This small book is titled "Some Fruits Of Solitude" by William Penn, with an Introduction by Edmund Gosse and published in Westminster by Archibald Constable in 1904. William Penn (1644 - 1718) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonial era. Penn was an advocate of democracy and religious freedom, and one of the earlier supporters of unification of the American colonies, and not only did he become the largest landholder in Pennsylvania - yes, Pennsylvania was named after him - he founded Philadelphia as well. "Some Fruits of Solitude" was a collection of reflections and sayings put together by Penn in 1682 that guided people in how they should live or behave, much like Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack, and there was a sequel to the book titled "More Fruits of Solitude" written by William Penn in the early 1700's. The binding is suede leather and has gilt lettering on the spine, the front cover has a gilt-ruled border with gilt lettering for the title, blank endpapers with the inscription of Alice Hale Cowles dated April 1907 on the front flyleaf, a frontis portrait of William Penn with a protective tissue guard, then the title page, a facsimile of the title page for a 1718 copy of the book, 170 pages of text, and the top edge is gilt. The book measures 4 7/8 x 3 5/8 in. wide, with a tight binding and clean pages, light rubbing on the spine, light rubbing on the gilt border, a small hole and some scrapes towards the bottom of the front cover, and light shadows near the gutters of the book. The book is affordable and well below the price of copies from the late 1600's and early 1700's - they go for four figures - and it reflects how people thought before the Revolutionary War in America. #14 #7027