AN EPISTLE TO "BOZ" alias Charles Dickens

1867. Skaggaddahunk: Scantlewood, Timberlake & Co., Printers to the North River Society 1867. 12-page booklet without wrappers.

First (undoubtedly only) Edition of this diatribe in verse form, criticizing both the United States and Dickens's 1867 reading tour of America. The author's name, the publisher, and the location are all fictitious. The first four lines are: All hail, Charles Dickens! dip your pen In scandal and come back again, To paint our manners, and surprise The world with fudge and frothy lies... And the final eight lines are: ...And pimps, and pugilists, and thieves, Buy seats in Congress, if they please; When honest worth must stand aside For rascals, roguery and pride; When humbug, shaving, sham and shoddy Enrich, or ruin, everybody; And fill all honest men with fear, Dickens may find "good pickings" here! Only one other title by this author and publisher is known -- RECONSTRUCTION, published in 1866, as told in the first person by Andrew Johnson. We do not know whether or not this EPISTLE was originally issued in wrappers, as we have never heard of a copy with them; however, we do know of one extant front wrapper of RECONSTRUCTION, so we think it likely that there were wrappers originally. Condition is near-fine (remnants of old glue near the spine); every copy of either title seems to have a vertical crease, so we suspect that these titles were initially mailed out by the unknown author. Quite scarce. Not in Podeschi (Yale); Carr (UTexas) D104 (" a scurrilous attack on Dickens in verse form") -- no mention of wrappers. Housed in a simple hard-board folder with typed label.