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Farm Festivals

Object NameBook

Publisher Harper & Brothers Publishers (American, 1817 - 1962)

Author William McKendree Carleton (American, 1845 - 1912)

Date1881

OriginNew York,USA

MediumBound paper w/ cover

Dimensions9 × 7 × 3/4 in. (22.9 × 17.8 × 1.9 cm)

ClassificationsBooks, Manuscripts, Documents, Personal Symbol & Correspondence

Credit LineIn the Farm House Museum Collection, Farm House Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object number75.13.1

Status

On view

Collections

Books, Magazines, & Documents

Label TextWritten by Will Carleton and published by Harper & Brothers in 1881, Farm Festivals is a collection of both new and existing poems recounting festivals of the farm. Some poems tell the story of well-known holidays such as “The Festival of Praise” (Thanksgiving) or “The Festival of Good Cheer” (Christmas). Other poems which are included by Carleton appear to simply be humorous anecdotes about individuals he had encountered throughout his life. One example of this is “The Festival of Injustice” which tells the story of two farmers in a lawsuit due to the killing of a prized sheep. In the Victorian Era, poetry was quite popular which led to many middle and upper-class citizens owning various books filled with poems such as this. The Farm House collection contains numerous examples of poetry, both well-known and more obscure.

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