William F. Kirk — Songs of Sergeant Swanson

Boston, Small, Maynard & Company, 1918. First edition. Cloth. A signed first edition of this witty WWI poetry book, blending patriotic humour and camp life through the comic voice of "Sergeant Swanson." In the publisher's original quarter cloth binding with paper covered boards. First edition. Signed and inscribed by the author to the front free endpaper: "To Pfc. Ford from Sgt. Swanson with hope (and many Svenk Pöns-lives!) 10/17/44"A collection of humorous poems in which "Sergeant Swanson" narrates camp life, patriotism, training, military culture, food, women, and battlefield anxieties during WWI in a comic dialect. Including title such as: "herman," "Dis Star-Spangled Banner," "Yankee Doddle," "Dese Irish," "The Yermans," "Dodging," "To Uncle Sam," and "A Trench Dream," among many others. In the publisher's original quarter cloth binding with paper covered boards. Externally, very smart. Slight rubbing and bumping to extremities. Slight loss to paper. One or two minor spots and handling marks to boards. Author's inscription to front free endpaper. Internally, firmly bound. pages bright and clean with one or two handling marks to fore edge. Very Good Indeed . Ill.: None. Very Good Indeed .