(LITERATURE) Johns James Small manuscript volume titled Orig

Sale 2432 - Lot 206

Price Realized: $ 812

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Estimate: $ 400 - $ 600

(LITERATURE.) Johns, James. Small manuscript volume titled "Original Poetry," written to resemble type. [8] manuscript pages. 12mo, 6 1/2 x 4 inches, stitched; worn with separations at folds, moderate dampstaining, final leaf detached and defective. (MRS) Np, mid-19th century

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James Johns (1797-1874) of Huntington, VT was an eccentric farmer who earned extra income as a "pen printer," writing out his poems and essays in a careful hand intended to resemble type. For forty years, he also issued his own pen-printed newspaper, charging 25 cents per issue. See Robert Vail, "James Johns, Vermont Pen-Printer," in Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 27:2 (1933), pages 89-132. The present example of his pen-printing includes poems titled "To a Pretty Infant," "The Meeting of Friends after a Long Parting," "The Widow," "On Tattling and Gossip Match-Making," "Busybodies," "On Paper," "On Sunday Night," "Two are Better than One," and fragments of two other works.