PLANTATION LAYS AND OTHER POEMS by Townsend, Belton O'Neall - 1884

Columbia, S.C.: Charles A. Calvo, Jr., 1884. 106, [1] pages. Original embossed maroon cloth stamped in gold on front cover. [20.3 cm.] Ex-Sondley Reference Library with internal markings only. Tasteful bookplate on front pastedown, embossed stamp on several leaves including title, and small number stamp on verso of title and in margin of one other page. About very good otherwise, some light wear and soiling to cloth. FIRST EDITION of the author's first and only book. PRESENTATION INSCRIPTION BY THE AUTHOR, on the front flyleaf, reading as follows: "Miss S.E. Townsend, from her friend, the Author, with His compliments & cordial acknowledgment that he was induced to print the volume through her incredulity as to his ability to write verses, & as to his acquaintance with eminent Northern literati. May 9, 1884." Belton O'Neall Townsend (b. 1855) was a planter and lawyer from Florence County, South Carolina. The first poem in this collection, "Wild with All Regret: a Tale of Reconstruction," comprises nearly half the volume. The author says that he intended that this poem should give "a true picture of the excesses during Reconstruction of the blacks." --"Dedication" (p. 4). The dedication is addressed to William Dean Howells. Other poems include "A Plea for Jim," which the author read during his testimony in defense of James Campbell, an African American man, during his trial for murder in Darlington Court House, S.C., in 1879. Turnbull IV, p. 182.