c1867 A Thousand & One Gems Of English Poetry Antique Leather & Gilt Poetry Book

Beginning with Geoffrey Chaucer, the anthology offers a varied reading experience encompassing narrative verse, songs, ballads, devotional poetry, reflections on nature and meditations on love, grief and human experience. The photographed index includes Joseph Addison, Robert Burns, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, Joanna Baillie and William Lisle Bowles, illustrating the breadth of the selection. American poetry also has a place in the collection: Mackay's introduction acknowledges permission to reproduce works by Longfellow, Emerson, Holmes, Lowell, Whittier and Bryant. The result is an extensive gathering of English-language verse that reflects the literary tastes and interests of its Victorian readership.

The title page credits illustrations by J. E. Millais, Sir John Gilbert and Birket Foster, adding a further dimension of interest for collectors of nineteenth-century illustrated books. The pictured frontispiece depicts a scene from Longfellow's The Wreck of the Hesperus, showing the skipper and his daughter aboard ship, with a protective tissue guard retained opposite. The poetry is printed in a compact double-column arrangement within ruled page borders, allowing a considerable range of material to be gathered into a single volume. An index provides a useful means of locating individual poets and selections, making the book suitable for browsing as well as more directed reading.