• Title: Longfellow’s Complete Poems – Household Edition
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co.
• Estimated year of printing: 1906

Notes:

Inscription: Fidellis A. Fox

Many copyrights, latest is 1906.

Publisher’s note dated 1902.

Sticker on back page: Carbine’s Books Stationary, Rutland, VT

A collection of Henry Longfellow’s poems, plus biographical information and 270 illustrations.  It appears that this particular collection was frequently re-published, searching online turns up many printings of this book with slightly different copyright pages.  This particular one has a latest copyright of 1906, corresponding to illustrations by Ernest Longfellow, Henry Longfellow’s son.  It’s in good condition and the subject matter makes it one of the more interesting and desirable books in my collection, as there is still interest in Longfellow today.  

In trying to research the provenance, I discovered just a little information about Fidellis A. Fox.  In 1908, she was a registered nurse at Elliot hospital in Keene, NH, with an address in Detroit, Michigan.  It appears that she may have had a married last name of Bradley.  

Historical context:

When this book was printed in 1906, Theodore Roosevelt was President, and would make the first ever official trip by a sitting United States President to a foreign country — visiting Panama to observe the construction of the Panama Canal.  In this year, the San Francisco earthquake occurred and destroyed much of the city.