The following is the third in a four-part series on books from the library of Sarah Orne Jewett (1849-1909) and her family.
Presented to Jewett in 1885, this copy of Celia Thaxter’s Poems contains 22 original watercolor sketches by Thaxter, depicting flowers, birds, spiders, and seascapes. Best known for her poem “The Sandpiper,” Celia Thaxter was, like Jewett, a celebrated author and a talented watercolorist, and both drew inspiration from their native coastal Maine. Later editions of Thaxter included a preface by Jewett. Thaxter’s home on Appledore Island was a gathering place and literary salon for many luminaries of the day, including Emerson, Longfellow, and Whittier, and certainly Sarah Orne Jewett.
Thaxter, Celia, 1835-1894. Poems. AC85.J5554.Zz883t.
Thanks to Bibliographic Assistant Noah Sheola for contributing this post.