Hannah F. Gould, Signed and Autographed Poem "Name In The Sand"

Single page autographed and signed poem, 6.5" x 7.75". Penned by Gould to recto and verso, and both signed and dated by her on the verso as "Hannah F. Gould", "January 1858". Page torn along top edge, affecting a portion of the title on the recto and one word along the top of the verso. Lightly toned with faint handling marks, lightly tacked along right edge to another sheet. Her most famous poem. Rare.

A Name in the Sand

Alone I walked the ocean strand;

     A pearly shell was in my hand:

I stooped and wrote upon the sand

     My name - the year - the day.

As onward from the spot I passed,

     One lingering look behind I cast;

A wave came rolling high and fast,

     And washed my lines away.

And so, methought, ’twill shortly be

     With every mark on Earth from me:

A wave of dark oblivion’s sea

     Will sweep across the place

Where I have trod the sandy shore

     Of time, and been, to be no more,

Of me - my day - the name I bore,

     To leave nor track nor trace.

And yet, with Him who counts the sands

     And holds the waters in his hands,

I know a lasting record stands

     Inscribed against my name,

Of all this mortal part has wrought,

     Of all this thinking soul has thought,

And from these fleeting moments caught

     For glory or for shame.

Hannah Flagg Gould

January 1858

Hannah Flagg Gould (September 3, 1789 – September 5, 1865) a 19th-century American poet whose father had been a soldier in the American Revolutionary War. After her mother's death, she became his constant companion, which accounts for the patriotism of her earlier verses. Gould's poems were short, but they were frequently nearly perfect in their kind. Nearly all of them appeared originally in annuals, magazines, and other miscellanies, and their popularity was shown by the subsequent sale of several collective editions.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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