Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. Johnck & Seeger, 1928.

Thomas Gray.
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. San Francisco: Johnck & Seeger, 1928.
(BKRT) PR3502 .E5 1928
Special Collections, UWM Libraries

This book features a poem by Thomas Gray from 1750, and focuses on the meditation on death and remembrance after death. The narrator of the poem finds comfort in considering the lives of the “obscure rustics” buried in the churchyard, and argues that the remembrance of death can be both good and bad. The poem quickly rose in popularity and has been considered one of the English language’s most loved poems, with many versions printed since its original publication. Presswork for this edition was completed by Lawton Kennedy with illustrations by W.R. Cameron.

According to an inscription in the front cover of the book, this was Lawton Kennedy’s personal copy in a run of 250 copies.