Some Experiences and Meditations of a Jack-Ass by Dranoel
Portland, Or. Metropolitan Press, 1909. 46pp. Original green wrappers, printed paper label on front cover. Wrappers lightly chipped. Small ink stamp on verso of title page, letter from Copyright Office paper clipped in. Internally clean and fresh. Very good. Item #2180
An odd biographical work, recording the author's life with a heavy dose of religion. Josiah Sloan Leonard (1848-1911) was born in Syracuse, New York, but seems to have spent most of his life in Illinois. How this volume came, therefore, to be published in Portland is a bit of a mystery. The author writes in his introduction: "He wants to warn the reader that in the following thoughts he must remember that they are only the meditations of a Jack-ass, but if on close inspection he can see the Master riding on top, then get his eyes off the long-eared critter underneath, and fix them on Jesus only." He then tells his life experiences and opinions of how best to live a Christian life. Though we find a record of the work in the Catalogue of Copyright Entries for 1910, it seems to be otherwise unrecorded. This copy -- one of two submitted for copyright to the Library of Congress -- includes a copy of the letter sent to Leonard informing him that the copyright must be held under his name and not the pseudonym of Dranoel.
Price: $350.00