One Woman to Another. 1 slipcase for this with 5299 and 5301.
Elaborately Inscribed
By The Author, ER’s Aunt
To ER’s Cousin And Godmother
[Roosevelt, Eleanor]. Robinson, Corinne Roosevelt. One Woman To Another and Other Poems. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1914.
8vo.; black cloth, stamped in gilt with angel motif and decorative borders; spine lightly cocked, spine lettering a touch rubbed. In a specially made cloth slipcase with two other Robinson titles.
First edition of the author’s second book. A presentation copy, with a lengthy two-page poetic inscription from the author, ER’s aunt, to the recipient Susan L. Parish, ER’s cousin and godmother, starting on the first blank, quoted in full below:
To Susan L. Parish, my friend
from Corinne Roosevelt Robinson
Oct 1914
My Friend
My friend doth look at me
with loving eyes,
Faithful, forgiving, [?]
but never blind;
A rock and a refuge for
My sins or sighs,
Companion offering heart and
Soul and mind.
Ready to succor with a
tender hand,
Eager to lift – the weary
world’s distress,
Muting with ardor all
of life’s demand,
Truth in her heart and
in her eye’s caress.
Friend of my youth and
of the passing years
That, lingering, lead me
to my journey’s end,
What through my days
Shall bring me smiles
or tears
May they but grant
that I shall keep my friend.
C.R.R.
One Woman To Another and Other Poems, an anthology consisting of 41 verses, was published the same year as the death of Elliott Roosevelt, Eleanor’s father and the poet’s brother. Robinson curiously marked this occasion by writing the title poem of this collection in the voice of Mrs. Evan’s, Elliott’s mistress with whom Robinson developed a friendship and a correspondence.
Both Corinne “Pussie” Roosevelt Robinson and Susan “Susie” Parish were important figures in ER’s universe. Robinson was born Corinne Roosevelt in September 1861, daughter of Teddy and sister of Elliot, ER’s father. Like Eleanor, Pussie was politically inclined; but she worked behind the scenes whereas Eleanor’s political agenda would be carried out publicly. One of the causes Pussie was most devoted to was suffrage, and she was one of a select group of women invited to the White House by President Harding in 1920 to celebrate suffrage on what was euphemistically called “Respectable Women’s Day.” Pussie was married to Douglas Robinson, a friend and partner of Teddy Roosevelt. Pussie and Eleanor were close and grew even closer after Elliott’s death.
Parish, the recipient of this volume, was both ER’s cousin and her Godmother. She was well off, spending much of her time in her NYC townhouse on East 76th Street off of 5th Avenue, and was during Eleanor’s early years a dear friend, so much so that she was the person who broke to Eleanor the news of her mother’s death (ibid., p. 78). She was also, Blanche Weisen Cook implies, a lesbian whose “particular friend” was Martha Flandreau Seldes (ibid., p. 134). However, as she aged she became a political conservative, growing so much so in later years that Eleanor called her a “Ku Klux Klanner” behind her back and found her hard to deal with.
It is obvious from the touching verse inscription in this volume that Robinson and Parish were exceedingly intimate. This is a marvelous association copy, linking three important Roosevelt family women.
(#5300)
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