A collection of poems mostly moral divine and instructive selected from a much larger performance in three folio's, now reduced into a portable size. Written out at leisure hours with an eye only to the amusement and innocent diversion of the transcriber; Wymondham, Norfolk, 1729.

1 v. (648 p.) ; 21 x 16 cm.

English

For information on the source of acquisition, consult the appropriate curator.

Manuscript, in a single hand, of a collection of several hundred poems on primarily moral or spiritual subjects, many taken from printed works by such poets as John Dryden, William Shakespeare, Alexander Pope, Joseph Addison, Richard Steele, and Isaac Watts. Other entries include epitaphs and psalms. The volume also contains some of Hamby's own religious verses as well as verses by several of his Norfolk acquaintances. The work is prefaced by an introduction which declares that although a preface seems needless when the volume is meant for "one private person," the preface will be useful to those who will read the work after his decease. The preface provides an autobiography of Hamby, focusing on his development as a writer.

August 08, 2005

Nathaniel Hamby, A Collection of Poems Mostly Moral Divine and Instructive. James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Nathaniel Hamby, A Collection of Poems Mostly Moral Divine and Instructive. James Marshall and Marie-Louise Osborn Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.