EDWIN MARKHAM - POEM SIGNED - HFSID 252874

EDWIN MARKHAM
His poem Lincoln, The Man of the People, signed in Staten Island, New York. This poem was selected for the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922.
Printed Poem signed: "Your Edwin Markham/Staten Island, N. Y.". 1 page, 8¼x13¾. Titled: "LINCOLN, THE MAN OF THE PEOPLE/by EDWIN MARKHAM/Author of The Man with the Hoe, The Ballad of the Gallows-Bird, etc.". Captioned above poem: "This is the prize poem on Lincoln; for in 1922, when the American Government had completed the Lincoln Memorial Building at Washington, D.C., the President appointed Chief Justice Taft and a committee to arrange for the dedication. They called in all the poems that have been written on Lincoln (about 300 in number) and after three weeks of discussion, they decided unanimously on this Markhamic poem. There were 100,000 listeners on the ground and two million over the radio. The President delivered the oration; the author read the poem." Markham (1852-1940, born Charles Edward Anson Markham in Oregon City, Oregon) is an American poet and lecturer best known for his social protest poem The Man with the Hoe (1899). This poem is based on a painting by Jean-Francois Millet about a peasant. Markham used this peasant to represent exploited men and women the world over. He also wrote Lincoln, Man of the People (1901), which was almost as popular as The Man with the Hoe. Lightly toned, foxed and creased.Signature is lightly smeared in places, but legible. Missing left corners. Light tears at top left corner and bottom edge. Random ink stains. Otherwise, fine condition.