August 12th Auction of Rare Autographs, Manuscripts, Sports
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/12/2021
Captain Jack Crawford [John Wallace]: An Excellent Inscribed Copy of The Poet Scout. A Book of Song and Story. By Captain Jack Crawford, (Late Chief of Scouts, U.S. Army). (New York and London: Funk & Wagnalls, 1886). With a handwritten 9-line Poem by Crawford on a preliminary leaf and signed: "J.W. Crawford; Capt. Jack." Square octavo (7.5" x 6").
Poem in full:
To Mrs . ?
Dear heart within the little book of rustic song and rugged story with chaos from the mountain book and traces of a soul in glory you’ll find no grand poetic flowers no deaths of thought nor flights of rhythm but just the fragrance of a flower that cannot bloom outside of heaven.
Yours very sincerely, JW Crawford Captain Jack
Washington D.C. April 17, 1890
Crawford, an Irish-born American scout and poet, and a friend of Buffalo Bill, was one of the most picturesque figures in American literary life. As a young boy he ran away and enlisted in the Army and fought in the Civil War, serving with distinction although he was severely wounded. While recovering, he learned to read and write, and soon began a prolific stream of verse, stories and plays of the West. Before publishing this book, he had earned his title by serving as a Government scout under General Crook in the Sitting Bull and other Indian Campaigns.
The Poet Scout Signed with Poem by Captain Jack Crawford
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