The Works of Eugene Field is a collection of poetry and essays by American author Eugene Field, originally published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1896 under the title The Writings in Prose and Verse of Eugene Field. Known for his children's poetry, especially the light-hearted "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod," Field was a journalist who found his niche in poetry and humor writing. The original collection, published after Field's death and including artwork and letters from the author, is a charming set of books compiling all his works. Republished here for young readers and collectors of Americana, The Works of Eugene Field is sure to delight audiences young and old. Volume XII of this twelve-volume set, Sharps and Flats II, is part two of a collection of poetry and essays and the final book in the series. The frontispiece is a facsimile of the newspaper office where Field worked, designed by the author himself. EUGENE FIELD (1850-1895) was an American author known for his humorous essays and children's poetry. Interested in many subjects and unable to decide what to do with his life, Field attended three colleges-Williams College, Knox College, and University of Missouri-tried his hand at acting, law, and journalism, and traveled Europe before meeting his wife and becoming city editor for the St. Joseph Gazette in St. Joseph, Missouri. He wrote and edited for several newspapers, establishing himself as a humor writer and publishing poetry. He died of a heart-attack at 45.

Academic collection practices in recent years have extended to the private libraries of notable individual authors. As a consequence, book historians have become more interested in the study of provenance of the contents of these libraries, while literary scholars have devoted more attention to authorial annotations. At the same time, the Internet has encouraged both scholarly and hobbyist reconstructions of private libraries (see, for example, the “Legacy Libraries” on Librarything.com). Although there are many bibliographies and reconstructions of the libraries of authors, this is the first general consideration of these libraries and serves as an introduction to best practices for academic libraries in their acquisition, cataloging and issues of access. This collection begins with principal editor Richard Oram’s historical overview of writers’ libraries and institutional collecting, focusing primarily on English-language authors. The co-editor, Joseph Nicholson, has provided a definitive review of best cataloging and arrangement practices that facilitate scholarly access. The bookseller Kevin Mac Donnell discusses the marketing of these collections and obstacles to placing intact author libraries in institutions. Also included are case studies by Amanda Golden and David Faulds relating to the personal libraries of the poets Anne Sexton and Ted Hughes, indicating how these collections have the potential to enhance archival research. Fiction writers Iain Sinclair, Russell Banks, Jim Crace, poet Ted Kooser, and biographer Ron Powers describe their (sometimes passionate) relationship with books and their own personal libraries. The concluding chapter, a location guide to over 500 individual libraries, will be invaluable to scholars and librarians who want to know where writers’ libraries are currently located, what happened to them (if they are known to have been sold or dispersed), and what has been written about them.

A record of literary properties sold at auction in the United States.