The Boy's Book of Verse: A Treasury of Old and New Poems.

FISH, Helen Dean. The Boy's Book of Verse. A Treasury of Old and New Poems. With an Introduction by Franklin K. Mathews. 8vo, original dark red cloth (gilt lettering on spine slightly faded), colored pictorial label on front cover, pp. xviii, 406. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1923.

First Edition. Fine copy in an excellent example of the dust jacket, which has the same illustration as the front cover label. The jacket is not price-clipped, the top edges have a few short tears, and there is a bit of blank paper missing at the top of the spine, not affecting any lettering. A delightful anthology meant to introduce boys to the pleasures of poetry. "...the anthology is a ripping read" in which the verse "explored themes of courage, daring, and honor as well as tragedy, death, war, and responsibility...Fish even included poems that did not appeal to her own sensibilities..."-Christine Rosen, Poetry Without Pandering, Sangamore Institute, July 15, 2003. Fish (1889-1953) was appointed first children's book editor by the Stokes Company in 1922, continuing in that position after the firm merged with Lippincott in 1941, remaining until her death in 1953. "In any history of publishing for children, Helen Dean Fish is named in the pantheon of pioneer editors."-Marylyn Lea Miller, Pioneers and Leaders in Library Services to Youth: A Biographical Dictionary (2003), pp. 70-71. Reissued in 1951, the book eventual required at least 11 printings. It was Fish who discovered Hugh Lofting's The Story of Doctor Doolittle (1920), while reading manuscripts. The Introduction is by the Chief Scout Librarian of the Boy Scouts of America.