Julia Palmer

Verse

Centuries (‘Blessed spirit, doe thou endite’)

A sequence of 199 devotional poems, untitled but effectively arranged as two ‘centuries’ (the first omitting a poem 62, the second omitting a poem 88 but with two poems numbered 96). First published as The ‘Centuries’ of Julia Palmer, ed. Victoria Burke and Elizabeth Clarke (Nottingham, 2001).

*PaJ 1

Autograph fair copy, with revisions, on 265 octavo pages (plus blanks), in contemporary brown calf (rebacked). The first poem of ‘The First Century’ headed ‘Julea Pallmer September 28 1671’, the poems bearing dates thereafter up to 21 June 1672, ‘The Second Century’ from 22 June 1672 to 21 July 1673; each poem throughout with a separate heading. c.1673 or later.

A flyleaf inscribed by Julia Palmer ‘1671’ and ‘I leave this Book to Mr Joseph Bisco senior [i.e. the apothecary Joseph Biscoe (1637-1718)], if he out Live me otherwiss. I Leave itt to Mr James pitson Apothicary’ [i.e. Biscoe's apprentice, b.c.1658, Master of the Society of Apothecaries in 1723-4] and signed by her. Acquired by the Clark Library in 1951. Formerly P1745 M1 P744 1671-3 Bound.

Edited from this MS in Burke and Clarke.

Clark Library, Los Angeles, MS. 1951. 012.