The publishers' preface identifies that the edition was a complete reprint of all poems by Hood that had gone out of copyright. There is however no reference as to the date the edition was published. Subsequently I did some superficial research that suggests the edition dates from the 1890's. Without counting, I'd say the book has around 100 poems.
Thomas Hood (1799-1845) was a British humorist and poet. Most of the poems in the edition I have are humorous. I was surprised by how well the humor stands the test of time. His wit is very impressive and no doubt if he lived in our age we'd be seeing him on Jay Leno's Tonight Show - or maybe it would be Thomas Hood's Tonight Show!
I was particularly struck by the humor in the poem Tim Turpin, and I thought others might also enjoy it. I created a web page with the poem - you can get back to it by clicking here. If you enjoy it also, and let me know. Perhaps I can be encouraged to put some others online.
If you're interested in reading other Hood poems that are online your best bet is to let the internet transport you to Mitsuharu Matsuoka's website in Japan. The Professor's site features a chronology of Hood's life and links to Hood related online resources.
Regards, Ross Macintosh, DesignStop.Com
