“FEW DIALECT POETS HAVE SUCCEEDED IN EQUAL MEASURE”

DRUMMOND, William Henry. The Habitant and Other Poems. Illustrated by Frederick S. Coburn. New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1901. Octavo, publisher's full black morocco gilt, raised bands, top edge gilt, uncut. $450.

Autograph Edition, number 335 of 1000 copies signed by the author, in publisher’s morocco-gilt.

Born in Ireland, Drummond spent his childhood in French-speaking Quebec, an experience that strongly influenced his poetry, filled as it is with Quebecois dialect and backwoods characters. "Few dialect poets have succeeded in equal measure with Drummond in capturing at once the salient and concealed characteristics of the persons whom they portray. Drummond's habitant, although using an alien speech, faithfully presents a highly interesting racial type. His humorous exaggeration of eccentricities never passes into unkindly caricature" (DNB). With 14 plates and numerous head-pieces by Frederick Coburn. Drummond's signature appears on the page opposite his portrait. Bookplate.

Interior fine, joints with expert reinforcement.