The Ricky Jay Collection Part III

[AMPUTEE]. KYTE, Austin Jerome. Verses Dedicated to a Generous Public. Baltimore: Sapp Bros. Power Printers., n.d. Pictorial letterpress broadside bearing an engraved central portrait of Austin Jerome Kyte framed in an elaborate decorative border and surrounded by four columns of verse in rhyming couplets. The poem “composed by Mr. Austin J. Kyte, the Great Handless Pianist” details the loss of Kyte’s hands in a mule-driving accident in Pennsylvania in 1878, his subsequent treatment by various doctors, and his ongoing tribulations. The text warns that “any person imitating these poems will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.” 23 x 13 ¾”. Creases, toning and spotting, chips and scattered losses with some affecting text. SCARCE.