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ref. 05070London: Printed for J. Brindley 1751. First Birch Edition with Thirty-Two Magnificent Double-Page Copper Plates by William Kent In a Stunning Mid Eighteenth Century Red Morocco Binding in Perfect Condition "The Aim of Publishing The Faerie Queene was to Fashion a Gentleman or Noble Person in Virtuous and Gentle Discipline" SPENSER Edmund. The Faerie Queene. With an exact Collation of the Two Original Editions Published by Himself at London in Quarto; the Former containing the first Three Books printed in 1590 and the Latter the Six Books in 1596. To which are now added A new Life of the Author and also A Glossary. Adorn'd with thirty-two Copper-Plates from the Original Drawings of the late W. Kent Esq; Archtect and principal Painter to his Majesty. London: Printed for J. Brindley and S. Wright 1751. Edmund Spenser's rich allegorical poem of fierce lady knights monsters duels and Classical gods and goddesses handsomely illustrated by William Kent. First Birch edition. Three quarto volumes 10 11/16 x 8 5/16 inches; 276 x 212 mm. iv blank 4 lxiii 1 blank ii i-xxxvii i blank 1-212 217-453 3 blank; ii blank 2 1-450 2 blank; ii blank 2 1-440 2 blank pp. Thirty-two fine double-page copper-plates all mounted on stubs by William Kent. Numerous engraved vignette tail-pieces. There are 20 plates in the first volume 7 in the second and 5 in the third volume. Some light scattered foxing throughout - the most noticeable being on gatherings M & N pp. 80-96 and plate number 4 between pp. 30/31 in volume 1. Otherwise a spectacular and immaculate set. Contemporary English full red goatskin the covers gilt tooled with a dog-tooth roll border enclosing an elaborate panel of six different thistle and flower tools. Spines with five raised bands elaborately bordered and decorated in gilt in compartments. Two dark green morocco labels decoratively bordered and lettered in gilt. Elaborate gilt board edges marbled endpapers all edges gilt. The binding which is near immaculate has been attributed as "possibly by John Brindley 1705-1758. The book was also published by John Brindley. John BRINDLEY before 1705-1758. Primarily a bookseller also a publisher. Reproduction of his trade card in Heal Collection Heal17.17 advertises "John Brindley Bookseller and Stationer at the King's Arms in New Bond Street. Bookbinder to Her Majesty and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales: Sells books in all languages variety of novels plays &c. Also all sorts of stationary wares stampt paper bonds cards shop & pocket books &c. Wholesale and retail. Likewise neatly binds books in all sorts of binding. Money for any library or parcel of books." British Museum. "Most of our knowledge of John Brindley comes from The Oldest London Bookshop by George Smith and Frank Benger published in 1928. Brindley began as a bookbinder and although in 1728 he established the bookselling business in New Bond Street which was to gain further renown under the successive managements of Robson Boone and Ellis bookbinding remained one of the firm's activities until after his death. He held the appointment of bookbinder to Queen Caroline and to Frederick Prince of Wales and a number of presentation bindings to them on books published by Brindley are in King George III's library at the British Library. Comparison of these with other presentation bindings at Windsor with Brindley books from the library of Mr. George Smith sold at Sotheby's on 22nd July 1959 and with sets of the duodecimo classics published by Brindley between 1744 and 1754 enables us to identify many of the tools used in his shop and some of this specialities. The most striking of these was a partiality to edge decoration and to gaily marbled and gilt edges on sets of the classics. Brindley also bound for the Harleian Library. There is only one reference to him in Humfrey Wanley's Diary when he applied - apparently unsuccessfully - on 3 February 1719/20 to Wanley for some work saying that 'his Lordship lately gave him a Book to Bind'. But after Wanley's death he was apparently more successful and four bills of his survive for books supplied and books bound during the years 1733-8 among the Portland papers on deposit in the British Library". Nixon. Five Centuries of English Bookbinding. London 1978. This is the first edition since 1609 to publish The Faerie Queene as a separate work. It is a new collation of the first two editions with a new biographical sketch written by the editor Thomas Birch. Birch 1705-1766 was a compiler of histories a biographer and formidable antiquarian. A member of the Society of Antiquaries and fellow of the Royal Society he is known primarily for The Works of the Honourable Robert Boyle 1744 Memoirs of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth 1754 Lives and Characters of Illustrious Persons 1747-52 and The History of the Royal Society of London 1756-7. "Thomas Birch describes his intention as "the collecting of all the Facts relating to him Spenser dispers'd in different Books and the examining digesting and supplying them by his own Works not hitherto sufficiently made use of for that Purpose" Life vol 1 p. ii. He arranges the available material into a more shapely narrative than most emphasizing Spenser's struggles for recognition and patronage more than his literary accomplishments. Birch believes that the concluding six books of the Faerie Queene were written and then lost" English Poetry 1579-1830: Spencer and the Tradition. "The Edition of the Fairy Queen now offer'd to the Public it is hop'd will be found to be a just Representation of the genuine Text not hitherto given in any single Edition but form'd from an exact Collation of the two original ones of the Author compar'd in the three last Books with the first Folio printed at London in 1609 which has furnish'd Corrections of some Mistakes in the 4to of 1596. Nothing therefore now remains for the Honour of our Poet and the Satisfaction of the Public but that the Learned and Ingenious unite their Labours towards such a Commentary upon his admirable Poem as Mr. JORTIN has oblig'd the World with a Specimen of his Remarks printed in 1734" from Birch's Life of Spenser herein. The superb double-page illustrations are by William Kent 1685-1748 an eminent English architect landscape architect painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He is important as an illustrator of the poem because he was the first designer to respond imaginatively to the possibilities of Spenser's landscape and as a result had a major influence on later eighteenth-century taste. Spenser's reputation as an English gothic poet owes much to Kent's influence but Kent was a sophisticated enough artist and reader of the poem to respond also to the Italianate elements in Spenser's work which strongly corresponded with his own interests. Kent introduced the Palladian style of architecture into England with the villa at Chiswick House and also originated the 'natural' style of gardening known as the English landscape garden at Chiswick Stowe House in Buckinghamshire and Rousham House in Oxfordshire. He complemented his houses and gardens with stately furniture for major buildings including Hampton Court Palace Chiswick House Devonshire House and Rousham. His book designs show the results of his extensive travels decorative sense and the influence of picturesque landscape design which reached its height in the mid-eighteenth century. The Faerie Queene is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books I-III were first published in 1590 then republished in 1596 together with books IV-VI. The Faerie Queene is notable for its form: it is one of the longest poems in the English language; it is also the work in which Spenser invented the verse form known as the Spenserian stanza.On a literal level the poem follows several knights as a means to examine different virtues and though the text is primarily an allegorical work it can be read on several levels of allegory including as praise or later criticism of Queen Elizabeth I. In Spenser's "Letter of the Authors" he states that the entire epic poem is "cloudily enwrapped in Allegorical devices" and that the aim of publishing The Faerie Queene was to "fashion a gentleman or noble person in virtuous and gentle discipline". Edmund Spenser 1552-1599 presented the first three books of The Faerie Queene to Elizabeth I in 1589 probably sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh. The poem was a clear effort to gain court favour and as a reward Elizabeth granted Spenser a pension for life amounting to £50 a year though there is no further evidence that Elizabeth I ever read any of the poem. This royal patronage elevated the poem to a level of success that made it Spenser's defining work. Book I is centered on the virtue of holiness as embodied in the Redcrosse Knight; Book II is centered on the virtue of Temperance as embodied in Sir Guyon who is tempted by the fleeing Archimago into nearly attacking the Redcrosse Knight; Book III is centered on the virtue of Chastity as embodied in Britomart a lady knight. Book IV is largely a continuation of events begun in Book III; Book V is centered on the virtue of Justice as embodied in Sir Artegall; and Book VI is centered on the virtue of Courtesy as embodied in Sir Calidore. In addition to the six virtues Holiness Temperance Chastity Friendship Justice and Courtesy the Letter to Raleigh suggests that Arthur represents the virtue of Magnificence which "according to Aristotle and the rest" is "the perfection of all the rest and containeth in it them all"; and that the Faerie Queene herself represents Glory hence her name Gloriana. The unfinished seventh book the Cantos of Mutability appears to have represented the virtue of "constancy." Graesse p. 465; Lowndes V 2477; Allibone 2203; ESTC T35152; Alston 3:93. London: Printed for J. Brindley, 1751 unknown books
ref. 119175London J.M. Dent 1897. . Limited edition of 100 copies printed on handmade paper each one signed by the illustrator underneath the printed colophon at the rear; ' This book is bound and decorated and colour by Cedric Chivers designed by' followed by ink manuscript asterisk since not a large enough space for signature hence below; 3 vols 4to 265 x 210 mm; halftitles titles printed in red and black with woodcut borders 26 woodcut illustrations several doublepage decorative headpieces initials and tailpieces by FairfaxMuckley a few text leaves still uncut age-toning to text blocks more evident to edges some tissue-guards a bit foxed with resultant offsetting generally the odd random mark or spotting but mostly to the blank margins except for a stain to lower edge of illustrated leaves facing pp 576 & 682 in vol. III otherwise very good; original full vellucant vellum by Cedric Chivers of Bath printed colophon to each vol. the upper cover with a hand-painted scene of an Arthurian Knight and a lady possibly the Red Cross Knight and his lady Una both on horse-back galloping within a heart-shaper frond gilt title-panel all within and armourial boarder the spines painted with an Authurian lady holding a lamp aloft. the rear boards painted with a large roundel of a stylised dragon each vol. in a variant colourway top edge gilt others trimmed as published age-toned with minor soiling mostly to rear boards otherwise very good-plus a stunning set. One of 100 copies on handmade paper of this English epic poem first published in 1590 signed by the illustrator. Following a lecture by Cyril Davenport of the British Museum on the 18th century painted vellum bindings of Edwards of Halifax Cedric Chivers created his own 'Vellucent' bindings using established artists such as Jessie M. King Alice Shepherd and H. Granville Fell. In its prime the company experimented and specialised in highly skilled and beautiful bindings; this example being one of them. Chivers was born in Bath to a bookbinding family. After working for his father and various other binders he opened his own business in 1878 in the premises formerly occupied by Robert Rivière in Union Street Bath. He subsequently moved to a double fronted shop at 39 Gay Street and then as the business expanded to a large house at Portway in Combe Park where the company operated until 1990. London, J.M. Dent, 1897. hardcover
1897ref. 2945London: J.M. Dent 1897. Chivers bindings. Fine. STUNNING CHIVERS VELLUCENT BINDINGS. One of 100 large-paper copies illustrated by Louis Fairfax Muckley. The three thick quarto volumes are elegantly printed on handmade paper and illustrated throughout with images and designs by the British artist and illustrator Louis Fairfax Muckley. The illustrations are magnificent and feature the plates in two states red and black. The bindings by Chivers however are the star of the show and perfectly complement the text. For the front boards Muckley has created an intricate design featuring a knight and lady on galloping horses surrounded by decorative borders and gilt titling. Each spine depicts a lady emerging from a colorful background while each rear board has a stylized dragon seemingly jumping out from the binding. While the outlines of the designs are the same on each volume they are each painted with different colors creating a unique look and mood for each. On Cedric Chivers’s “vellucent” bindings: Chivers created a masterful binding technique in the late 19th century he called “vellucent” – a portmanteau combining “vellum” and “translucent”. The process was arduous but the results were stunning with artwork seeming to glow under a layer of thin protective vellum. His process began with a decorative design—in the case of these volumes artwork by Louis Fairfax Murray – created on paper or thin parchment. The artwork was then placed underneath a sheet of vellum that was extremely thin and specially treated to be translucent allowing the colors to almost shine like a stained glass window. The final step was particularly tricky – since vellum is not particularly flexible it required expert craftsmanship to lay it smoothly over the book's boards and spine without wrinkles or bubbles. The result is a binding that doubles as a work of fine art. The bindings are stamped “Bound by Cedric Chivers” in gilt on the rear dentelles and decoratively written on the rear endpaper of volume 1 likely by Chivers is the note: “THIS BOOK IS BOUND BY / CEDRIC CHIVERS BATH / 2 COPIES ONLY WITH THIS DESIGN / THIS IS NO 1”. Anecdotally however we are aware of three copies that have been bound with this design although without the written limitation. Provenance: There is a note in pencil in the first volume that these are from the Robert Hoe collection but we have not been able to confirm this. London: J.M. Dent 1897. Thick octavos 258 x 197 mm vellucent bindings by Chivers. Text nearly pristine. A touch of bowing to bindings. AN OUTSTANDING EXAMPLE OF CHIVERS BINDINGS IN UNUSUALLY FINE CONDITION. J.M. Dent unknown
1923ref. ST21078Chelsea: Ashendene Press 1923. ST JOHN HORNBY'S WORKSHOP COPY there were 180 paper copies 150 of them for sale and 12 vellum copies of this edition. 440 x 307 mm. 17 1/4 x 12". 2 p.l. 406 2 pp. Original holland-backed blue paper boards flat spine with paper title label identifying this as a workshop copy. Housed in a fine modern drop-back box of blue cloth backed with holland paper labels on spine. Printer's device in colophon. Printed in red black and blue. Front pastedown with bookplate of St John Hornby and ex-libris of David Godine. Hornby 32; Franklin pp. 144-46 240-41. Covers with fading along the top a bit of foxing and extensive though light gray discoloration ends of spine lightly bumped and lower edges of bottom corners slightly rubbed both as expected but the volume completely solid and miles away from what one would imagine for a hefty book like this that would have been expected to incur uncareful use. Isolated very pale foxing and the most trivial signs of use internally. A REMARKABLE COPY the text in beautiful condition soundly protected in its unique binding. With its companion volume "Minor Poems" by Spenser this in Franklin's eyes is the "masterpiece" among the Ashendene folios; and the present distinctive--and presumably unique--copy comes from Charles Harry St John Hornby's own printer's workshop. Unlike most other copies which are typically found in the publisher's calf-backed vellum binding this copy is in the inexpensive and less substantial holland-backed boards that are now less and less commonly seen in large part because they have not stood up well over the years. The present copy somehow has done quite the opposite. In addition to the original Ashendene "Workshop Copy" designation on the spine label scattered finger smudges--perhaps those of Hornby himself--suggest its use in the printer's studio. In our experience this particular designation is extremely rare in connection with private press books in general and certainly for Ashendene volumes. Founded in 1895 by Hornby 1867-1946 the Ashendene Press issued 40 books plus additional minor pieces for four decades. Less elaborate in appearance and design than William Morris' Kelmscott volumes but more ornamental than the products of Cobden-Sanderson's Doves Press the Ashendene volumes have long been considered the most satisfying of English private press books. This volume was formerly in the collection of David R. Godine who founded the Godine Press in 1970 after training with printmaker Leonard Baskin and master printer Harold McGrath. Ashendene Press unknown
1613ref. 4533London: By Humphrey Lownes for Mathew Lownes 1611- 1613. FIRST COLLECTED EDITION second issue see below for issue points. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in 19th c. sprinkled calfskin gilt hinges discreetly repaired mild wear to corners and extremities. The boards are ruled in gold with shell ornaments at the corners and a gilt arabesque at the center. The text itself is in very nice condition lightly pressed with a few trivial blemishes and small rust holes to four leaves F3 X1-2 C6. The main title page is framed by a fine ornamental woodcut border McKerrow & Ferguson 212. Every canto of the “Faerie Queene” is introduced by an elaborate four-part woodcut frame and concludes with a historiated tail-piece. The “Shepheard's Calendar” is illustrated with twelve woodcut vignettes one for each month. The first issue of Spenser’s collected works appeared in 1611. In the earliest copies the publisher Mathew Lownes used the remaining sheets from his 1609 folio edition of the “Faerie Queene” together with a new title page and dedicatory leaf. Spenser’s other works were then printed in the same format to complete the collected edition. In 1612 the 1609 “Faerie Queene” sheets having run out the poem was re-set and printed anew with the t.p. to the second part dated 1612 and its colophon dated "16012" as in this copy. This issue also includes “Mother Hubberd’s Tale” which had been omitted in the first issue in order not to offend William Cecil whose father Lord Burghley Spenser had satirized in that poem. “Since Cecil died in 1612 the last objection to the republication of that work was removed and so copies of it were separately printed and inserted in those copies of the 1611 works that remained on hand.”Pforzheimer 972 The Omission of ‘Mother Hubberd’s Tale” from the 1611 Collected Works of Spenser: “Two years after Matthew Lownes had issued the first folio edition of the ‘Faerie Queen’ he decided to issue a collected edition of Spenser’s works. Having a number of unsold copies of the 1609 ‘Faerie Queen’ still on hand he determined to use those copies by including them in the collected edition in lieu of a 1611 reprint of the same. In order to effect this end he printed a general title and dedicatory leaf on a single sheet unsigned and so was enabled thus to make-up copies of a collected edition by cancelling the title of the 1609 edition and adding a 1611 edition of the remaining parts. “The 1591 edition of Spenser’s ‘Complaints’ having been officially suppressed on account of the attack on lord Burghley contained in the ‘Mother Hubberd’s Tale’ and in certain passages of the ‘Ruines of Time’ Lownes was not free to include the contents of that volume in this collected edition without obtaining official permission. By 1611 the matter had long blown over and Burghley the object of the satire was now dead but in deference to Sir Robert Cecil his son it was considered advisable to omit the offending satire and to revise the objectionable passages in the ‘Ruines of Time’. Therefore some copies e.g. the present of the 161 edition that were sold soon after publication did not contain the ‘Mother Hubberd’s Tale’ but since Cecil died in 1612 the last objection to the re-publication of that work was removed and so copies of it were separately printed and inserted in those copies that remained on hand.”Pforzheimer 972. By H[umphrey] L[ownes] for Mathew Lownes, 1611- hardcover
1595ref. 3367London:: printed by Thomas Creede for VVilliam Ponsonbie 1595. FIRST EDITION. The colophon reads: "London Printed by T.C. for William Ponsonbie. 1595.". Quarto:. 18 x 13 cm. 80 p. Signatures: A-K4 An attractive copy in early 20th c. calf. Very nice internally the last leaf with 16th c. verses in Latin and English on the verso of the final leaf. With a woodcut printer's device McKerrow 299 and decorative border to the title page and numerous head- and tailpieces throughout. A lovely copy of the first edition. This copy has the second state of sheet C with the reading "worthily" on C1r line 24. With a dedicatory epistle to "The Right worthy and noble Knight Sir Walter Raleigh" dated "from my house of Kilcolman the 27. Of December. 1591." In addition to "Colin Clout" this volume also includes Spenser's "Astrophel: A pastorall Elegie upon the death of the most Noble and valorous Knight Sir Phillip Sidney" dedicated to Sidney's widow who had by then become the Countess of Essex; An untitled poem beginning "Ay me to whom shall I complaine…" often referred to as "The dolefull lay of Corinda"; "The mourning Muse of Thestylis" by Ludowick Bryskett; "A pastorall Aeglogue upon the death of Sir Phillip Sidney Knight" signed L.B. Ludowick Bryskett; "An Elegie or friends passion for his Astrophill" by Matthew Roydon; "An Epitaph upon the right honourable sir Phillip Sidney Knight: Lord governor of Flushing" by Walter Raleigh; "Another of the Same" almost certainly by Sir Edward Dyer.Spenser's "Colin Clout's Come Home Again' a pastoral poem in the tradition of Petrarch was inspired by the poet's visit to England from 1590 to 1591 a journey undertaken at the urging of Walter Raleigh. Spenser wrote the poem dedicated to Raleigh upon his return to Kilcolman castle in Ireland –the 'Home' referred to in the poem's title. Spenser's adoption of an Anglo-Irish identity was publicly expressed in the title poem where the 'home' that Colin refers to rather bitterly in the poem is Ireland not England. At the same time the elegies on Sidney as the English nation's poet imply Spenser's claim to be his successor. The poem has been called Spenser's most biographical and indeed it includes not only the visit from Raleigh to Spenser's home in Ireland in 1589 but also an account of Spenser's sea voyage and his time in England during which he presented the first three books of his 'Faerie Queen' to Queen Elizabeth.The poem fits neatly into a tradition of advice literature that exempts the monarch from the general failings of his or her courtiers and includes strong criticisms of the court as well as attacks on the vanity ignorance and greed of courtiers in general. It is possible that Colin Clout was intended as a criticism of Elizabeth's regime in the 1590s especially if we bear in mind Spenser's own lack of preferment in England and his posthumous criticisms of the queen in 'Two cantos of Mutabilitie' A. Hadfield Edmund Spenser's Irish Experience 1997 chap. 6 Ashley V 194; Pforzheimer 967; STC 23077 printed by Thomas Creede for VVilliam Ponsonbie, books
1595ref. 3120London:: printed by Thomas Creede for VVilliam Ponsonbie 1595. FIRST EDITION. The colophon reads: "London Printed by T.C. for William Ponsonbie. 1595.". Quarto:. 18 x 13 cm. 80 p. Signatures: A-K4 A wonderful copy bound in fine early 20th c. burgundy morocco by Riviere & Sons. Very nice internally the last leaf carefully washed. With a woodcut printer's device McKerrow 299 and decorative border to the title page and numerous head- and tailpieces throughout. A lovely copy of the first edition. This copy has the second state of sheet C with the reading "worthily" on C1r line 24. With a dedicatory epistle to "The Right worthy and noble Knight Sir Walter Raleigh" dated "from my house of Kilcolman the 27. Of December. 1591." In addition to "Colin Clout" this volume also includes Spenser's "Astrophel: A pastorall Elegie upon the death of the most Noble and valorous Knight Sir Phillip Sidney" dedicated to Sidney's widow who had by then become the Countess of Essex; An untitled poem beginning "Ay me to whom shall I complaine…" often referred to as "The dolefull lay of Corinda"; "The mourning Muse of Thestylis" by Ludowick Bryskett; "A pastorall Aeglogue upon the death of Sir Phillip Sidney Knight" signed L.B. Ludowick Bryskett; "An Elegie or friends passion for his Astrophill" by Matthew Roydon; "An Epitaph upon the right honourable sir Phillip Sidney Knight: Lord governor of Flushing" by Walter Raleigh; "Another of the Same" almost certainly by Sir Edward Dyer.Spenser's "Colin Clout's Come Home Again' a pastoral poem in the tradition of Petrarch was inspired by the poet's visit to England from 1590 to 1591 a journey undertaken at the urging of Walter Raleigh. Spenser wrote the poem dedicated to Raleigh upon his return to Kilcolman castle in Ireland –the 'Home' referred to in the poem's title. Spenser's adoption of an Anglo-Irish identity was publicly expressed in the title poem where the 'home' that Colin refers to rather bitterly in the poem is Ireland not England. At the same time the elegies on Sidney as the English nation's poet imply Spenser's claim to be his successor. The poem has been called Spenser's most biographical and indeed it includes not only the visit from Raleigh to Spenser's home in Ireland in 1589 but also an account of Spenser's sea voyage and his time in England during which he presented the first three books of his 'Faerie Queen' to Queen Elizabeth.The poem fits neatly into a tradition of advice literature that exempts the monarch from the general failings of his or her courtiers and includes strong criticisms of the court as well as attacks on the vanity ignorance and greed of courtiers in general. It is possible that Colin Clout was intended as a criticism of Elizabeth's regime in the 1590s especially if we bear in mind Spenser's own lack of preferment in England and his posthumous criticisms of the queen in 'Two cantos of Mutabilitie' A. Hadfield Edmund Spenser's Irish Experience 1997 chap. 6 Ashley V 194; Pforzheimer 967; STC 23077 printed by Thomas Creede for VVilliam Ponsonbie, books
1591ref. ST18266London: Imprinted for William Ponsonbie dwelling in Paules Churchyard at the signe of the Bishops head 1591. FIRST EDITION. 182 x 130 mm. 7 1/4 x 5 1/4". 91 leaves lacking blank Z4. Late 19th century green crushed morocco by Riviere & Son stamp-signed on front turn-in covers with decorative gilt lozenge centerpiece raised bands gilt lettering gilt-ruled turn-ins. Housed in a modern brown buckram chemise and attractive morocco-backed slipcase. Main title page with woodcut border McKerrow & Ferguson 117 section titles for three of the poems with woodcut frame woodcut initials head- and tailpieces. Front pastedown with engraved armorial bookplate of Charles Lilburn and ex-libris of Kenneth Rapoport see below. Langland to Wither 235; Hayward 23; Johnson 14; Pforzheimer 968; STC 23078; ESTC S111266. The Rosenbach Company catalogue 45 #690 this copy. Spine sunned to olive brown faint fading and soiling to covers just a hint of rubbing to corners and spine ends contents lightly washed and pressed in keeping with bibliophilic fashion at the time of binding occasional small spot or other trivial imperfection but an excellent copy clean and fresh internally in a perfectly pleasant binding. This is an appealing copy with star-studded provenance of one of the less frequently encountered first editions of Edmund Spenser ca. 1552-99 the first modern English poet to achieve major stature during his lifetime. It comprises a collection of six poems and three translations assembled by publisher William Ponsonby in order to capitalize on the recently experienced success of "The Faerie Queene." In the preface Ponsonby describes these poems as "complaints and meditations of the worlds vanitie very grave and profitable." The included works some dating back to Spenser's college days are: "The Ruines of Time" "The Teares of the Muses" "Virgils Gnat" "Proposia Or Mother Hubberds Tale" "Ruines of Rome" "Muiopotmos or the Fate of the Butterflie" "Visions of the Worlds Vanitie" "Bellayes Visions" and "Petrarches Visions." Six of these are original poems all previously unpublished and three are translations one unpublished and two revised. Unfortunately "Proposia" was a political satire on the attempts to arrange a marriage between Elizabeth I and the Duc d'Alençon that resulted in the entire volume being banned. That poem was omitted from early editions of the collected minor poems. Day says Spenser demonstrated "with his fluency in many meters and stanzaic forms . . . that English was at least the equal to any other language as a vehicle of great poetry." Although his poetry particularly "The Faerie Queene" looks backward--as the culmination of the allegorical verse tradition of the Pearl Poet Langland and Chaucer--Spenser has influenced with "his fertile imagination and especially his sensuous imagery and melodic language" nearly every important English poet who followed him. Our volume has distinguished provenance four times over. The first known owner here Charles Lilburn Esq. 1842-91 was an antiquary businessman Justice of the Peace and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. George Neasham in "North-Country Sketches" 1893 calls Lilburn "bibliomaniacal" but also "one of nature’s gentlemen." In 1888 the "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne" claimed that Lilburn’s library "would have charmed the heart of Dibdin himself." The present copy then apparently became the subsequent property of Sir Israel Gollancz 1863-1930 distinguished Shakespearian scholar and editor of early English literature at least he is named as a previous owner when this copy was sold by Swann Galleries in May of 2022 at the Rapoport sale. The book appeared later in the inventory of the rare book firm of A. S. W. Rosenbach 1876-1952 of Philadelphia where it was listed in the 1941 catalogue as item #690 priced at $300. Finally it became part of the library of Ken Rapoport who amassed an outstanding collection over 50 years with special emphasis on works of drama and poetry by English and Spanish authors among them Shakespeare Spenser and Cervantes. "Complaints" is scarce is virtually never found except in a modern binding and is usually seen in unappealing internal condition. Imprinted for William Ponsonbie, dwelling in Paules Churchyard at the signe of the Bishops head unknown
1591ref. 3119London:: Imprinted by Thomas Orwin for VVilliam Ponsonbie dwelling in Paules Churchyard at the signe of the Bishops head 1591. FIRST EDITION. . Quarto: . 18.5 x 14 cm. 184 p. Collation: A-Z4 lacking final blank Z4 Bound in fine early 20th c. green morocco with gilt turn-ins and the words “Complaints – Edmund Spenser – 1591” tooled in gold on the front board. The same neatly tooled on the spine. A nice copy never washed or pressed with wide outer margins. The edge of the title is a little frayed far from the woodcut there are light damp-stains in signatures D and S and a very faint one in the final signature. A few other trivial stains. It is highly unusual to find Spenser quartos in such condition the majority of the surviving copies having been washed and trimmed. Fortunately the binder of this copy resisted that temptation. The general title has a fine woodcut border with figures of David and Moses. There are separate title pages using the same woodcut border for “The Teares of the Muses” “Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale” and “Mviopotmos. Or The Fate of the Butterflie”. There are also a few attractive woodcut head-pieces and initials. The contents are as follows: 1. The Ruines of Time. 2. The Teares of the Muses. 3. Virgils Gnat. 4. Prosopopoia or Mother Hubberds Tale. 5. The Ruines of Rome: by Bellay. 6. Muiopotmos or The Tale of the Butterflie. 7. Visions of the Worlds vanitie. 8. Bellayes visions. 9. Petrarches visions. “Of the nine poems in the volume four are sonnet sequences while the others are in rhyme royal ottava rima sixaines or couplets. Each appears with a separate title page: five are dedicated to prominent courtiers or patrons and four are printed with no dedication. The first ‘The Ruines of Time’ is a lament on the destruction of the Roman city of Verulamium followed by an elegy on the deaths of Robert Dudley the earl of Leicester and Sir Philip Sidney. It is followed by ‘The Teares of the Muses’ a series of nine laments that deplore the corruption of learning and poetry. ‘Virgil’s Gnat’ the tale of a shepherd’s rescue by a humble gnat is an elaborate mock-heroic complaint translated from the pseudo-Virgilian ‘Culex.’ Next ‘Prosopoia or Mother Hubberds Tale’ takes the form of an allegorical beast-fable; its satire generally assumed to have been directed against Lord Burleigh was probably the reason that ‘Complaints’ was recalled shortly after its publication and that the poem was subsequently omitted from the 1611 folio of Spenser’s works see the following item. The volume continues with ‘The Ruines of Rome’ a translation of Joachim Du Bellay’s lament on the corruption of the modern city and ‘Muiopotmos’ a mock-heroic fable of the entrapment of a butterfly by a spider. The three sonnet sequences two of which are translations conclude the volume: ‘Visions of the Worlds Vanitite’ ‘The Visions of Bellay’ and ‘The Visions of Petrarch.’ For a thorough analysis see Katharine A. Craik Spenser's "Complaints" and the New Poet in Huntington Library Quarterly Vol. 64 No. 1/2 2001 pp. 63-79. Johnson A Critical Bibliography of the Works of Edmund Spenser printed before 1700 No. 14; STC 2nd ed. 23078; Pforzheimer 968 Imprinted by Thomas Orwin for VVilliam Ponsonbie, dwelling in Paules Churchyard at the signe of the Bishops head, unknown books
1596ref. 165717London: Printed for William Ponsonbie 1596. For there is nothing lost that may be found if sought First complete edition comprising the first edition of the second part and the second edition of the first part. Written in praise of Elizabeth I and dedicated to her Spenser's allegorical masterpiece follows the adventures of six medieval knights drawing on Arthurian legend Italian romance classical epic and Chaucer. John Dryden notes that "Spencer more than once insinuates that the Soul of Chaucer was transfus'd into his Body; and that he was begotten by him Two hundred years after his Decease" Dryden f. A1. In its mingling of genres the poem represented a new departure in English poetry for which Spenser invented a new stanza "a hybrid form adopted from the Scots poetry of James I 'rhyme royal' and Italian 'ottava rima'" ODNB. Spenser began composing the work in the 1570s sharing "parcels" of it among friends. Though no rough drafts autograph copies or foul papers for the poem have survived the poet alludes to a manuscript copy as early as 1580 when in a letter to Gabriel Harvey he asks for one to be returned to him: "I wil in hande forthwith with my Faery Queene whyche I praye you hartily send me with al expedition: and your frendly Letters and long expected Iudgement wythal" Three Proper and wittie familiar Letters. The poem or some part of it was almost certainly circulating in manuscript in London in 1588 when Abraham Fraunce quotes a stanza in his Arcadian Rhetorick correctly citing its book and canto "Spencer in his Faerie queene.2.book.cant.4". The first part was finally printed in 1590 - possibly intended to coincide with the publication of Philip Sidney's Arcadia - and the second part followed with a new edition of the first in 1596. Spenser likely composed some of the second part around 1593 as the conversion of Henry IV of France to Catholicism that year provides the historical basis for the Burbon episode in Book V. The poem now six books was entered into the Stationers' Register on 20 January 1596 suggesting publication had been planned to fall during Elizabeth I's Grand Climacteric - her 63rd year thought by astrologers to be critical - which had begun on 7 September 1595. In 1599 with only six of his twelve planned books completed Spenser died - his two fragmentary Cantos of Mutabilitie thought to be intended for Book VII are the only additional material published with the first folio edition of 1609. Provenance: from the library of Henry White 1822-1900 of Queen's Gate London with his armorial bookplate on the front pastedowns and sold in his 1902 Sotheby's sale lot 2028. The book was bound likely for White himself by Roger de Coverly 1831-1914 the London binder under whom T. J. Cobden-Sanderson trained. An old description mounted on the front pastedown of the first volume likely from a turn-of-the-century exhibition notes that the books were "lent by H. White Esq.". 2 vols small quarto 195 x 145 mm. Woodcut device of printer Richard Field to title pages full-page woodcut to M5 verso. Bound by Roger de Coverly in late 19th-century red crushed morocco spines with five raised bands lettered in gilt direct to second and third compartments remaining compartments richly gilt triple gilt fillet border to covers edges and turn-ins gilt marbled endpapers gilt edges. Spines slightly darkened upper margins closely trimmed touching a couple of headings outer leaves of vol. I faintly soiled a few spots to vol. II else clean and fresh within. An excellent copy handsomely bound. Pforzheimer 970; ESTC S117748. John Dryden "Preface" in Fables Ancient and Modern 1700; Edmund Spenser Three Proper and wittie familiar Letters 1580. hardcover
ref. 4531London: Various printers details below. 1591- 1596. A remarkable volume containing 3 separately-printed works including the first editions of the second part Cantos 4-6 of The Faerie Queene 1596 and Colin Clouts Come Home Againe 1595. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in 17th c. calf the boards gilt-ruled in compartments with ornamental tools at the corners and a large stamp of the Tudor arms at the center of each board hinges and endcaps restored corners bumped later label lacking ties. Inscriptions: In the Shepheards Calender 1. Contemporary signature of Roger Collings on p. 1; 2. Inscription in Latin on title page “To the library of Lord John Bond as a gift by Monsieur Bloncq i.e. Blanc A.D. 1627”. 3. Also on t.p. “Lady Carew” and “June 27 1669” perhaps Mary Morice of Wirrington d. 1698 Lady Carew. 4. Unidentified armorial stamp on verso of t.p. For condition of contents see individual entries below. 5. Another -and quite marvelous- contemporary inscription on the third preliminary leaf of the Shepheards Calender: “This is Robard Batmans Booke and he that steale et shall be hanged vpon A Roke as Hy as he cane loke.”. I. THE SHEPHEARDS CALENDER. London: Printed by Iohn Windet for Iohn Harrison the yonger dwelling in Pater-noster roe at the signe of the Anger 1591. Quarto: 4 52 lvs. Collation: 4 A-N4 3 preliminary leaves supplied and genuine. FOURTH EDITION. 1st ed. pub. 1579. Title within woodcut border McKerrow & Ferguson 198. The text is illustrated with 12 woodcut vignettes one for each month. Restorations to inner margin of title with some loss to the lefthand portion of the woodcut border small repair to upper outer corner no loss 3 preliminary leaves following title supplied from a shorter copy blank lower margin restored. The woodcut for April shows Queen Elizabeth and her entourage. “This and the edition of 1586 are counterparts of each other… The illustrations are printed from the same blocks; the type however was reset there being slight differences in spelling etc. and the printer’s ornaments at the foot of the eclogues are different.” Langland to Wither No. 229 p. 199-200 “Published in 1579 a decade before ‘The Faerie Queene’ this book of pastorals established Spenser as the leading poet of his generation. Its editor one "E.K." never identified but clearly someone associated with Spenser heralded the work as a major literary event and its author as ‘our new poet.’ It was reprinted four times in Spenser's lifetime and evoked imitations and admiring comments almost from the date of its publication. Spenserians and traditional literary historians still take ‘The Shepheardes Calender’ at E.K.'s valuation and treat it not without reason as inaugurating the great age of Elizabethan poetry… It was the first set of English pastorals in the European tradition and in emulating Virgil's Eclogues it self-consciously inaugurated a poetic career on the model of Virgil's-one that would move from a book of eclogues to a national epic.”Alpers Pastoral and the Domain of Lyric in Spenser's Shepheardes Calender “’The Shepheardes Calender’ was entered into the Stationers' register on 5 December 1579 and was published by the protestant publisher Hugh Singleton soon after that date as the poem bears the imprint 1579 indicating that it must have appeared before the end of February. The ‘Calender’ was a popular work and was reprinted in 1581 1586 1591 and 1597 demonstrating that Spenser did make an impact as 'our new poet'. It contains twelve poems complete with prefatory comments and notes by E. K. which may or may not have been written by Spenser himself and Gabriel Harvey and a series of emblematic woodcuts of allegorical significance. The poems describe events in the lives of a series of fictional shepherds and vary from apparently personal laments on the nature of loss and unrequited love to stringent ecclesiastical satire and attacks on corruption and court patronage. They comment on the nature of love and devotion the pains of exile praise for the queen forms of worship the duties of church ministers forms of poetry the merits of protestantism and Catholicism and impending death. Equally important is the showy technical proficiency of the works and the ways in which the poems and commentary serve to announce the arrival of a major new English poet.”Hadfield Oxford DNB ESTC S111267; STC 23092; Langland to Wither 229; Johnson Edmund Spenser 4; Luborsky & Ingram. Engl. illustrated books 1536-1603 23092 II. THE FAERIE QUEENE Disposed into twelue bookes fashioning XII. morall vertues First and Second Parts. London: Printed by Richard Field for William Ponsonbie 1596 Quarto: 2 590; 518 p. Collation: Part 1: A-Z8 Aa-Oo8; Part 2: A-Z8 signature Z supplied from another smaller copy Aa-Ii8 Kk4. SECOND EDITION OF THE FIRST PART 1st ed. pub. 1590 FIRST EDITION OF THE SECOND PART. With a full-page woodcut at the beginning of book two p. 184 depicting the Red Cross Knight slaying the dragon. Ornamental metal-cut cartouches frame the argument at the opening of each canto. Light dampstain to lower margin of scattered gatherings in second part a bit stronger in gathering Cc. The supplied gathering Z is shorter and lightly damp-stained and yellowed. Short worm-trail in lower margin of Dd-Ff in second part not intruding on the text. A few small rust marks. “’The Faerie Queene’ was a new departure in the history of English poetry being a combination of Italian romance classical epic and native English styles principally derived from Chaucer. Spenser signalled this by inventing a new stanza which has come to be known as the Spenserian stanza a hybrid form adopted from the Scots poetry of James I ‘rhyme royal’ and Italian ‘ottava rima’. It contained nine lines the first eight being pentameters and the last line an alexandrine and employed the rhyme scheme ababbcbcc. It was accompanied by seventeen dedicatory sonnets to a variety of figures… addressed to a range of important courtiers among them: Sir Christopher Hatton; Robert Devereux second earl of Essex; Sir William Cecil Lord Burghley; Edward de Vere seventeenth earl of Oxford; Sir Francis Walsingham; Sir Walter Ralegh; Mary Sidney countess of Pembroke; Lady Carew; and 'all the gratious and beautifull Ladies of the Court'… “The poem has survived as a long fragment of six completed books each of twelve cantos of lengths varying from forty to eighty stanzas. A further fragment of a seventh book published after Spenser's death consisted of two complete cantos and two stanzas from a third. There was also a letter appended from the author to Ralegh dated 23 January 1589 explaining the allegorical method of the 'Poet historical'. Scholars are divided on the question of the extant nature of the poem some concluding that Spenser never really intended to complete it others that had he lived longer all twelve books would have emerged… “’The Faerie Queene’ tells a series of discrete but interrelated stories based around the quests of six knights who each represent a particular virtue. Its allegory is flexible and moves easily from the historically specific to deal with theological philosophical and ethical questions many based on readings of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics a stated source of the poem. Book 1 tells the story of the redcross knight eventually revealed to be the patron saint of England St George who has to destroy the dragon who holds captive the parents of his lady Una. As with all romances the narrative moves sideways as much as forwards a process known as dilation and a whole series of episodes represent events and problems precipitated by the Reformation. The lovers are united but significantly the knight is recalled to his service to Gloriana the faerie queen before they can get married. Book 2 charts the progress of the knight of temperance Sir Guyon culminating in the famous description of his destruction of the Bower of Bliss an episode which has inspired commentators artists and writers ever since. Guyon's undoubted virtue is shown to be limited when he is defeated by the knight of chastity Britomart the heroine of book 3. While Guyon can only refuse and oppose bodily temptation Britomart is able to experience corporeal ecstasies and agonies and so point to a way beyond the limits of temperance for those who have to live in the ordinary world. Britomart in pointed contrast to the real queen of England the virginal Elizabeth sees her husband-to-be Artegall in Merlin's magic mirror and the dynasty that she will found stretching into the future. The first edition of The Faerie Queene concluded with the striking image of the hermaphrodite created through the passionate embrace of the rescued lovers Amoret and Scudamore a sign that human experience could be equal and satisfying through the institution of marriage. “The second edition of the poem 1596 is generally agreed to be a darker and more diffuse work. Book 4 the legend of Friendship has two central figures Cambel and Telamond who occupy only a small section of the narrative. Many commentators argue that the original version of the poem that circulated in manuscript in the early 1580s consisted of portions of books 3 and 4 later worked into the printed version with varying success. The book contains the famous description of the marriage of the Thames and the Medway—again probably adapted from an earlier work or version of the poem. Book 5 the legend of Justice follows the adventures of Artegall Britomart's future spouse. This has generally been the least popular section of the poem because of its disturbing defence of English policy in Ireland and more overtly its historical allegory but it has recently received far more attention for the very reason that it was previously ignored. Artegall abandoned by his tutor Astrea has to resolve a number of difficult disputes foolishly falls prey to the Amazon Radigund and has to be rescued by Britomart before his violent suppression of rebellion in Ireland is prematurely truncated by Gloriana. Book 6 the legend of Courtesy depicts the adventures of Sir Calidore a confused and misdirected knight who tries to give up his elusive quest for the Blatant Beast when he stumbles across a pastoral world at odds with the courtly world he is less than keen to defend. The book like its predecessor is replete with disturbing images of violent disruption principally of disguised rebels ambushing small peasant communities undoubtedly an echo of Spenser's experience in Ireland. It ends when Calidore finally manages to capture the Blatant Beast but it escapes to terrorize the world with its awful slanders which include attacks on the poet himself.”Hadfield Oxford DNB ESTC S117748; STC 23082; Langland to Wither 233; Pforzheimer 970; Johnson Edmund Spenser 11; Luborsky & Ingram. Engl. illustrated books 1536-1603 23082 III. COLIN CLOUTS COME HOME AGAINE. London: Ponsonbie 1595 Quarto: 80 p. Signatures: A-K4 FIRST EDITION. The colophon reads: “London Printed by T.C. for William Ponsonbie. 1595.” With a woodcut printer’s device McKerrow 299 and decorative border to the title page and numerous head- and tailpieces throughout. With "worthylie" on leaf C1 recto line 24. Moderated dampstain to first two gatherings a little light staining thereafter fraying to a few margins small worm-trail in lower margin final leaf soiled on verso. With a dedicatory epistle to “The Right worthy and noble Knight Sir Walter Raleigh” dated “from my house of Kilcolman the 27. Of December. 1591.” In addition to “Colin Clout” this volume also includes Spenser’s “Astrophel: A pastorall Elegie upon the death of the most Noble and valorous Knight Sir Phillip Sidney” dedicated to Sidney’s widow who had by then become the Countess of Essex; An untitled poem beginning “Ay me to whom shall I complaine…” often referred to as “The dolefull lay of Corinda”; “The mourning Muse of Thestylis” by Ludowick Bryskett; “A pastorall Aeglogue upon the death of Sir Phillip Sidney Knight” signed L.B. Ludowick Bryskett; “An Elegie or friends passion for his Astrophill” by Matthew Roydon; “An Epitaph upon the right honourable sir Phillip Sidney Knight: Lord governor of Flushing” by Walter Raleigh; “Another of the Same” almost certainly by Sir Edward Dyer. “Spenser’s “Colin Clout’s Come Home Again’ a pastoral poem in the tradition of Petrarch was inspired by the poet’s visit to England from 1590 to 1591 a journey undertaken at the urging of Walter Raleigh. Spenser wrote the poem dedicated to Raleigh upon his return to Kilcolman castle in Ireland –the ‘Home’ referred to in the poem’s title. “Spenser's adoption of an Anglo-Irish identity was publicly expressed in the title poem where the 'home' that Colin refers to rather bitterly in the poem is Ireland not England. At the same time the elegies on Sidney as the English nation's poet imply Spenser's claim to be his successor. “The poem has been called Spenser’s most biographical and indeed it includes not only the visit from Raleigh to Spenser’s home in Ireland in 1589 but also an account of Spenser’s sea voyage and his time in England during which he presented the first three books of his ‘Faerie Queen’ to Queen Elizabeth. “The poem fits neatly into a tradition of advice literature that exempts the monarch from the general failings of his or her courtiers and includes strong criticisms of the court as well as attacks on the vanity ignorance and greed of courtiers in general. It is possible that Colin Clout was intended as a criticism of Elizabeth's regime in the 1590s especially if we bear in mind Spenser's own lack of preferment in England and his posthumous criticisms of the queen in 'Two cantos of Mutabilitie'.”Hadfield Edmund Spenser's Irish Experience 1997 chap. 6 ESTC S111281; STC 23077; Langland to Wither 236; Pforzheimer 967; Johnson Edmund Spenser 16. Various printers (details below). 1591- hardcover
