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F. Bret Harte "Heathen Chinee" Narrative Poem Post Card Set

Currency:USD Category:Western Americana Start Price:250.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 1,500.00 USD
F. Bret Harte  Heathen Chinee  Narrative Poem Post Card Set
SOLD
275.00USD+ (53.63) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2014 Sep 13 @ 16:51UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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1870. "The Heathen Chinee" by F. Bret Harte. Illustrated by Joseph Hull. Published by The Western News Company, 121 & 123 State St., Chicago. Set of nine illustrations on stiff paper with Harte's narrative poem. Original mailing envelope included. Condition: envelope has soiling and toning. Illustration cards are bright. Originally published in September 1870 in Overland Monthly with the title "Plain Language from Truthful James," this satirical poem was Harte's response to Algernon Charles Swinburne's "Atalanta in Calydon" (1865). Harte was critical of the prejudice Irish workers in California had for the Chinese laborers. Unfortunately, many missed the satire and thought Harte was genuinely criticizing the Chinese. It was even used by anti-Chinese politicians like Eugene Casserly to sway the public's opinion. While the poem made Harte a national celebrity, he later called it "trash" and said it was "the worst poem [he] ever wrote, possibly the worst poem anyone ever wrote." [Scharnhorst, 1996] Burger CollectionCity: ChicagoCounty: CookState: ILDate: