbert, Engraved By the Brothers Dalziel.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Courtship of Miles Standish. W. Kent, London (1858). These include:Where Is Chaffwhacks? by Lord Omnium Gatherum (8 pp.);Joe and the Geologist by Alexander Craig Gibson (8 pp.);Marjorie Fleming. A Sketch by John Brown, M.D. (32 pp.);Bobby Banks' Bodderment, and Dialect Ballads by Alexander Craig Gibson. (24 pp.);An Inaugural Lecture Delivered in the Senate House, Cambridge by F. D. Maurice. (64 pp.); andOur Dogs by John Brown
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Courtship Of Miles Standish and Other Poems. Ticknor and Fields, Boston (1858). First edition, first issue with ads in the back dated October, 1858 andtreacherous on page 124
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The song of Hiawatha. W. Kent and Co, London (1860). With twenty-four wood engravings after designs by George H. Thomas
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Poetical Works. Henry G. Bohn, London (1861).
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Poetical Works. Routledge, Warne, and Routledge, London (1861). New Edition Illustrated with upwards of one hundred designs, drawn by by John Gilbert,Engraved by brothers Dalziel
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. TALES OF A WAYSIDE INN. Ticknor and Fields, Boston (1863). First Edition, first printing with the 1863 date on the title page and with the errors on pp. 125 and 174
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Tales of a Wayside Inn. Ticknor and Fields, Boston (1863). This is the 1st state of the 1st Edition with 'Whistled saying' on p.25 and 'His only pastime' on p.174
Longfellow, Henry W. Household Poems. Ticknor and Fields, Boston (1865). Illustrations by John Gilbert, Birket Foster and John Absolon; 1500 copies printed.
Longfellow, Henry W. Hyperion. Alfred William Bennett, London (1865). A Romance; Illustrated with Twenty-Four Photographs of the Rhine, Switzerland, and the Tyrol by Francis Frith.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Ticknor and Fields, Boston (1866). COMPLETE IN 4 DELUXE FULL LEATHER VOLUMES
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Divine Comedy Of Dante Alighieri. George Routledge and Sons, London (1867). Translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy. Ticknor and Fields (1867). In Three Volumes. I. Inferno; II. Purgatorio; III. Paradiso; Translated By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Hyperion. Ticknor and Fields, Boston (1868). A Romance; Illustrated with 24 mounted albumen of the Rhine, Switzerland and the Tyrol, by Francis Frith
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. New-England Tragedies. Ticknor and Fields, Boston (1868). Contains two dramatic works: I - John Endicott, and II - Giles Corey of the Salem Farms
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Poems of Places. Macmillan, London (1877). Two vols; a four-page preface by Longfellow in Vol. I, and a map at the front of each volume; Vol. II includes Wales
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. POETICAL WORKS. Riverside Press, Cambridge (1879). 3 VOL. SET
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Poetical Works. Houghton Mifflin and Company, Boston (1879). (With) The Complete Prose Works of Longfellow with His Later Poems Illustrated; (Three Volume Set; Vols 1, 2, and 3); Vol. 3 has title: the Complete Prose Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, with his later poems.with a biographical sketch by Octavious B. Frothingham; Illustrations by F.OC. Darley, E.A. Abbey, E.W. Longfellow and others.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Poetical Works. London-Paris-New York, Cassell, Petter, Galpin and Co., s.d. (ca. 1880). Gr. vol. in 4, pp. xxvi-644-(4), ritr. dell' A. in antiporta e numeross. ill. e tavv. inc. n.t., leg. tela edit. (allentata) con ricca decor. e tit. dor. al piatto ant. e al dorso, tagli dor. Numerosi gli illustratori: Abbey, Appleton Brown, Barnes, Colman, Dicksee, Dollman, Edwards, Ehninger, Fredericks, Garrett, Hallock Foote, Ipsen, Key, Giacomelli, Gibson, Granville Perkins, Hitchcock, Merril, Moran, Reinhart, Schnell, EH Shepard, Small, Swain Gifford, Waud e altri. (1880). Two Volumes; Illustrated with approximately 500 engravings, with artist and engraver noted on each
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Edition Deluxe. Houghton, Mifflin, Boston (1881). Longfellow Portfolio, being a Selection of Seventy-Five Artist Proofs from the Original Wood-Cuts Illustrating the New Subscription Edition of Longfellow's Poetical Works; 500 copies printed; ; 75 plates plus title page, index, and introductory leaf; Nearly all the plates have been signed by their engravers, and 50 have been signed by the artists, including W.H. Gibson, E.A. Abbey, T. Moran, Mary Hallock Foote, F. Hopkinson Smith, W.H. Low, A.B. Frost, J.D. Smillie, and others.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Poetical Works. Houghton Mifflin, Boston (1881). Three Volumes
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Poetical Works. Frederick Warne and Co, London (1882). illustrated with 13 tipped-in albumen photographs, mounted on thick board with red and gilt rules
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Works. Houghton, Mifflin and Company (1886). 14 volumes; Edited by Samuel Longfellow with Steel Portraits, Photogravures and Other Illustrations in Fourteen Volumes; Vols. I-VI: The Poetical Works of Longfellow. Vol. VII:Outre-Mer and Drift-Wood. Vol. VIII: Hyperion and Kavanagh. Vol. IX:Dante's Inferno translated by Longfellow. Vol. X:Dante's Purgatorio translated by Longfellow. Vol. XI:Dante's Paradiso translated by Longfellow. Vols. XII--XIV:Life of Longfellow with extracts from his journals and correspondence edited by Samuel Longfellow in three volumes
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Works. George Routledge and Sons, London (1886). 11 volumes.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Writings of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Riverside Press, Cambridge (1886). The works include: Evangeline, The Song of Hiawatha, Birds of Passage, Tales of a Wayside Inn, Voices of the Night, etc., as well as his translation of Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy - Paradiso, Purgatorio, and Inferno; With Bibliographical and Critical Notes; 500 copies; Complete in 11 volumes
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Writings of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Routledge, London (1886). with Bibliographical and Critical Notes; In Eleven (11) Volumes; The Riverside Edition
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. WORKS. Routledge, London (1886). RIVERSIDE EDITION
Wadsworth, Longfellow Henry. WRITINGS. George Routledge and Sons, London (1886). With Bibliographical and Critical Notes; 11 volumes
Wadsworth, Longfellow Henry. HYPERION. Houghton Mifflin c (1888). A ROMANCE (LEATHER BOUND) (PROVENANCE: AMERICAN HEIRESS, DORIS DUKE)
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Song Of Hiawatha. Houghton Mifflin and Company, Boston (1890). Illustrated Beautifully by Frederic Remington; 250 copies printed.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Song of Hiawatha. Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Boston (1891). 250 copies; With portrait frontispiece , Title in red and black and illustrations throughout from designs by Remington including 22 photogravures executed by A. W. Elson
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Song of Hiawatha. Houghton, Mifflin and Co, New York (1891). photogravure plates and portrait frontis by Frederic Remington; 250 copies printed.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Poetical Works. Houghton, Mifflin and Co., Boston and New York (1892). With Biographical and Critical Notes; 6 volumes
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Poetical Works. Frederick Warne and Co, London (1893).
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Courtship Of Miles Standish. Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis (1903). Illustrated by Howard Chandler Christy
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Complete Writings of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Riverside Press, Boston (1904). With Portraits, Illustrations and Facsimiles; [11 Volumes]; Poetical Works [6 Vol.]; Prose Works [2 Vol.]; Dante's Divine Comedy [3 Vol.]; 750 copies printed.
Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. Houghton Mifflin and Company, Boston and New York (1906). Translation by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; 6 volumes; Vol. I has a frontis. and 9 plates. Vol. II has a frontis. and 2 plates.Vol. III has a frontis. and 6 plates; Vol. IV has a frontis. and 4 plates; Vol. V has a frontis. and 5 plates; Vol. VI has a frontis. and 3 plates; Illustrated with drawings by Flaxman; 650 copies printed.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Song of Hiawatha. Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis (1906). Illustrations by Harrison Fisher; 16 color plates and many other black and white plates and in-text drawings, plus decorations (in green) by E. Stetson Crawford on every page
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Hanging of the Crane. Houghton Mifflin and Company, Boston (1907). 13 color plates tipped in with tissue overlays; Numerous bw text illustrations by Arthur I. Keller; Decorations by Florence W. Swan; 1,000 copies
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Song of Hiawatha. Houghton, Mifflin, Boston (1908). Color frontispiece by N.C. Wyeth, and 22 illustrations by Remington
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Dante's Divine Comedy. National Library Company, New York (1909). 4 volumes; 1000 copies; translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Alighieri, Dante. Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. Nottingham Soc Pub (1909). 4 volumes; Longfellow, Henry W. Trans; Illustrator-Many Ilust. Gilt TE
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Works. Davos Press, New York (1909). 10 Volumes; 1000 sets
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Works of Longfellow. C.T. Brainard Publishing Company, Boston (1909). Complete 10 Volume Set; 1000 copies printed; Includes Longfellow's translation of the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri (four volumes). Volume 1: (Prose Works) Outre- Mer, Defense of Poesy; Volume 2: (Prose Works) Hyperion, The Lay Monastary; Volume 3 (Prose Works) Kavanagh, The Indian Summer, The Bald Eagle, Drift-Wood; Volume 4 (Poetical Works) Earlier Poems, Translations, The Spanish Student and Other Poems; Volume 5 (Poetical Works) Evangeline, The Golden Legend, Miles Standish and Other Poems; Volume 6 (Poetical Works) Hiawatha, Birds of Passage, Tales of a Wayside Inn and Other Poems; Volumes 7-10 The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Song of Hiawatha. Riverside Press, Boston (1911). Cover illustration by Maxfield Parrish; frontispiece in color by N. C. Wyeth; text illustrations and plates in black and white by Frederic Remington
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Courtship of Miles Standish. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston (1920). Eight color plates by N. C. Wyeth; Tercentenary Edition; the first with illustrations by N. C. Wyeth
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Courtship of Miles Standish. Little Leather Library Corp, New York (1921). The Biltmore Redcroft Little Leather Library