Arnold, Josias Lyndon:

$300 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

POEMS. BY THE LATE JOSIAS LYNDON ARNOLD, ESQ; OF ST. JOHNSBURY (VERMONT) FORMERLY OF PROVIDENCE, AND A TUTOR IN RHODE-ISLAND COLLEGE. First edition of this posthumously published collection of poems and "[t]he first volume of verse ever published by a resident of Vermont," this copy with interesting provenance to a member of a prominent Rhode Island family (Coates). The text includes an introduction by James Burrill, Jr., who edited this posthumous collection from Arnold's papers and periodical publications. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Josiah Lyndon Arnold (1768–1796) earned degrees at both Dartmouth and Yale and served as a tutor at Rhode Island College (later Brown University) before settling in Vermont in the winter of 1791/2 after the death of his father. There he practiced law and served two terms in the legislature. He died in 1796, still in his early 30s, and this volume is credited with being the first volume of verse by a Vermont poet. The editor was, however, somewhat careless, as in addition to Arnold's imitations of Horace and Ossian, assorted epitaphs and elegies, and "The Warrior's Death Song," he included Freneau's "The Last Words of Shalum; - or, The Dying Indian" on pp. 46-9. This copy bears the ink ownership inscription of Nathaniel G. Olney on the titlepage and on pp.[v] and [13]. Nathaniel Greene Olney (1780–1819) was a descendent of Thomas Olney, one of the original proprietors—along with Roger Williams—of Providence, Rhode Island. Nathaniel followe

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