copyright 1902; Drawings by Howard Chandler Christy; Decorations by Virginia Keep; The Bowen-Merrill Company publishers, Indianapolis; hardbound; heavy stock paper; embossed front cover; very good condition; original owners name inside front (pic) and inscription next page (pic); no dust jacket.
 
Description -
An Old Sweetheart of Mine is a book-length sentimental love poem. After Riley achieved popular and critical success for his poetry, Howard Chandler Christy created original illustrations for his verses. Riley, a native of Indiana, often set many of his poems in his home state, and used local dialects in his writing. Accordingly, Riley was known as the "Hoosier Poet," and his nostalgic poetry is credited with fostering Mid-Western cultural identity in the late 19th century. As Christy is from Ohio, the creative pair's mutual ties to the American Midwest deepens the local color of their collaborative work.