1892. 1892. Carrier's New Year's Address. January 1st, 1892
[Providence]: E.A. Johnson & Co., [late 1891]. Broadside, 24 x 16 inches, printed in three columns within ornamental border. Uniformly tanned, small closed puncture in bottom margin, old folds, very minor losses at a few crossfolds, minor edge wear. Good plus. Item #3803
A very rare carrier's address for the year 1892 authored by Samuel N. Mitchell, a noted lyricist, songwriter, and newspaperman in Providence. Mitchell was most famous for his song, "Just Touch the Harp Gently, My Pretty Louise" in 1870. In the present broadside, Mitchell pens a long poem for the carriers of, most likely, the Providence Daily Journal. He mentions the scenery around Providence, spiritualism, a lunar eclipse, the filling in of a local cove, the construction of new iron bridges, new commercial enterprises on Westminster Street, recent local crimes, city elections, and more. Though Mitchell's copyright notice appears at the bottom to support his authorship, the opening sixteen-line stanza is entirely plagiarized from an 1870 carrier's address written by Sarah Helen Whitman. Just one copy in OCLC, at Brown.
Price: $350.00