Wisdom, a poem
Newport: printed by Oliver Farnsworth, 1804. 12mo, pp. 22, [2]; original unprinted self-wrappers, stitched, as issued; very good. AAS notes that it is attributed to Edward Wilkinson in Smith's Descriptive Catalogue of Friends' Books, London, 1867. Wilkinson (1728-1809) was the father-in-law of the British economist, David Ricardo. His eldest daughter, Priscilla Anne Wilkinson (1768-1849), eloped with Ricardo resulting in Ricardo's permanent estrangement from his family. Wilkinson's obituary in the Gentleman's Magazine "|describes him as 'a very respectable surgeon and a apocathary at Bow in Middlesex.' It also says that 'from an early life he had a strong propensity to poetical composition and displayed no mean ability as a satirist.' One of his poems entitled "Wisdom" which was first published in 1751 went through nine editions" (The Works and Correspondence of David Ricardo, volume X, p. 43). It was first published in America in Philadelphia in 1787. Brown, Redwood Library, R.I. Historical, HRC, and AAS in OCLC. American Imprints 7763; not in Bartlett or Hammett. This nor any American edition in Smith, Friends' Books. Item #56611
Price: $450.00
