Description
Signed early edition of Lyrics of Lowly Life by Paul Laurence Dunbar.
Octavo, xx, 208pp. Green cloth, title in gilt on cover and spine, top edge gilt. An early edition, with “1899” printed on title page. Solid text block, bumped corners, a near fine example. Frontispiece portrait of the author protected with tissue guard. (BAL 4918) (Metcalf 8) Signed by the author on the front free endpaper.
Lyrics of a Lowly Life, first published by Dodd, Mead, and Company in 1896, is notable for its blend of African American dialect and classical English poetry. The collection includes some of Paul Dunbar’s most famous works, such as “The Rising of the Storm,” “The Deserted Plantation,” and “Sympathy,” which inspired the title of Maya Angelou’s autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” The popularity of “Lyrics” brought about massive national acclaim for Dunbar to experience before his early passing in 1906.
