Robert Stewart | Prison Rhymes, [Dundee], 1919, first (sole) edition, inscribed by the author

Robert Stewart

Prison Rhymes. [Dundee]: National Prohibition and Reform Party, 1919

FIRST EDITION, 8vo, 4pp ephemera laid in, original wrappers, some wear

First (sole) edition of these poems written by an imprisoned conscientious objector during the war. Inscribed by the author to Bob Smillie, a Miners Union leader, who opposed conscription, and whose son, Alex, was also a conscientious objector, and was in Wormwood Scrubs gaol at the same time as Robert Stewart. The author was a founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1920. He rose to be its liaison with the Soviet Embassy, and in that role he was involved in the early years of the Cambridge spy ring. Andrew Dodds, a Scottish WW1 poet, included a poem about Bob Smillie in his 1921 collection "Antrin Sangs". Four pages of ephemera on Smillie laid-in comprising a photo, two leaflets and a typed poem. Rare—only three copies are located on OCLC—and a very good copy in wrappers.