1828 - 1881: An Album. Thirty Four poems from Godey's Lady's Book

by Deborah L. Halliday

Many people in the nineteenth century kept “albums,” forerunners of twentieth century autograph books and scrap-books. Friends were often asked to write something in an album, and many contributed poetry – either original or quoted. This volume of Lady’s Book poetry, unlike the other volumes in the series, was not collected around an organizing theme; the thirty four poems here are more of a miscellany, in both style and subject. What better way to describe the collection, then, but as an “album,” with poets both known and unknown as contributors.

Godey's Lady's Book was one of the most popular magazines in nineteenth century America, reaching every state and territory. Its poetry, authored by amateurs and professionals alike, allows us to share in the emotional and intellectual experiences of these Americans in a unique way. You will find familiar names here that might be familiar, including William Cullen Bryant, Hannah Flagg Gould, Frances Sargent Osgood, Elizabeth Oakes Smith, Henry Theodore Tuckerman, and Anna Maria Wells. Other names may have been familiar in their time but are less so now. Some never rose above obscurity. This eclectic mix presents their work again, in many cases for the first time in more than a century and a half. Each reader might like some poems and not others; such is the nature of an album. I hope you enjoy the collection.