COWPER WilliamBiblio.com
1825Best.-Nr. 14091Printed by Whittingham at the Chiswick Press for John Sharpe Duke Street Piccadilly 1825. 12mo. on laid paper with engraved frontispiece half-title engraved and printed titles and 6 engraved plates plates moderately spotted; attractively bound in mid-nineteenth century full rose calf sides with triple frame border stopped at corners by rosettes all in gilt enclosing a triple frame border stopped at corners by rosettes all in blind the space between filled with an elaborate arabesque in blind back with four raised bands tooled in gilt second and fourth compartments lettered in gilt all other compartments richly tooled in gilt gilt doublures gilt edges marbled endpapers brown silk marker binding mildly age-worn and faded at extremities but all lettering wholly legible else a most attractive textually clean crisp copy. This handsome 12mo edition derives directly from the foolscap octavo edition of 1817. The engravings save the last are by Rolls after designs by Richard Westall. The engraving to Book VI of The Task is by Romney; all the plates are re-engraved and dated March 25 1825 but notably the frontispiece differs considerably from that of its 1817 forerunner. Some of the vignettes have been reduced in size and the headings and imprints brought closer to accommodate the 16mo edition as well as the present 12mo format. An attractive if faded copy. Russell 145. Printed [by Whittingham at the Chiswick Press] for John Sharpe, Duke Street, Piccadilly, hardcover
1933Best.-Nr. 14087Oliver & Boyd Edinburgh 1933. 8vo. First Edition with a facsimile as frontispiece some mild offsetting from fold-ins to free endpapers; original red buckram backstrip with printed paper label green top uncut a very good bright clean copy in unclipped dustwrapper the latter lightly browned at backstrip. The definitive edition of the works of the fifteenth-century Scottish poet with extensive critical apparatus. Scarce especially in this condition. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh, hardcover
1868Best.-Nr. 14072Privately Printed 1868. Sm. 4to. LARGE PAPER First Edition thus with title in red and black; strongly bound in green buckram upper board with printed paper label gilt back original wrappers preserved a near fine copy. This is the first printing of Gascoigne's satire and accompanying elegy since the original of 1576. Arber provides a useful chronological table of the author's career and works. EXTREMELY SCARCE. See NCBEL I 1025-1026. [Privately Printed], hardcover
1833Best.-Nr. 14090W & R Chambers and others in London and Dublin Edinburgh 1833. 4 vols. sm. 8vo. First Edition thus with 4 engraved frontispieces faint contemporary uniform signature on titles; mid-nineteenth century half calf pebble-grain cloth boards backs with four raised bands ruled in gilt second compartments in with red leather labels ruled and lettered in gilt all other compartments tolled with a lozenge in blind red edges green endpapers a handsome set ideal as a gift or for presentation. W & R Chambers [and others in London and Dublin], Edinburgh, hardcover
1857Best.-Nr. 14085Smith Elder & Co. 1857. 8vo. First Edition thus contemporary signature on title; strongly bound in contemporary half calf pebble-grain dark green cloth boards back with four raised bands ruled in gilt second compartment with red leather label ruled and lettered in gilt all other compartments tooled with a lozenge in blind red sprinkled edges green endpapers corners and joints mildly worn and rubbed else a very good bright clean copy. The work was first issued as single volume in the Uniform Edition of 1852 dated 1853. This is the first appearance in the Cheap Edition with missing points after 'Shirley' in the headlines of pp. 68; 202. Bound as often without advertisements. See Smith pp. 117-120; Wise p.26. Smith Elder & Co., hardcover
1959Best.-Nr. 14081Chatto & Windus 1959. 8vo. First Edition; original red cloth gilt back a near fine copy. A PRESENTATION COPY 'For Talog with affectionate regards from Marius' FROM THE AUTHOR WITH HIS SIGNED HOLOGRAPH INSCRIPTION ON BLANK PRELIMINARY Chatto & Windus, hardcover
1881Best.-Nr. 14174Macmillan 1881. 2 vols. roy. 8vo. First Trade Edition on laid paper free endpapers lightly browned; original dark red buckram gilt backs uncut backstrips lightly faded but all gilt wholly legible else a remarkably bright clean copy. Nice copy of the first trade edition preceded only by a privately printed edition of 100 copies in 1880. Set in the time of Charles I Shorthouse's first and best novel explores contemporary issues within the Anglican and Catholic churches arising primarily from the Oxford Movement. Macmillan to whom the novel was introduced by Mrs. Humphrey Ward considered it a work of genius and hastened to publication. His instinct would seem to have been justified for it became one of the most popular works of the late Victorian period selling over 80000 copies. NCBEL III p.1078; cf. Wolff 6300. Macmillan, hardcover
1923Best.-Nr. 14273Chapman & Dodd 1923. 4to. First Edition endpapers mildly browned; original black cloth gilt back a very good clean copy. THR ORIGINAL EDITION IS SCARCE. Chapman & Dodd, hardcover
1910Best.-Nr. 14279George Bell 1910. 4to. First and Sole Edition parallel texts in Greek and English; original green cloth gilt back uncut covers mildly age-marked at lower edge else a very good bright clean copy. Scarce George Bell, hardcover
1997Best.-Nr. 14619Sheffield Academic Press 1997. 8vo. First Edition with a portrait frontispiece and numerous illustratioins from photographs in the text; cloth gilt back a fine copy in unclipped dustwrapper. The best biography to date including a worthy attempt at a bibliography of the novels Sheffield Academic Press, hardcover
1917Best.-Nr. 14640Humphrey Milford Oxford University Press for the British Academy 1917. 8vo. original printed wrappers sewed as issued covers age-soiled and stitching loose else a bright clean copy. Offprinted from the Proceedings of the British Academy vol. VIII. VERY SCARCE. Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press for the British Academy, unknown
1910Best.-Nr. 14641Humphrey Milford Oxford University Press for the British Academy 1910. 8vo. original printed wrappers sewed as issued covers lightly age-soiled else a very good bright clean copy. Offprinted from the Proceedings of the British Academy vol. IV. VERY SCARCE. Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press for the British Academy, unknown
1946Best.-Nr. 14657Clarendon Press Oxford 1946. Roy. 8vo. First Edition thus on laid paper top lightly dust-soiled; original cloth blocked in blind gilt back uncut a near fine copy in unclipped moderately age-browned dustwrapper. Volume III comprises Miscellaneous Sonnets Memorials of various Tours Poems dedicated to National Independence and Liberty The Egyptian Maid The River Dudgeon series The White Doe and other Narrative Poems Ecclesiastical Sonnets 1946. Professor Ernest de Selincourt is universally recognised as the single most outstanding editor of Wordsworth. Following his edition of the poet's great single work 'The Prelude' 1926 immediately recognised as the definitive text he devoted almost twenty years to the preparation of his magnum opus - the 'Poetical Works' in five magisterial volumes. Quite apart from the scrupulous veracity of the texts the edition bristles with variora and comprehensively detailed notes and comment by a lifetime scholar. In the last three volumes de Selincourt was assisted by his close collaborator Helen Darbishire who subsequently assumed his mantle. Clarendon Press, Oxford, hardcover
1825Best.-Nr. 14686Alliana E Paravia Torino 1825. 2 books in one vol. 8vo. text in Italian on laid paper some very light spotting mainly marginal; neat nineteenth signature on front free endpaper; contemporary pebble-grain cloth calf back with five bands ruled in gilt second compartment lettered and ruled in gilt boards unevenly faded fore-edges a little dust-soiled else a very good bright firm copy. A MOST UNUSUAL TURIN PRINTING of Roberti's treatise on ethics and integrity nominated by Gamba as one of his better works and first published in Bassano the author's birthplace in 1784. In it Roberti takes his inspiration from Montesquieu and others in exploring the distinction between honesty and truthfulness uprightness and moral rectitude. The treatise is divided into two parts; the first exploring six 'doubts' the second concentrating on six founding principles. Both parts contain numerous examples some literary and some factual. Extremely scarce especially in this condition. Gamba 2420 recording the first edition. Alliana E Paravia, Torino, hardcover
1883Best.-Nr. 14690Routledge 1883. 8vo. Second Edition thus with frontispiece title-vignette and very numerous illustrations a number full-page in the text; original pictorial blue cloth upper board and backstrip elaborately blocked and lettered in gilt and black floral endpapers expertly recased a very good bright clean copy. With 8pp publisher's catalogue bound in at end. First published in the UK in 1881. Collects two works published separately in the US: 'Legends of the Old Plantation' and 'Uncle Remus: His Songs and Sayings'. Includes Harris' extended 'Introduction to the American Edition'. SCARCE ESPECIALLY IN THIS CONDITION. Routledge, hardcover
1984Best.-Nr. 14795Clarendon Press Oxford 1984. 3 vols. 8vo. with 3 facsimiles as frontispieces and a full-page map in the text front free endpapers browned; original black buckram gilt gilt backs a near fine set. Sold with a small quantity of relevant ephemera. The set comprises Vol. I: 1719-1774; Vol. II: 1775-1782; Vol. III: 1783-1784. Chapman's is most inclusive edition to date in particular surpassing Hill's of 1892. It includes an extensive bibliographical and historiographical introduction. Bright set of the much-needed first reissue of the original edition of 1952. Clarendon Press, Oxford, hardcover
1935Best.-Nr. 14837Oxford University Press Oxford 1935-1939. 6 vols. 8vo. First Edition on laid paper with folding facsimile as frontispiece large folding facsimile 2 double-page pedigrees and tinted folding map; original maroon buckram gilt backs uncut a near fine set set. With uniform personal bookplate on front paste-downs and small relevant cutting mounted on front free endpaper of first volume. The set comprises: Vol. I: The Early Letters 1787-1805 1935; Vol. II: The Middle Years 1806-1811 1937; Vol. III: The Middle Years 1811-1820 1937; Vol. IV: The Later Years 1821-1820 1939; Vol V: The Later Years 1831-1840 1939; Vol. VI: The Later Years 1841-1850 1939. COMPLETE SETS IN THIS CONDITION ARE VERY SCARCE. NCBEL III 188. Oxford University Press, Oxford, hardcover
1906Best.-Nr. 14922George Routledge 1906. 8vo. First Edition endpapers lightly spotted; original olive buckram back gilt with red leather label ruled and lettered in gilt brown top black endpapers uncut covers mildly age-soiled else a very good clean firm copy. With the early twentieth century armorial bookplate of William Bradbrooke and trade ticket of Blackwell's of Oxford on front paste-down. The best single-volume collection predating de Beer's definitive six-volume edition of 1955. Very scarce. George Routledge, hardcover
1935Best.-Nr. 13483Clarendon Press Oxford 1935. 2 vols. 8vo. First Edition on laid paper with portrait frontispieces 4 folding facsimiles 12 plates and 2 maps; original burgundy cloth gilt backs uncut both near fine copies. Vol. I: 1734-1755; Vol. II: 1765-1765. NCBEL II 578. Clarendon Press, Oxford, hardcover
1946Best.-Nr. 13485Clarendon Press Oxford 1946. Roy. 8vo. First Edition thus on laid paper; original cloth blocked in blind gilt back uncut a remarkably bright clean copy in unclipped lightly browned dustwrapper. ROY FULLER'S COPY WITH HIS NEAT SIGNATURE ON FRONT FREE ENDPAPER. Volume III comprises Miscellaneous Sonnets Memorials of various Tours Poems dedicated to National Independence and Liberty The Egyptian Maid The River Dudgeon series The White Doe and other Narrative Poems Ecclesiastical Sonnets 1946. Professor Ernest de Selincourt is universally recognised as the single most outstanding editor of Wordsworth. Following his edition of the poet's great single work 'The Prelude' 1926 immediately recognised as the definitive text he devoted almost twenty years to the preparation of his magnum opus - the 'Poetical Works' in five magisterial volumes. Quite apart from the scrupulous veracity of the texts the edition bristles with variora and comprehensively detailed notes and comment by a lifetime scholar. In the last three volumes de Selincourt was assisted by his close collaborator Helen Darbishire who subsequently assumed his mantle. A SPLENDID LITERARY ASSOCIATION COPY. Clarendon Press, Oxford, hardcover
1890Best.-Nr. 13574J W Jarvis & Son 1890. 2 vols. 8vo. with sepia-toned frontispieces titles in red and black and 14 sepia-toned plates; original red cloth gilt backs uncut yellow endpapers a very good bright clean set. J W Jarvis & Son, hardcover
1894Best.-Nr. 13576Dent 1894. 2 vols. 8vo. with portrait frontispieces in photogravure original tissue guards present titles in red and black and 75 illustrations in the text; original blue holland upper boards blocked with elaborate floral design enclosing title all in gilt gilt backs gilt tops uncut covers lightly age-soiled backstrips moderately age-browned but all gilt wholly legible else a very good bright clean copy. Dent, hardcover
1896Best.-Nr. 12355Simpkin Marshall Hamilton Kent & Co. 1896. 8vo. First Edition on laid paper with frontispiece original tissue guard present 11 plates and large folding map free endpapers lightly browned; original navy blue ribbed cloth gilt back gilt top bevelled boards uncut a remarkably bright fresh copy. EDITION LIMITED TO 350 COPIES. The illustrations are reproduced from drawings by Agnes Taylor of Ilminster mostly from photographs taken by Chas Andrew of Swindon. Goddard p.238; Miller & Matthews B29.1. Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., hardcover
1853Best.-Nr. 12319Black Edinburgh 1853. 8vo. with engraved frontispiece engraved and printed titles 4 engraved plates of views a folding facsimile on japon of Scott's handwriting and several wood-engraved tail-pieces in the text frontispiece and engraved title a little dusty; attractively bound in full green morocco boards elaborately blocked in gilt to an arabesque design back gilt extra with five raised bands second compartment ruled and lettered in gilt all other compartments richly tooled and ruled in gilt all edges gilt gilt doublures primrose endpapers neatly rebacked with old backstrip laid down a very good clean copy. The engravings are by Brandard Le Keux Miller and Pye from works by Turner and Stanfield. The engraved title is by Le Keux after Turner. This would appear to be a later issue for the engraved title is dated 1851 and we have seen other copies bound in red. Black, Edinburgh, hardcover
1838Best.-Nr. 12687Baudry's European Library Paris 1838. 2 works in 1 vol. 8vo. First Continental Editions in English on laid paper some light and occasional browning to text; contemporary marbled boards ruled in gilt roan back elaborately tooled and lettered in gilt sprinkled edges marbled endpapers a very good bright clean firm copy. With the large nineteenth century engraved armorial bookplate of Frederick W. Disney on front paste-down. Baudry's Collection of Ancient and Modern British Authors. Vol. XII. Both works were first published in 1816. VERY SCARCE ESPECIALLY IN THIS CONDITION. Baudry's European Library, Paris, hardcover
