c1919 Growing Pains by Frank Henry Irving Antique Australian Literature Book

Irving's poems range widely across faith, nature, romance, travel and reflections upon contemporary life, but the collection has particularly interesting maritime, imperial and First World War-era associations. Titles include Outposts of Empire, A "Dog Watch" off Cape Horn, Outward Bound, "Blighters" off "Blighty" and Pioneers. Of particular historical interest is "The Wreck of the Titanic", a poetic treatment of the 1912 disaster published only seven years after the sinking. Together these pieces place the book firmly within the literary and social atmosphere of Australia and the wider British world immediately following the Great War.

Printed entirely in Australia by Gibbs, Cryer & Co., 443 Kent Street, Sydney, Growing Pains is a distinctly local production and an interesting example of privately or independently issued Australian poetry of the period. Irving appears to have left a comparatively modest published footprint, adding interest to surviving copies of this work. Presented in its striking original red illustrated boards, with the title and humorous figure printed to the front cover, this is an appealing piece of early twentieth-century Australiana, combining Australian literary, maritime and wartime interest with the additional attraction of its colour frontispiece."