Thalatta: a Book for the Sea-Side
Boston, Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1853
First Edition.
One of 1,500 copies printed.
 
A rare collection of American and British verse inspired by the sea, this anthology of “poems for the sea-shore” was edited by Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Samuel Longfellow (brother Henry W. Longfellow). The anthology includes an early printing of Edgar Allen Poe’s “Annabel Lee”, and a poem by Henry David Thoreau titled “My Life is Like a Stroll Upon the Beach”, reprinted in revised form from its first appearance in Thoreau’s first book,  A WEEK ON THE CONCORD AND MERRIMACK RIVERS. This was the first appearance of Thoreau's poetry in an anthology.                            
[BORST C1; BAL VIII, p. 281; BAL 1380]. 
 
Other notable poets included in this anthology of 130 poems include: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, (referred to here as "Mrs. Browning"), Robert Browning, Shelley, Tennyson, Whittier, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Keats, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Longfellow and more. 
 
Condition: Very Good.  In remarkably beautiful condition, this volume is bound in signature Ticknor and Fields brown cloth covered boards with gold gilt lettering on the spine. Gold gilt is bright and clear; Book boards cloth is clean and rich in color. One small white spot noted to front cover; some bumping and denting to top and bottom of spine, and light rubbing of board corners. Some foxing noted over front ad catalog pages, but minimal/scarce foxing in rest of book. Pages are crisp and clean. Binding is secure with cosmetic cracking at the middle of the book revealing the hinges but not effecting structure.  7.25” x 5”.