I have what appears to be a reasonably good first edition signed "Oct 29 1907, Yours Most Truly William Wendell Riley. The Author." It seems to be intact, though there is some yellowing of the pages. There are a few water spots on the front cover and the cover has come loose at the spine. However, it is not broken or torn. A little glue should fix it up. I will not attempt to repair it without expert advice. I would like to know the value of the book. I would be willing to scan any pages you need. See:
http://www.archive.org/iathreads/post-view.php?id=218289
It is very kind of you to offer to scan any pages I need. The copy held by the University has several handwritten pages in the front of the book. Those are the pages I wanted to see, and the University would not help me out. I worked out what it said. It said he would contribute a book to the school and asked for a list of California poets.
I'm afraid the copyright on the book has expired and it has been republished. You can but it at Barnes and Noble. It is very popular in Japan. I purchased an original copy for $20 on the web. It is yellowed, but in perfect condition except for the binding on one page. It must have been the previous owners favorite poem. It is also signed. Since William Wendell Riley is my Great Uncle, I know his signature.
I'm sorry the book isn't valuable to anyone but family.
Thanks for your offer to help me,
Elaine
I have a copy of the book "Poems of Love and Home" and William Wendell Riley wrote in the book "Presented to Mrs.Howell by W.W.Riley Superintendent of the Cong'l S.S. (acting)". Can you tell me anything about it ?
This post was modified by RRA227 on 2011-01-12 08:35:18
Thanks for your prompt reply. Though somewhat disappointed that the book I have is not worth hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars, I will treasure it. I was also interested in reading a biography of W. W. Riley but could find none on the internet. I don't know if the book I have was my mother's or if I obtained it from a garage sale. Knowing something about your Uncle could perhaps throw light on this. Because of the date of the signature, if the book was my mother's then she probably got it from her parents since she would have been 6 years old when it was signed. Her parents, Theodore Sylvester and Marguerite Higley lived in Colorado, Missouri, and California. My mother was Ruth Viola (Higley) Culp. I've been in Arcata, CA 16 yrs and have lived in CA all my life. I am 82. Jean
Jean, you can email me directly at laniew91@veizon.net. His first book of poems has his life story in it. He is from Missouri. I can tell you about him.
After more research, I found my dad's uncle's obit. (Walter Riley) he is my great (only times 1) grandfather. I would still appreciate any info. Thanks
I would appreciate an email as well, as W.W.Riley id my great (x5?) grandfather. I have some clippings as well of him "walking" accross the San Francisco bay on some sort of ski he invented. All info would be appreciated. I also have the book in question, but I think it may have been his, thus, no autograph.
Scott
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