When I Was King and Other Verses (1905) is a collection of poetry by Australian poet and author Henry Lawson.
The book's publisher, Angus and Robertson, also released the collection in two volumes later the same year, titled The Elder Son and When I Was King.
These volumes were released under the publisher's Commonwealth Series of poetry collections and contain roughly half the original contents each.
[1] A reviewer in The Queenslander noted similarities between this book and a recent volume of poems by Louisa Lawson, the mother of Henry, although there was also something extra to be found in the current book: "Only a few weeks ago the poems of Henry Lawson's mother were noticed in these columns, and though in them there was more gentleness, better taste, more refinement than are found in the verses of the son, yet there is a similarity, if only in the very human tone pervading them and the strong Australian atmosphere.
"[2] A reviewer in The Age was less than impressed: "It is to be feared that even the most ardent of Mr. Lawson's admirers will look upon this book of verse as a disappointment.