Songs of a Semite: The Dance to Death. With an ALS to Mr. Stedman, 1882.
Stedman’s Copy;
With A Letter To The Man Who Inspired It
Lazarus, Emma. Songs of a Semite: The Dance to Death, and Other Poems. New York: Office of “The American Hebrew,” 1882.
Tall, thin 8vo.; brown printed wrappers; delicate covers lightly worn, edges lightly chipped; evidence of careful repair to inner hinge, last page of ads; occasional ghosts from cellotape removal at cover’s edge; ownership signature of E.C. Stedman on title page; bookplate on front pastedown; overall, a very nice copy of an extremely fragile publication.
Boxed together in a specially made cloth case with:
Lazarus, Emma. Autograph letter signed, “Emma Lazarus,” to “Mr. Stedman,” [New York], April 4, 1882; one leaf, folded, four pages; text on all sides; fine.
First edition, rare wrappered issue, of this seminal collection of poetry and drama by Emma Lazarus. This issue, published simultaneously with the cloth issue, apparently was produced in a very small number: with two pages of publisher’s ads bound-in at rear, noting that “as the edition is limited, early application for copies should be made” to ensure their receipt. It is quite possible that the note alludes to the entire edition—both cloth and wrappered issue—which would explain the infrequency with which any copies of this title appear in the market. Songs of a Semite marks Lazarus’s first foray into anti-Semitism as a literary trope. Earlier in her career Lazarus, of Sephartic heritage, chose not to deal with Jewish themes; according to Rosenbach: “at that time Miss Lazarus was not only Hellenistic in approach, but she was consciously and avowedly anxious to avoid Hebraic influences and bonds” (UJE, Vol.6, pp. 568-9).
A remarkable association copy, from the library of Edmund Clarence Stedman, Lazarus’s poetic and political mentor who played a particularly important role in the gestation of this book. With Stedman’s signature on the title page, and his engraved bookplate on the front pastedown; with a letter that makes visible Lazarus’s debt to Stedman.
Lazarus’s friendship with the poet and critic Edmund Stedman began in the late 1870s, and with it came the dawning of a new age for Lazarus and for Judaic literature as a whole. The non-Jewish Stedman, appalled at Lazarus’s lack of knowledge and interest in her heritage, encouraged her to study that tradition. She at first resisted Stedman’s admonition, but finally relented and began work on a book-length piece treating the history of the Jewish people. That work, “The Dance To Death,” is a tragedy set in 14th-century Thuringa during a period of intense Jewish persecution. The play stands as Lazarus’s first treatment of the themes that would become her central artistic and personal concern. Like “The Dance To Death,” the other works here focus on Lazarus’s heritage; outstanding among them are her “Translations From the Hebrew Poets of Medieval Spain,” and her poem “The New Year,” written for the Rosh Hashanah number of The American Hebrew, publishers of this title.
In the accompanying letter, Lazarus makes clear her profound indebtedness to Stedman:
I am quite overwhelmed by the beautiful gift of the photograph, and the delightful flatteries, and I do not know at all how to thank you...I shall dutifully tell you in plain prose that the photograph will be treasured among my most valued possessions, and that I duly appreciate the graceful and gracious way in which you have framed it....Please accept my best thanks, and believe me with all kind regards your friend Emma Lazarus 32 East 37th Street, Tuesday, April 4th.
It is not unreasonable to think that the “flatteries” to which Lazarus refers concerned Songs of a Semite, published the previous month: Lazarus would, of course, have sent a copy—this copy—to Stedman, the man who inspired it; the picture and the flatteries would no doubt have been Stedman’s response.
Letters from Emma Lazarus are extremely uncommon; letters with significant content are vir
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