Literature
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English
Victorian Literature
. The English novel came of age in the
Victorian period. There had been a decline in novel writing at the beginning of
the century, partly because fiction had turned to horror and crude emotionalism
and partly because of religious and moral objections to the reading of novels.
Even Sir Walter Scott, at first, considered the craft of the novelist
degrading and kept his authorship a secret. In the Victorian period, however,
these attitudes toward the novel were to change.
With the rise of the popular
magazine, authors began to experiment with serialized fiction. Soon they were
writing novels. Such was the beginning of Dickens' 'Sketches by Boz' (1836) and
of Thackeray's 'The Yellowplush Correspondence' (1837-38).
During this period, the poets
shifted from the extremely personal expression (or subjectivism) of the Romantic
writers to an objective surveying of the problems of human life. The poems of
Tennyson, Browning, and Arnold especially reflect this change. Much Victorian
poetry was put to the service of society.
CHARLES
DICKENS- CDV. Carte de visite photograph.(4"x 2 1/2"). Full
standing view of the author. John Watkins, London backmark. Nice view from life,
very light staining on bottom of mount, light soiling on image. o/w VG.
(LA.01) $sold.
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CHARLES
DICKENS- CDV. Carte de visite photograph.(4"x 2 1/2").
Waist up view view of the author. J. Gurney (NY) photographer's 1867
copyright imprinted on mount. Exhibits strong tonality, contrast and
clarity, back of mount has moderate to heavy discoloration ( Gurney
backmark can faintly be seen) (LA.22) $165.
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CHARLES
DICKENS- CDV. Carte de visite photograph.(4"x 2 1/2").
Standing view of Dickens. Rockwood, (NY) photographer's imprint. Very good
clarity and condition. (LA.04) $150.
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CHARLES
DICKENS- CDV. Carte de visite
photograph.(4"x 2 1/2"). No photographer's imprint (though from
the 1867 Gurney sitting). Mount trimmed and corners rounded,o/w vg
condition. (LA.27) $125.
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A.C.
SWINBURNE-CDV. Carte de visite photograph. (4"x 2 1/2") Bust
view of the author.Elliott & Fry, London backmark. Facsimile autograph
on mount . F. cond (LA.03). $85.
Algernon Charles Swinburne
(1837-1909). Into the midst of staid Victorian England burst a young man
with new ideas and new poems. His ideas defied the conventions of his time, but
his poems contained a wealth of language and enchanting melodies.
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GEORGE
MACDONALD - CDV. Carte de
visite photograph.(4 1/4"x 2 1 /2") Bust profile view . Facsimile
autograph on mount. Sarony, N.Y. imprint Great clarity and contrast,
F. cond (LA.05) $125.
George Macdonald
(1824-1905), Scottish novelist and poet, studied for ministry; wrote chiefly of
Scotland and its people, and best remembered for allegorical fairy tales
(“At the Back of the North Wind”).
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CHARLES
KINGSLEY - CDV. Carte de
visite photograph.(4 1/4"x 2 1 /2") Waist up view. Warren's, Boston
imprint. Strong clarity and contrast, F. cond (LA.09). $95.
Charles Kingsley (1819-75). In his own lifetime the
clergyman Charles Kingsley was known chiefly as a social reformer. Today he is
beloved by children for his delightful fairy story 'The Water-Babies. |

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ALFRED
TENNYSON - CDV. Carte de visite photograph.(4"x 2
1 /2"). Waist up view of the poet. London Stereoscopic Co., London backmark.
View from life, G. (LA.06) $65.
Alfred
Tennyson (1809-92). In the last half of the 19th century Alfred Tennyson was
considered England's greatest poet. Tennyson was named poet laureate in 1850. In
1883 Tennyson reluctantly accepted a barony offered by Prime Minister William
Gladstone, and he assumed the title lord. He was the first English writer to win
so high a title for his work alone.
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19thc.
American Literature It was one
thing for writers to want to create a native American literature; it was quite
another thing to know how to do it. For 50 years after the founding of the
nation, authors patterned their work after the writings of Englishmen. William
Cullen Bryant was known as the American Wordsworth; Washington Irving's essays
resemble those of Addison and Steele; James Fenimore Cooper wrote novels like
those of Scott. Although the form and style of these Americans were English, the
content--character and especially setting--was American. Every American region
was described by at least one prominent writer. The middle of the 19th century
saw the beginning of a truly independent American literature. This period,
especially the years 1850-55, has been called the American Renaissance. More masterpieces were written at this time than in any
other equal span of years in American history. New England was the center of
intellectual activity in these years, and Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82) was the
most prominent writer. The post Civil War years seemed better suited to prose
than to verse, and the regional story or novel became popular.
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WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT -
CDV. Carte de
visite photograph.(4 1/4"x 2 1 /2") Waist up view. Sarony, N.Y.
imprint. Strong clarity and contrast, F. cond (LA.12) $90.
William
Cullen Bryant (1794-1878). He The
beauties of New England's hills and forests were sung by Bryant. 'Thanatopsis'
(1817) and 'A Forest Hymn' (1825) shows a reverence for nature.
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RALPH
WALDO EMERSON - CDV. Carte de
visite photograph.(4" x 2 3/8"). Seated view. No imprint. Name
imprinted on bottom of mount. Though possibly a contemporary pirate view,
retains VG clarity and contrast, F. cond (LA.28) $100.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82) began his career as a clergyman.
He came to feel, however, that he could better do his work outside the church.
Thus he became an independent essayist and lecturer, a lay preacher to
Americans. He preached one message--that the individual human being, because he
is God's creature, has a spark of divinity in him which gives him great power.
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NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE -
CDV. Carte de
visite photograph. (4 1/4"x 2 1 /2"). Warren's, Boston backmark. Fine
condition, clarity and contrast. (LA.20) $120.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
(1804-64). Although his friends included a number of noted
transcendentalists--such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and
Bronson Alcott--Nathaniel Hawthorne's works show little of the optimism and
self-confidence that marked transcendentalism. Instead, he preferred themes
drawn more from a Puritan preoccupation with guilt and the natural depravity of
humans.
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HENRY
WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW - CDV. Carte de
visite photograph.(4 1/4"x 2 1 /2") Waist up view. No imprint. Image
to edges of mount (trimmed from a larger cabinet card?) Strong
clarity and contrast, VG cond (LA.11) $120.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-82). Was the favorite American poet in
the 19th century was He was a storyteller in verse. 'The Courtship of
Miles Standish' (1858), 'Evangeline' (1847), and 'The Song of Hiawatha'
(1855) use native incident and character. Longfellow was trying to give
the United States legends like those of Europe.
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JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER -
CDV. Carte de
visite photograph.(4 1/4"x 2 1 /2"). Warren's, Boston backmark. Fine
condition, clarity and contrast. (LA.25) $75.
John Greenleaf Whittier
(1807-92), Nearly as popular as Longfellow, Whittier was the author of such
well-known ballads as 'Barbara Frietchie' (1863). Whittier was a Quaker and thus
a foe of slavery, which he attacked in both verse and prose.
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HARRIET
BEECHER STOWE - CDV. Carte de
visite photograph.(3 7/8"x 2 1 /2") Tender pose of Stowe. No imprint.
Very good clarity and contrast, mount trimmed. o/w VG. cond (LA.08) $95.
Harriet Beecher Stowe
(1811-96) is best known for her novel about slavery, 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' (1852);
but her 'Oldtown Folks' (1869) is a fine portrayal of life in New England.
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SIGNED EDWARD EVERETT HALE. Cabinet card photograph, 6
1/2" x 4 1/4". Rockwood, NY imprint. Signed in pen on mount below
image. Beautiful strong tones, contrast and clarity. (La.35); $400.
Hale, Edward Everett (1822-1909), American writer and clergyman, born in
Boston, and educated at Harvard University. . Hale is known for his abolitionist
sympathies during the period immediately preceding the American Civil War; his
best-known work, the patriotic short story “The Man Without a Country”
(1863), is believed to have encouraged supporters of the Union cause. Hale wrote
almost 70 books, including the novels Ten Times One Is Ten (1870), which led to
the formation of many charitable organizations, and If Jesus Came to Boston
(1894), an attempt, in fiction, to reconcile religion with rapidly changing
social conditions. From 1903 until his death he served as chaplain of the U.S.
Senate.
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JAMES
BAYARD TAYLOR - CDV. Carte de
visite photograph.(4 1/8"x 2 1 /2"). Mora's, N.Y. imprint. Fine
condition, clarity and contrast. (LA.29) $85.
James Bayard Taylor
(1825-78), U.S. translator, traveler, and poet, born in Kennett Square, Pa.; ('Poems
of Home and Travel'; 'Views Afoot'; translation of 'Faust)
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JOHN
SAXE - CDV. Carte de
visite photograph.(4 1/4"x 2 1 /2"). Sarony, N.Y. imprint. Fine
condition, clarity and contrast. (LA.16) $65.
John Saxe(1816-87). American poet, best known for his humorous verse.
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JAMES
THOMAS FIELDS
- CDV. Carte de
visite photograph.(4 1/4"x 2 1 /2"). Warren's, Boston photographer's
backmark. Fine condition. (LA.34) $90.
James
Thomas Fields (1817-81),
U.S. publisher, author, and lecturer, born in Portsmouth, N.H.; editor of
Atlantic Monthly, 1862-70 ('Underbrush'; 'Yesterdays with Authors').
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JAMES
RUSSELL LOWELL - CDV. Carte de
visite photograph.(4 1/4"x 2 1 /2"). Sarony, N.Y. imprint. Pencil
id on mount, o/w VG+ condition. (LA.18) $85.
James Russell Lowell (1819-91) This wellborn Bostonian was
versatile. He was editor of the Atlantic Monthly, a professor at Harvard,
United States minister to Spain and then to England, a literary critic, and a
poet.
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BENSON LOSSING-
SIGNED CDV. Carte de visite, 4" x 2 1/2" view of Benson
Lossing, with pen inscription on back " To Mrs. C.C. Lawler (?) with the
compliments of her friend Benson Lossing March 1864".
Gullman, Pourgheepsie, NY photographer's imprint.Very minor surface scratch in
image (along the tie area), corners clipped, o/w fine. ( La. 021); $300.
Benson John Lossing (1813-1891)
was a prolific and popular American historian, known best for his illustrated
books on the American Revolution and American Civil War and features in Harper's
Magazine. He was a Charter Trustee of Vassar College.
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