The Last Words of Distinguished Men and Women

Dublin Core

Title

The Last Words of Distinguished Men and Women

Creator

Frederic Rowland Marvin

Publisher

New York: Fleming H. Revell Co.

Date

1902

Caxton Club Member Contributions Item Type Metadata

Brief Notes on Book

Frederic Rowland Marvin was a Minister, Professor and author of five books. He lived from 1847 to 1918 in Massachusetts.

Essay

This book is one of the poorest books in my library. It is an ex-library book, the spine is starting to peel off and it has suffered water damage making the pages stained and wavy. The book itself is not very interesting, a collection of purported last words of famous people. I bought it for a dollar at a rummage sale. Its interest lies in its provenance which is on the first blank page. I bought the book because it was inscribed as following:

" To Professor William James in acknowledgement of grand spiritual help received for the reader of his book "Human Immortality with the sincere regards of the author."
Frederic Rowland Marvin

Below this is the following:

"Bought Marh 10, 1924 at the sale of Professor James' Library at the Harvard Co-op."

and following that:

"Rebought by Thomas Ryder from the St. Gertrude Library."

and finally:

"Bought at the St. Jerome rummage sale April, 1991 by Jerome C. Yanoff."

I have never seen this kind of history in any other book. I hope the next owner will continue the tradition. There is room for more inscriptions.

Contributor

Jerry Yanoff

Files

2 pages.jpg

Citation

Frederic Rowland Marvin, “The Last Words of Distinguished Men and Women,” Caxton Club Exhibits, accessed March 28, 2024, https://caxtonclub.omeka.net/items/show/24.