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Home-Folks by James Whitcomb Riley (RARE, First Edition, First Printing, Illustrated), 1900 📜🏡🖋️

Name: Home-Folks by James Whitcomb Riley (RARE, First Edition, First Printing, Illustrated), 1900 📜🏡🖋️
Brand: Wall Antiques
Price: 25.00 USD
Availability: InStock

$25.00

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1. Introduction 📜🔍🏛️

This listing is for a rare First Edition, First Printing of "Home-Folks" by the "Hoosier Poet" James Whitcomb Riley.

Published in 1900 by The Bobbs-Merrill Company, this collection of poetry is a tangible piece of American literary history, offering a nostalgic look at rural life at the turn of the century. The book features a charming illustrated frontispiece and a decorative gold-stamped binding.

2. About the Book 📖✍️✨

"Home-Folks" is a collection of poems celebrating the simple pleasures and heartwarming experiences of rural life, particularly in his native Indiana. Riley's poetry in this volume features a blend of standard English verse and dialect poems, capturing the vernacular and rhythms of Midwestern speech. He explores themes of family, friendship, nature, and the values of community, evoking a sense of nostalgia and warmth for a past era.

"Home-Folks" exemplifies Riley's ability to connect with readers through his accessible language and his sentimental portrayals of everyday life.

3. About the Author ✍️🏛️

James Whitcomb Riley was an American poet and author, known as the "Hoosier Poet" for his celebration of Indiana and Midwestern culture in his works. His achievements include becoming one of the most popular and best-selling poets of his time, captivating audiences with his accessible and sentimental verse.

Riley's use of dialect poetry, while sometimes criticized, resonated with readers seeking a nostalgic connection to their roots and values. His ability to evoke a sense of warmth and simplicity in his writing earned him a dedicated following and solidified his place as a cherished figure in American popular culture.

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜

Published in 1900, this book captures the spirit of America at the turn of the century. As the nation was experiencing rapid industrialization and urbanization, Riley's poetry offered a popular counter-narrative, celebrating a simpler, rural existence that was already beginning to fade.

This collection is a literary time capsule, documenting the cultural values and sentimentalism of the era. The publisher, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, and the printer, Braunworth & Co., were both significant players in the American publishing industry, known for producing works of popular American authors.

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️

This book is for a curator of historical Americana, a scholar of American poetry, or a private collector of literary first editions. It is an ideal acquisition for an individual who values a book for its literary merit and its historical significance. The book appeals to a collector who is interested in the intersection of American culture and the history of popular literature.

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️

This 1900 First Edition, First Printing of "Home-Folks" is a valuable and collectible item, particularly for its status as an early printing of a major work by a popular American poet. First editions by James Whitcomb Riley are sought after by collectors of Americana and literary firsts.

The book's decorative green cloth binding with gold stamping is a fine example of late-Victorian and early 20th-century book design, adding to its aesthetic appeal and value as a display piece.

This book is 125 years old as of 2025.

7. Condition 🔎📚✨

This book is a used hardcover edition with a green cloth binding and decorative gilt stamping on the spine and front board.
The binding shows visible wear consistent with its age, including rubbing, scuffing, and some minor discoloration.
The gilt stamping shows some fading but remains largely discernible.
The pages are age-toned but remain clear and legible.
There are no personal inscriptions or bookplates.
This item came from a local estate sale and was in the previous owner's home office for many years.

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

Home-Folks was published during the height of Riley's career when he was a nationally recognized and highly paid poet. He often performed his poems on speaking tours across the country, captivating audiences with his recitations.
Riley's poems were frequently set to music, and he became a beloved figure in American popular culture, with his works appearing in school textbooks and anthologies for generations.
The illustrations in the book are uncredited but are typical of the decorative style of the era, which aimed to make books visually appealing as well as readable.

9. Supporting Information 🏷️📦💰