The Poetical Works of Charles G. Halpine (Miles O'Reilly). Consisting of Odes, Poems, Sonnets, Epics, and Lyrical Effusions Which Have Not Heretofore Been Collected Together. With A Biographical Sketch and Explanatory Notes.

The Poetical Works of Charles G. Halpine (Miles O'Reilly). Consisting of Odes, Poems, Sonnets, Epics, and Lyrical Effusions Which Have Not Heretofore Been Collected Together. With A Biographical Sketch and Explanatory Notes.

Charles G. Halpine (Miles O'Reilly)

Edited by Robert B. Roosevelt

New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers,

Franklin Square

1869

This book is covered with green patterned sand grain cloth covers over boards that are deeply beveled along the edges. The front cover is both blind-stamped and gilt stamped with blind borders around a gilt border of lines, geometric patterns, and stars. Within the gilt border is a blind stamp vaguely reminiscent of Islamic-influenced early Renaissance bindings of a four-corner and centerpiece interlacing pattern. There is only one design here with no interlacing except for the Fleur-de-Lis in the corners. The author's signature has been gilt stamped in the center. The back cover mirrors the front, but there is no gilting, and the author's signature has been exchanged for the publisher's stamp. The spine is all gilt with borders and connected by an ivy-vine. The title and author's name are incorporated into the design centered around angels with harps. The title is above a Celtic harp with broken strings and a weeping angel, then the author's name is above flying angels with lap harps and a man kneeling with bowed head. There is a semé pattern of stars around the man.
The paper is made of wood pulp with darkening around all the edges. All the pages have a single line border around the text. There are decorative rules between the poems on the pages when one ends and another begins.
The frontispiece is a bust of the author on thick paper and looks like a steel-plate engraving that is protected by a tissue (thin piece of paper to protect an illustration and catch any ink off-bleeding).
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Born in Ireland, Major Charles G. Halpine emigrated to the United States. His father had hoped he would become a doctor, but Halpine preferred to study law and writing. He ended up becoming a journalist in first Boston and then Washington D.C. He volunteered to fight for the Union during the American Civil War achieving the rank of Major, it was during this time that he began writing poetry under the name of Miles O'Reilly.
Halpine lived from 1829-1868.

Literature / Poetry

SPECIAL PS1784 .H2 A17 1869

Hardcover book, 8.375 x 5.625 inches

English

This book has another record in the "Beautiful Books" Exhibit Collection.
This book can be seen in the photograph, Display Case 5.

Book