Description
The first edition of Bar-Room Ballads: A Book of Verse, inscribed by Robert Service to Canadian literary critic William Arthur Deacon.
Octavo, 169pp, [1]. Green cloth, title stamped in gilt on spine and front cover. Stated “First Edition 1940” on the copyright page. Top edge dyed green. Faint offsetting to endpapers from dust jacket. Internally clean. In the publisher’s fine dust jacket, $2.00 retail price on the front flap, bright illustrations.
Inscribed by Robert Service on the front free endpaper: “To Wm. Arthur Deacon, with Friendly Greetings. Robert W. Service / Toronto / 9. Aug. 1940.”
A collection of verse by Service, the British-Canadian poet best known as the “Bard of the Yukon.” This work follows the popular ballad form of his earlier works, including Songs of a Sourdough, Ballads of a Cheechako, and Rhymes of a Rolling Stone.
The recipient of this copy, William Arthur Deacon (1890-1977), was a Canadian literary critic and editor. He was one of Canada’s leading book reviewers, writing for Saturday Night, The Mail and Empire, and The Globe and Mail.
