Antiquarian & Vintage Books ~ Historic Paper Ephemera ~ Vintage LP Records
It's nice to put a face with the words one is reading. Below are portraits of various authors from all around the world. The portrait gallery is far from being all-inclusive, but new portraits will be added from time to time.
Just click on each thumbnail image to see a larger picture.
HENRY WARD BEECHER (1813 - 1887). Beecher was the pastor of the Plymouth Congregational church in Brooklyn. He was a powerful public speaker and championed both Abolition and Women's Suffrage. He was the author of numerous well-regarded sermons and essays. A man of humor and passion, his life was filled with stormy drama. Father of Harriet Beecher Stowe.
BOCCACCIO. Giovanni Boccaccio ( 1313 - 1375) was one of Italy's greatest writers, and is considered to be the "father of Italian prose literature. Boccaccio was an expert on Dante, and wrote a number of learned papers as well as some verse narratives. But his fame forever rests on one work, "The Decameron" This collection of 100 short novellas has remained in print since it was first published in 1353. The stories are witty, earthy, ribald and possessed of great insight into the foilbles of mankind. Many beautiful editions of this great work have been published through the centuries. Was there ever a situation between men and women that Boccaccio did not explore?
FANNY BURNEY (1752 - 1840) was one of the first great English female novelists. She published her first novel, "Evelina", anonymously. By the time "Cecilia", "Camilia" and "The Wanderer" were published, the 'secret' was out. She was the friend and acquaintance of a great many imortant persons, and an especially close friend of Samuel Johnson. Burney's multi-volume "Diary and letters" should be required reading for anyone doing research on the period.
EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS (1875 - 1950). The boy or girl who did not read and thrill to the adventures of Tarzan or wonder at the mysterious lost world of Pellucidaror day dream about John Carter's life on Mars, led a sadly deprived life. But wait! "Tarzan of the Apes" , "At the Earth's Core", "A Princess of Mars" and all the other wonderfully inventive novels that Burroughs populated with such wild and wonderful beings are still in print. Paperbacks abound. Go forth and read!
JOHN BURROUGHS (1854 - 1921) was one of America's most eminent and beloved naturalists. Through his many beautiful essays, devoted to nature and things literary, Burroughs has inspired many generations to a more thoughtful appreciation of the world in which we live. From 1873 on, he lived in a secluded cabin on a farm near Esopus, NY. From this quiet refuge he live in simple economy and his many essays flowed forth from his pen. Burroughs was a close friend of poet Walt Whitman, the subject of his first book, "Walt Whitman as Poet and Person"
John Burroughs relaxing with a canine friend.
John Burroughs sitting in the dooorway of "Slabsides", his cabin retreat.
COUNTEE CULLEN (March 30, 1903 - January 9, 1946), Black American poet, was one of the finest poets the Harlem Renaissance produced.
"Yet Do I Marvel"
I doubt not God is good, well-meaning, kind And did He stoop to quibble could tell why The little buried mole continues blind, Why flesh that mirrors Him must some day die, Make plain the reason tortured Tantalus Is baited by the fickle fruit, declare If merely brute caprice dooms Sisyphus To struggle up a never-ending stair. Inscrutable His ways are, and immune To catechism by a mind too strewn With petty cares to slightly understand What awful brain compels His awful hand. Yet do I marvel at this curious thing: To make a poet black, and bid him sing!
EDWARD FITZGERALD (1809 - 1883) Fitzgerald , who was one of the few individuals in his days taking up the study of Persian literature with any seriousness, saw the beauty inherent in that country's poetry. He translated Jami's "Salaman and Absal" ... but this was done anonymously. It is with Omar Khayyam that Fitzgerald's name will be forever linked. Fitzgerald's translation of "The Rubaiyat" was first published in 1859. While Khayyam might not have recognized his thoughts in the English poet's words, there is no denying the genius and power of Fitzgerald's translation. Who cannot have their heart moved by its beauty?
THEODOR FONTANE (1819 -1898), born in Neuruppin, Germany, was a poet, essayist, dramatic critic (for "Vossische Zeitung"), editor (of "Kreuzzeitung") and novelist. Fontane gained experience as a chemist before taking up a literary career. Fontane's novels were realistic and influenced Thomas Mann. He was past the age of sixty when he wrote his first novel, "L' Adultera". His poetry was flavored by a prolonged sojourn in England and his experiences as a journalist (newspaper correspondent).
