Early American Poetry 1610-1820: A List of Works in the New York Public Library — Themes and Context

Bibliographic Precision and Provenance

The entries consistently record physical details: pagination, format (e.g., 16º, 4º), and location within the library (e.g., “Reserve,” “NBHD”). For John Adams’s Poems on several occasions, the imprint includes the bookseller’s address “over against the Old South Meeting House,” situating the volume in Boston’s geography. The compiler also notes when a name is written on a title page, as with “I. Storey” in All the world’s a stage, linking the anonymous work to a known author.

Cross-references to periodicals like The Monthly anthology and Boston review and The American museum show that many poems first appeared in magazines. The entry for William Livingston’s “A morning hymn” traces its reprinting across multiple anthologies from 1791 to 1829, demonstrating the compiler’s attention to textual transmission.

Political and Satirical Verse

Several entries highlight poetry as political commentary. Henry Brockholst Livingston’s Democracy: an epic poem (1794) is described as written “in consequence of a tumultuous meeting” and includes extracts reprinted in The Echo with a note explaining why the second canto went unpublished. William Livingston’s “Burgoyne’s Proclamation” is labeled a “burlesque ballad” and traced to later collections of Revolutionary songs.

The bibliography also records pseudonymous works, such as Benjamin Allen’s Miscellaneous poems under the name “Osander,” and the anonymous The Squabble attributed to “Agricola.” These entries reflect the era’s use of satire and anonymity to navigate political tensions.

Women Poets and Regional Voices

Judith Lomax’s The notes of an American lyre (1813) is listed with the note that she is “a native of the State of Virginia,” signaling regional identity. The bibliography includes other women, such as the anonymous author of A Little looking-glass for the times (attributed to “G. C.”). These entries are sparse but significant, as they document early female participation in American poetry.

The compiler also notes works from outside major cities: John Adams’s Boston imprint, Benjamin Allen’s Hudson publisher, and the Albany Register broadside. This geographic range underscores the spread of poetic production beyond the coastal centers.

Readers interested in the material culture of early American poetry will find this list a valuable index of editions, reprints, and library provenance. The annotations—such as the note on John Blair Linn’s portrait silhouette or the cross-references to contemporary reviews—offer starting points for deeper research into how these works were received and preserved. The bibliography’s focus on holdings as of 1917 also provides a snapshot of institutional collecting priorities at that time.

Years spent among shelves taught me that a bibliography, like the old New York Public Library list of early American verse, holds a strange warmth—each entry a small life waiting. I find that same gentle pulse in Yorkshire Ditties, First Series To Which Is Added The Cream Of Wit And Humour From His Popular Writings — Story, Setting & Ideas, where homely rhymes breathe quietly beside those colonial songs, both simply keeping company with their own times.