Let no one honour me with tears, or bury me with lamentation. Why? Because I fly hither and thither, living in the mouths of me.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) was an American essayist, poet, and leader of the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-nineteenth century. Born in Boston, Emerson was the son of a Unitarian minister in a famous line of ministers. He gradually drifted from the doctrines of his peers, then formulated and first expressed the philosophy of Transcendentalism in his 1836 essay Nature. As a result of this ground breaking work he gave a speech entitled The American Scholar in 1837, which is considered to be America's "Intellectual Declaration of Independence." He once said "Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you."

In 1836, Emerson and others founded the Transcendental Club, which served as a center for the movement. He published his first essay anonymously that year, Nature, but did not publish the club's famous journal, The Dial, until 1840. Emerson made a living as a lecturer in New England and the rest of the country outside of the South. During several scheduled appearances that he was not able to make, Frederick Douglass took his place.

Emerson's "Collected Essays: First (1841) and Second (1844) Series, "including his seminal essays: History, Self-Reliance, Compensation, Spiritual Laws, Love, Friendship, Prudence, Heroism, The Over-soul, Circles, Intellect, and Art in the first; The Poet, Experience, Character, Manners, Gifts, Nature, Politics, and Nominalist and Realist in the second. Despite being a difficult read, it is often considered to be one of the 100 greatest books.

Emersons family is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord.

Permission to use our copyrighted digital images can be obtained from The Crowley Collection for as little as $30US per scan. Scans of other sizes and resolutions can be ordered as required. Print media may obtain one-time use for between $70-100US per image. Unmatted prints of these images are available for as little as $50US per image (8x10 inches or A4). They make wonderful gifts.

The Crowley Collection has extensive photographic libraries of general stock photography and golf images. Additional information can be obtained, and orders placed, by using the contact link at the bottom of this page to reach our principal, Ron Crowley.