(DOUGLASS, FREDERICK.) TILTON, THEODORE. Sonnets to the Memory of Frederick Douglass. 12 pages, printed on hand laid paper with deckled edges. 8vo, original printed self-wrappers; covers somewhat dusty with some very slight edge-wear; crease at center where folded. Paris: Brentano's, 1895
first and only edition, bearing a warm presentation. "To the Hon. John Russell Young, with the compliments of his old friend, Theodore Tilton. Paris, Ave. Kleber, April 21st 1895." Young was a diplomat and fellow journalist. Frederick Douglass died on February 20th 1895. Tilton completed this poetical hommage to Douglass on February 28th and it was published barely 2 months later. Theodore Tilton (1835-1907) author, poet, journalist, and editor, was an abolitionist, and friend of the Douglass family. After working for the New York Observer from 1863 to 1871, Tilton became editor in chief of the Independent, a Congregationalist weekly. He later managed his own weekly, the Golden Age. A popular speaker, Tilton not only supported the cause of abolition, he also supported women's suffrage. He and his wife were active parishioners of the charismatic Henry Ward Beecher. . . until Tilton sued Beecher for adultery with Mrs. Tilton. The suit lasted for months and ended in a hung jury. Soon afterward, Tilton sailed for Europe where he lived for the remainder of his life. Scarce. While we found a number of copies in institutional collections we were unable to find a single copy of this little volume at auction in the last 40 years.
