The Spirit of the Nation. Ballads and Songs by the Writers of “The Nation,” with Original and Ancient Music, Arranged for the Voice and Piano-Forte. New Edition with Preface & Introduction by W.H. Grattan Flood. Dublin: Duffy, 1911. Full green morocco boards, upper cover & spine with title and decorations in gilt, all edges in gilt. Engraved frontispiece plate. Light fading to spine, otherwise a nice bright copy.

The original edition, published 1845, contained ballads published from week to week in “The Nation,” since its establishment in October 1842. The second and subsequent editions contain ten original melodies composed by Professor Glover, and ten set to well-known Irish airs. This New Edition has a preface by the renowned musicologist and historian, W.H. Grattan Flood.

William Henry Grattan Flood was a major figure in the renaissance of interest in Irish music and study of Irish antiquities., His contribution to Irish musical forms was marked by the publication of key and enduring works such as The Story of the Harp (1905), and History of Irish Music (1927).