An Ode to Bogle
Philadelphia: Privately Printed for Ferdinand J. Dreer, 1865. 1st ed. Hardcover. 8p. Contemporary 1/2 leather. Original wrapper not preserved. 24cm. Binding intact but scuffed and rather worn. Title on narrow backstrip now indistinct. Contents sound and clean apart from some light foxing. Six blanks at each end to add a bit of bulk when this was rebound. The binder also added gilt to all edges. Contemporary newspaper clipping about Biddle mounted on recto of rear free endpaper. Robert Bogle, 1775-1837, a light skinned African American, was a cook (especially terrapin soup) and the dominant caterer to Philadelphia society for at least a couple of decades in the 19th century. Francis Johnson, the African American musician and composer, often provided the musical entertainment at events catered by Bogle. Bogle was also a mortician. Bogle so impressed Biddle, President of the United States Bank, that he composed this poetic ode in 1829. It was not published until 1865, 21 years after Biddle's death. Very Good. Item #88346
Price: $500.00