"BUT HAPLESS ORPHAN THOUGH I BE, / I'LL BRAVE THEIR TAUNTS!": VERY SCARCE FIRST EDITION OF HARPER'S LITTLE BOY'S SOLILOQUY, 1920, IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS

HARPER, Henry Howard. Little Boy's Soliloquy. Boston: Privately Printed for Complimentary Distribution, 1920. Slim octavo, cord-bound as issued, original printed beige paper wrappers; pp. 9. $150.

First edition of this poem about a young orphan coping with his father's death in World War I and his mother's death from grief, in original wrappers.

Henry Howard Harper was an American writer and editor who served as a treasurer for The Bibliophile Society for the entire 30 years of its existence. During that time, he wrote several works that were privately printed by them. While the work is not explicitly a Bibliophile Society printing, it features many of the same aesthetic characteristics and was privately printed for the same complimentary distribution. The poem is narrated by a boy who was orphaned by World War I and who lands in a situation devoid of love or care. However, his faith in God and his pride in his late parents provide him with the fortitude to try to grow into a respectable man with a rich life.

Faint crease to top corner of front wrapper, toning to rear wrapper. Near-fine condition.