Boswell, JamesBiblio.com
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17936215London: Henry Baldwin 1793. First edition. Near Fine. First issue with "gve" for "give" in the uncorrected state line 10 on p. 135 in Volume I and all of the errata uncorrected. Two quarto volumes 10 3/4 x 8 7/16 inches; 274 x 216 mm. vii 1 blank ix-xii 16 "Table of Contents" and "Corrections and Additions" 516; 2 588 i.e. 586 pp. Engraved frontispiece by James Heath from a portrait of Johnson by Sir Joshua Reynolds in Volume I two engraved facsimile plates in Volume II. "Round Robin." facing p. 92 and "Fac Similes of Dr. Johnson's hand writing" facing p. 588. Together with at the end of volume II: BOSWELL James. The Principal Corrections and Additions to the first edition of Mr. Boswell's Life of Dr. Johnson. London: Printed by Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly 1793. Title verso blank 42 pp. Bound by Rivière & Son ca. 1910 in full mottled calf covers with triple gilt rules. Spines with five raised bands decoratively tooled in gilt in compartments red and brown morocco labels lettered in gilt gilt ruled board edges decorative gilt turn-ins marbled end-papers all edges gilt. Expertly rebacked and corners strengthened over fifty years ago with original spines laid down. Occasional light foxing or staining to a few leaves otherwise a fine copy of the first issue with the exceptionally rare Principal Corrections and Additions bound in at the end of volume two.<br /> <br /> "Boswell is the first of biographers. He has no second. He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them" Macauley. Indeed drawing on his close and longstanding collaboration with Johnson as well as Johnson's own diary James Boswell released a book that was a popular success and helped to establish the modern genre of biography. Still considered an important resource on the life and times of the famed memoirist and dictionary compiler Boswell's Life of Johnson breathes vivid life into one of the most important British figures of the century. "We know of him not as he was known to men of his generation but as he was known to men whose fathers he might have been.and long after his works may be forgotten he will be remembered through Boswell's Life" Macauley. This was Boswell's last publication before his death in 1795. "The work The Principal Corrections and Additions is now difficult to obtain; when it turns up it is almost invariably bound in with a copy of the first edition of the Life" Pottle. <br /> <br /> Regarding the "gve" or "give" question: "gve" is the earlier state. "The first proof shows the word correctly spelled but the lines are punctuated as follows: "Short O short! then be thy reign And give us to the world again." Boswell passed this in the proof but in the revise both proof and revise are in the possession of Mr. Adam he directed the printer to remove the exclamation point in the first line and substitute it for the first period at the end of the second which is in fact the punctuation of the printed text. When the changes were made the "I" dropped out and the printer not noticing what had happened filled up the line by inserting a space between "gve" and "us". After a considerable part of the edition had been printed the error was discovered and corrected in the press" Pottle. The correct first issue as here reads: "Short O short then be thy reign And gve us to the world again!" Near Fine.<br /> <br /> Courtney & Nichol Smith pp. 172-3. Grolier 100 English 65. Pottle 79 & 113. Rothschild 464 & 466. Sterling 71. Tinker 338. Near Fine. Henry Baldwin unknown
1791116527London: Henry Baldwin 1791. First. hardcover. near fine. The whole exhibiting a view of literature and literary men in Great Britain for near half a century during which he flourished. 2 volumes. Engraved frontispiece portrait. Thick 4to handsomely rebound in 3/4 red morocco; gilt-decorated spines with raised bands a.e.g. London: Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly 1791. First Edition later issue. Fine.<br/> <br/> Final three pages of vol. II mispaginated.<br/> <br/> Henry Baldwin unknown
179119741791. All Pottle's Points in a Fine Early Issue Copy of the First Ed Boswell James. THE LIFE OF SAMUEL JOHNSON. London 1791. 1st Edition. 2 volumes quarto early gilt 1/2 calf over old marbled boards. Wear to the board edges the marbled papers of the boards quite rubbed the front hinge of Vol 1 weakened a bit of wear to the spine ends the internals Fine. Vol 1 with engraved frontispiece portrait by Heath after Reynolds Title page blank on reverse i-ii Dedication to Sir Joshua Reynolds iii-vii with blank reverse Advertisement ix-xii Alphabetical Table of Contents to Both Volumes unnumbered which would be xiii-xxvii Corrections and Additions on reverse of last leaf would be xxviii text pp 1-516. With the "gve" reading on page 135 line 10 and the cancels at pp 271-2 and 273-4 Mm and Nn with stubs. The misprints noted by Pottle at page 152 of "The Literary Career of James Boswell" are all present in this copy. Vol 2 with title page blank on reverse and 586pp. wrongly numbered 588 plus the facsimiles facing pp 92 and 588 i.e. the last page. All of the pagination misnumberings noted by Pottle on his p. 153 are present. Cancels are present with stubs at pages 29-30 E 287-8 O o 301-2 Q q 353-4 Zz1 and 395-6 E ee2. All of the misprints noted by Pottle on his page 155 are present. As Pottle believed some of these misprints may have been corrected making two states for the leaf these are all first state. Both volumes with the bookplate of Westport House Mayo County Ireland; seat of the Marquesses of Sligo noting case and shelf number. Bound in at the end of Volume 2 are "The Principal Corrections and Additions to the First Edition of Mr. Boswell's Life of Dr. Johnson" issued in 1793 with Title blank reverse and pp. 1-42. The leaves of this copy measure 10 13/16" x 8 1/4" as against Pottle's measurements for an "entirely uncut copy" of 11 13/16" x 9". hardcover
1887155819Oxford: Clarendon Press 1887. hardcover. fine. Edited by George Birbeck Hill. 11 volumes including the index extended from 6. Extra-illustrated edition with hundreds of portraits and views including numerous scarce 18th-century copperplates all inlaid to size. 8vo beautifully bound in full brown crushed morocco; ornate gilt-tooled decorative floral devices on covers and spines; raised bands thick gilt dentelles marbled end papers top edge gilt. Oxford: Clarendon Press 1887. Fine. A superb set and a magnificent example of the art of extra-illustrated books.<br/><br/> Clarendon Press unknown books
1791158737London: Henry Baldwin 1791. First Edition. hardcover. 2 volumes. Engraved frontispiece portrait by Heath after Reynolds. Two additional plates are present - "Round Robin" and "Facsimiles of Dr. Johnson's Hand Writing". xii 16 516; 2 588pp. Thick 4to original calf covers expertly recased in similar brown morocco gilt-decorated spine with red and brown leather labels light scattered foxing. London: Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly 1791. First edition.<br/><br/> A very nice copy with wide margins. First Edition first issue of which only 1750 were printed with "give" mis-spelled on p135 of first volume. Errors in pagination on pages 229 408 497 504 and 584-7 in second volume. In this copy through a binder's error signature C p.9-16 in the first volume is duplicated.<br/><br/> Henry Baldwin unknown books
17916571<p><strong>1791. 1st Edition Limited Edition .</strong> Hardcover. Very Good. Complete in 2 volumes. Illustrated with frontispiece portrait of Johnson by J. Heath after Sir Joshua Reynolds and 2 additional engraved plates. All 3 plates with imprints dated April 10 1791. Frontispiece with the original tissue-guard intact. 4to. Bound in contemporary circa 1800 speckled calf with gilt armorial supralibros on all 4 covers spines with raised bands; red morocco gilt-lettered labels; small black morocco circular volume-number labels. Printed by Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly London 1791. First Edition. <strong>Limited to 1750 copies.</strong> <br /><br /><strong>Printed on light blue paper. </strong>Vol. I has the correct give reading on page 135 line 10 generally considered the second state although as Pottle notes booksellers have given this rather uninteresting point more attention than it deserves. The copies printed on light blue paper were presumably reserved for members of the nobility: When Boswell published his The Life of Samuel Johnson the King was sent a copy of the First Edition printed on blue paper dutifully inscribed by Boswell himself. S. J. Patterson The Royal Library. Windsor Castle. in M. L. López-Vidriero P. M. Cátedra eds. El libro antiguo español Vol. III page 203. <br /><br />This blue-paper set belonged to the distinguished British Whig statesman William 1st Baron Grenville PC FRS 1759-1834 who served as Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Prime Minister of Britain from 1806 to 1807. Each volume carries on both covers gilt-stamped armorial supralibros of William Grenville lettered Sigillum W.W. Baronis Grenville Cancellarii Academie Oxoniensis apparently dating from the period 1809-1834 when he was the Chancellor of Oxford University. <br /><br />Boswell's <em>Life of Johnson</em> arguably the most famous biography in any language was first mentioned in the authors extensive diaries in March 1772 although it is likely Boswell conceived of the idea to preserve but a faint impression of Johnson letter to Wilkes 13 July 1765 several years before. The task which Boswell saw as a glory to myself and a benefit to mankind took the best part of two decades to come to fruition and was eventually published 28 years after the first meeting of the author and his subject in Thomas Davies back parlor in 1763. When <em>The</em><em> Life of Samuel Johnson</em> was published in 1791 it at once commanded the admiration that Boswell had sought for so long and it has since suffered no diminution. Its style was unique in that unlike other biographies of that era it directly incorporated conversations that Boswell had noted down at the time for his journals. He also included far more personal and human details than those to which contemporary readers were accustomed. Instead of writing a respectful and dry record of Johnsons public life in the style of the time he painted a vivid portrait of the complete man brought to life through a dramatic style of dialogue. It has often been described as the greatest biography ever written. <br /><br />With the usual cancel leaves Mm4 in Vol. I and E3 Oo4 Qq3 Zz1 and Eee2 in Vol. II leaf Nn1 in Vol. I does not appear to be a cancel. Bindings slightly rubbed with a few minor scratches; light wear and bumping to corners; bottom fore-corner of the front cover of Vol. I somewhat bent; joints somewhat worn with some partial superficial cracking but all boards firmly and securely attached. Interiors with some light scattered spotting and minor foxing; a yellowish stain to page 530 in Vol. II; o/w a solid clean unmarked set with wide margins. <strong>A very rare blue paper copy</strong></p> Printed by Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly hardcover
1791150970London: Printed by Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly in The Poultry 1791. First edition first issue of both volumes of the most celebrated biography in the English language which was published on May 16 1791 in a print run of only 1750 copies. First issue with "gve" for "give" at line 10 of p.135 in Vol. I where MM4 and NN1 are cancels. Vol. I with Pottle's misprints: upon repeated at p. 48; "reollection" at p. 115; "exhihited" at p. 117; "condescente" at p. 275; and "Harvey" at p. 291 following the spelling "Hervey". Vol. II with title page blank on reverse and p. 586 incorrectly numbered 588 as well as all other misnumberings given by Pottle and the five noted cancels. Quarto bound in full polished calf rebacked gilt ruling and lettering to spine gilt ruling to the front and rear panels marbled endpapers stipple-engraved frontispiece portrait of Johnson by J. Heath after Joshua Reynolds 2 engraved plates all edges marbled. In very good condition. Armorial bookplate to each pastedown. An excellent example of this landmark work. “Boswell excelled in insight into human nature and in ability to dramatize a situation… It was a crucial part of Boswell’s magic to give significance and vitality to the apparently trivial; it is this trait together with his notable accuracy and unparalleled completeness of portraiture that made him… ‘the Shakespeare of biographers†Baugh et al. 1065-66. "One of Western literature's most germinal achievements: unprecedented in its time in its depth of research and its extensive use of private correspondence and recorded conversation." Gordon Turnbull Oxford DNB. Printed by Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, in The Poultry unknown
1835ST17226London: John Murray 1835. First Illustrated Edition Croker's Second Edition. 170 x 105 mm. 6 3/4 x 4 1/4". 10 volumes. <br/> VERY PRETTY PURPLE CRUSHED MOROCCO GILT BY BAYNTUN OF BATH stamp-signed on front turn-in covers with gilt rule border central panel diapered in gilt with knots at line intersection central compartment filled with floral tools raised bands spine compartments with large fleuron gilt lettering gilt-ruled turn-ins with trefoil at corners marbled endpapers all edges gilt. With a total of 51 ILLUSTRATIONS consisting of: engraved frontispiece and extra engraved title page with vignette in each volume a folding map a folding facsimile plate and one double-page plate as called for all by Edward Francis Finden and all hand-colored AND EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED WITH 28 PLATES 10 portraits nine views nine folding facsimile plates four with vignette views ALL COLORED BY HAND all with tissue guards. Pottle 92. Spines just slightly and evenly sunned to a very pleasing burgundy one front hinge exposed with no hint of looseness offsetting from and onto the folding facsimiles other trivial imperfections but A LOVELY SET clean and fresh internally with attractively colored plates in a luscious and lustrous binding with virtually no signs of use.<br/> <br/> This is the first illustrated edition of the work generally considered to be the greatest biography in any language here embellished with additional portraits of Johnson's associates and views of important places in his life. First published in 1791 Boswell's account of Dr. Johnson reveals the most fully realized figure in literature and it prefigures modern biography in emphasizing the character of the subject rather than his deeds. It is also a tribute to Boswell's genius in that the bulk of the text is made up of accounts by the author of situations that he himself created so that his subject would be prompted to behave in a revealing and memorable way. Boswell "was a consummate impresario stage-managing the setting and 'dramatis personae' amidst which Johnson would glitter and then providing topics and opinions to elicit the magnificent rejoinders of Johnson." The result is that we see an unforgettable portrait of a man brilliant and profound and at the same time dogmatic overbearing prejudiced and irascible. Day This edition also includes Johnson's journal of his visit to the Hebrides Islands and "anecdotes by Hawkins Piozzi Murphy Tyers Reynolds Steevens &c. and notes by various hands" in the two final volumes which have the running title "Johnsoniana." Our handsome set is a good example of the early 20th century decorative work typical of the Bayntun firm founded in Bath in 1894 and now the last of the great Victorian trade binderies still in family ownership. It is not terribly uncommon to encounter extra-illustrated examples of this and similar sets of major literary works but it is unusual to find such a set with all the illustrations hand colored. John Murray unknown
1791007319London: Charles Dilly. Printer: Henry Baldwin 1791. Half Morocco. Paper pastedown on boards. Custom cloth slipcase custom cloth dust jacket. Near Fine. 4to. 28.5 by 23 cm. Frontis portrait of Johnson after Reynolds painting engraved by J. Heath. Title Dedication to Reynolds -- vii Table of Contents unpaginated with Corrections and Additions 16 1-516 second title Advertisement -- pagination to xii 1-588 pp. followed by Facsimles of Johnson's hand writing plate. Round Robin plate also present -- Vol. 2 by p. 92. First issue -- "gve in second indented quote line p. 135. Condition: morocco of bindings with some wear -- typical rubbing along joints some along raised bands. Interior: scattered mostly light foxing generally by upper and lower margins or early and final leaves and here and there elsewhere but overall a clean-ish copy and few would find such soiling disconcerting we believe. A very handsome copy of this classic seminal and really sui generis biogaphy of the great Dr. Johnson that more than simply a recounting of his life captures his personality and originality. And a work in which Dr. Johnson can entertain us more than two centuries later almost as if we were present as he was holding forth. Charles Dilly. Printer: Henry Baldwin unknown
19016214London: J.M. Dent & Co 1901. First thus. Three octavo volumes extended to seven 8 7/8 x 6 inches; 222 x 152 mm. Extra-illustrated by the insertion of over six hundred plates including many portraits and scenes by various artists at least one original letter complete with envelope pages from books and periodicals contemporary to the events being related by Boswell including The Gentleman's Magazine notices of marriages and deaths bookseller catalogues auction catalogues etc. some items with hand-written captions many mounted onto stiff paper with decorative borders. Bound by Pfister of New York ca. 1901 in full red morocco covers elaborately stamped in gilt spines with five raised bands decorative gilt inside borders mottled pink endleaves. With the bookplate of Robert Freeman Pick.<br /> <br /> "Boswell is the first of biographers. He has no second. He has distanced all his competitors so decidedly that it is not worth while to place them" Macauley. Indeed drawing on his close and longstanding collaboration with Johnson as well as Johnson's own diary James Boswell released a book that was a popular success and helped to establish the modern genre of biography. Still considered an important resource on the life and times of the famed memoirist and dictionary compiler Boswell's Life of Johnson breathes vivid life into one of the most important British figures of the century. "We know of him not as he was known to men of his generation but as he was known to men whose fathers he might have been.and long after his works may be forgotten he will be remembered through Boswell's Life" Macauley.<br /> <br /> F. J. Pfister was a New York-based bookbinder active during the 1890s and 1900s. A lecture in 1900 he "delivered an interesting address on the art of decorating the covers of books by means of pyrography or of "burning in" with a heated tool the design with which the cover of a book is to be decorated instead of impressing it either blind or gilded with dies or the ordinary binders' tools. Mr. Pfister pointed out that pyrography is not a recent art but an ancient process revived" The Booksellers' League.<br /> <br /> With the Ex-Libris in each volume of one "R.F. Pick" his name across an open book laying on two laurel branches and with a small beetle busily eating his way through the pages. Based on the name the New York bindery and the design of the Ex-Libris it seems highly likely that our Mr. Pick was the bookseller of that name who had an establishment at 136 E. 34th Street New York City and advertised his firm as "Bookseller and Importer" of "Rare and Choice Books". Interestingly on the same page of the Literary Collector dated October 1901 to March 1902 on which we find Mr. Pick's advertisement is one for the bindery F.J. Pfister directly beneath. J.M. Dent & Co unknown
179138111.1London: Printed by Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly in the Poultry 1791. 1st edition 1st issue Grolier 100 ENGLISH #65; Pottle 79. Period full marbled calf bindings with later respining to style. Marbled eps. Yellow edge stain. Modest binding wear. Two bookplates one of James Bonar Scottish lawyer to front paste-down. Occasional spot of foxing. Withal a handsome VG set. 2 volumes: xii 16 516 2 blank; 4 586 2 42 pp. Vol II p 585 misnumbered 587; 586 as 588. Other mispaginations see Pottle. Vol I p. 135 with 'gve'. Volume I with stipple-engraved frontis of Johnson by James Heath after the 1756 painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Vol II with two engraved facsimiles bound in per Pottle. 4to. Vol I: 2M4 & 2N1 cancels. Vol II: 5 cancelled leaves as per Pottle. 11-1/4" x 8-3/4" <br/><br/>Volume II bound with the uncommon 1793 pamphlet of corrections stemming from Boswell's fussiness. "So bad were these errors indeed that it was found necessary to issue a small quarto volume of forty-two pages to correct them." Grolier 100 #65. Printed by Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, in the Poultry unknown books
1791W57382London: Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly 1791. Quarter tan calf 5 raised bands gilt titling on red morocco labels with marbled paper covered boards. Top edges stained gray. Contemporary binding with overall wear stains and rubbing and some loss of paper on boards. Apparent restoration done on joints and tips of each volume extending into paper of boards. Housed in green cloth covered chemises with cloth pulls and slipcases the latter with green morocco spines 5 raised bands and gilt lettering on red morocco labels. Chemises and slipcases are very good with only a few scuffs and marks on slipcases. Frontispiece of Samuel Johnson Vol. 1 and 2 engravings Vol. 2 pgs. 92 and 588 misnumbered as called for. The second state with "give" properly spelled pg. 135. Handwritten notation on preliminary in each volume stating "Tadcaster Library" a community in Yorkshire. Photos available on request. Extra postage may be due because of size. . First Edition Second State. Quarter Leather. Good/Slipcases Very Good. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. Trade. Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly Hardcover books
WRCLIT74048London: Printed for Henry Baldwin 1791. xii16516;588i.e.5861pp. Two volumes. Quarto. Contemporary speckled calf rebacked and recornered at a later date to a semblance of style gilt labels. Portrait. Facsimile and plate. 19th century ink name "Walter Fletcher" on endsheets and effaced from margin of titles edges rubbed endsheets creased some soiling to verso of portrait clean tear in R4 vol. I with no loss some occasional pencil annotations. but a sound set. First edition uncorrected state of I:135:10 'gve' with the complement of cancels outlined by Pottle as usual. In volume two pages 78 92 275 and 352 are in their first uncorrected states. Frequently remarked upon as one of the triumphs of the art of biography in the English language. Each volume bears the bookplate of Jonathan Boucher 1737-1804 Anglican clergyman and for a period beginning in 1759 a prominent figure in the colonies and intimate of George Washington. However his staunch loyalist sympathies caused him to return to England in 1775 where he occupied himself with various matters including for fourteen years an unfinished "Glossary of Archaic and Provincial Words" intended to supplement Johnson's Dictionary. After his death a preliminary section was published but the remainder of his work was turned over to the proprietors of Webster's English Dictionary. ROTHSCHILD 463. POTTLE 79. GROLIER ENGLISH HUNDRED 65. ESTC T64481. Printed for Henry Baldwin unknown books
1791163220London: by Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly 1791. One of Western literature's most germinal achievements First edition of the greatest biography in the English language. It was published in a run of 1750 copies on 16 May 1791 the 28th anniversary of Boswell's first meeting with Johnson. The immense task of compiling the thousands of notes Boswell had recorded on "the great man's talk habits and opinions" was begun after Johnson's death in 1784. Made up of trifling incidents as well as the significant events in Johnson's life the work sold 800 copies in the first two weeks of publication and remains a masterpiece of portraiture. "The Life of Johnson was no single book miraculously produced by an inexperienced author. It was the crowning achievement of an artist who for more than twenty-five years had been deliberately disciplining himself for such a task" Pottle p. xxi. "Homer is not more decidedly the first of heroic poets Shakespeare is not more decidedly the first of dramatists Demosthenes is not more decidedly the first of orators than Boswell is the first of biographers" Macaulay. This copy has all the usual cancels and with one exception all the misprints as called for by Pottle; here vol. I p. 135 is in the second corrected state with "give" on line ten. Pottle rightly observes that "the booksellers have given this rather uninteresting 'point' more attention than it deserves. There are probably varying states of some of the other leaves" p. 151. As corrections were made in the press the misprints are variant states for individual sheets and do not indicate priority of issue for any copy. 2 vols quarto 273 x 192 mm. Stipple-engraved portrait frontispiece of Johnson by James Heath after Sir Joshua Reynolds and 2 engraved plates by H. Shepherd reproducing manuscripts in facsimile. Vol. II bound without original first blank. Mid 20th-century speckled calf to style for Brentano's smooth spines with two red labels central compartments stamped with gilt urn device within decorative border first and final compartments with gilt cross-hatch pattern triple gilt fillets on covers enclosing wide anthemion roll board edges and turn-ins decorated in gilt green endpapers edges gilt. Couple of scuffs and spots of rubbing to leather scattered light foxing to contents; vol. I p. 48 with neat correction to text by an early reader pp. 131-4 soiled; vol. II with tiny faint splash mark to title page margin. A very good copy attractively bound. Courtney 172; ESTC T64481; Grolier English 100 54; NCBEL II p. 1214; Pottle 79; Rothschild 463; Tinker 338. hardcover
1802WRCLIT41445Edinburgh: Printed by Mundell & Son 1802. 24pp. Small octavo. Sewn into somewhat later plain wrappers. A few minor corner nicks wrappers split at spine trivial foxing otherwise a near fine copy. First edition first printing of the first separate publication by the son of the biographer. In addition to Alexander's original verse and adaptations which the DNB describes as "very graphic full of Scotch humour but coarse at times" the collection prints for the first time James Boswell's poem "Song to an Irish Air." This edition is quite rare and the collection is most commonly known through the 1803 second edition published under the imprint of Manners & Miller paginated at 34pp. Pottle treats James Boswell's appearance based on the 1803 edition noting that edition "seems to be very scarce. I have met with only one copy that in the New York Public Library." An OCLC search as of 2013 records eight copies of the 1803 second edition and four copies of this edition Yale Harvard McMaster and Nat'l Library of Scotland. We note one copy at auction in recent years: Sotheby's Sept 28 1979 lot 374 £1400 $3066.00 to Quaritch. POTTLE POSTHUMOUS PUBLICATIONS 3 1803 edition. NCBEL III:368. TINKER 296 1803 edition bound with other later publications. Printed by Mundell & Son unknown books
179153375London: Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly 1791. First edition the so-called second state with "give" reading on p. 135 in vol. I 2 volumes 4to pp. xii 16 516; 2 588; engraved portrait frontispiece by Heath after Joshua Reynolds and with the Round Robin plate and the plate showing facsimile signatures of Johnson; nice copy in contemporary full calf neatly and pleasingly rebacked sometime in the 20th century preserving the old red and black morocco labels on spine; all the standard cancels are present per Pottle. Regarding the "give" versus "gve" reading Pottle notes that the "booksellers have given this rather uninteresting 'point' more attention than it deserves." Celebrated for its intimacy and vividness Boswell's Life of Johnson "is one of the best books in the world. It is assuredly a great very great work. Homer is not more decidedly the first of the heroic poets Shakespeare is not more decidedly the first of the dramatists Demosthenes is not more decidedly the first of the orators than Boswell is the first of biographers" Macaulay. Grolier English 100 no. 65; Rothschild 463; Pottle 79. <br/><br/> Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly unknown books
1887303657Oxford: Clarendon Press 1887. Superbly extra-illustrated with more than 500 mounted portraits. Added title pages for each volume printed in red and black. Numerous folding plates. 11 vols. 8vo. Full red morocco gilt doublures gilt t.e.g. Bookplate of Nicholas Frederic Brady 1878-1930 by J. & E.B. Spines a bit toned; top of upper joint of Index volume with small repair a near fine and very handsome set. Superbly extra-illustrated with more than 500 mounted portraits. Added title pages for each volume printed in red and black. Numerous folding plates. 11 vols. 8vo. An abundantly extra-illustrated set of Boswell's classic biography of the great lexicographer Samuel Johnson. Clarendon Press unknown
1791WRCLIT71587London: Printed for Henry Baldwin 1791. xii16516;2588i.e.5862pp. Two volumes. Quarto. Handsomely bound in full speckled calf elaborately gilt extra a.e.g. for Brentano's. Portrait. Facsimile and plate. Isolated minor foxing a couple of thin scratches to one upper board S2-3 in first volume exhibit odd discoloration otherwise a bright set very good or slightly better. First edition but with the corrected state of I:135:10 'give' and with the complement of cancels outlined by Pottle as usual. In volume two pages 78 92 275 and 352 are in their first uncorrected states. Frequently remarked upon as one of the triumphs of the art of biography in the English language. ROTHSCHILD 463. POTTLE 79. GROLIER ENGLISH HUNDRED 65. ESTC T64481. Printed for Henry Baldwin unknown books
1791307361London: Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly 1791. First Edition first state of S4r with "gve" for "give. Engraved portrait by J. Heath after Joshua Reynolds 2 other engraved plates in Volume II. xii 16 516; 2 588 i.e. 586 pp. 2 vols. 4to. Bound in contemporary brown mottled calf rebacked with original red and green labels on spine laid down. Bookplate of John Mountenay Lely 1839-1907 and Robert McKinlay. In open-faced blue cloth slipcsae. First Edition first state of S4r with "gve" for "give". Engraved portrait by J. Heath after Joshua Reynolds 2 other engraved plates in Volume II. xii 16 516; 2 588 i.e. 586 pp. 2 vols. 4to. Pottle 79; Rothschild 463; Grolier English 65 Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly unknown books
04385London: John Murray 1835. The Greatest Biography Written in English"<br/>With all Twenty of the Engraved Plates Colored by Hand<br/>Extra-Illustrated with an Additional Nineteen Hand-Colored Engraved Plates<br/>Superbly Bound ca. 1920 by Bayntun of Bath<br/><br/>BOSWELL James. The Life of Samuel Johnson LL.D. Including a Journal of His Tour to the Hebrides. To which are added Anecdotes by Hawkins Piozzi Murphy Tyers Reynolds Steevens &c. And notes by various hands. London: John Murray 1835.<br/><br/>First Illustrated Edition Croker's Second Edition. <br/><br/>Ten small octavo volumes 6 3/8 x 4 inches; 163 x 101 mm. including two volumes of Johnsoniana. xxiv 325 1 imprint; viii 344; ix 1 blank 323 1 imprint; xii 343 1 imprint 1 title-page 1 blank; viii 341 1 imprint; viii 342 1 title-page 1 blank; viii 381 1 imprint; xi 1 blank 431 1 imprint 1 title-page 1 blank; xv 1 blank 335 1 imprint; xii 376 pp.<br/><br/>Each volume with a hand-colored engraved frontispiece and an additional hand-colored vignette title all engraved by Edward Francis Finden 1791-1857. In addition there are nineteen hand-colored plates portraits and views a folding map of "The Tour through Scotland and the Hebrides. in 1773" volume IV a folding facsimile "Round Robin" volume VI and six folding facsimile letters. <br/><br/>Bound ca. 1920 by Bayntun of Bath stamp-signed in gilt on front turn-ins. Full purple morocco covers elaborately tooled in gilt in a geometric pattern. Spines with five raised bands elaborately tooled in gilt in compartments decorative gilt board edges and turn-ins marbled endpapers all edges gilt. A superb set. <br/><br/>"This was the first illustrated edition. Each volume has at the beginning two excellent steel engravings a frontispiece and an extra vignette title-page. The first volume also has another double-page hand-colored engraving Remarkable Characters who were at Tunbridge Wells. at p.218." Pottle.<br/><br/>The additional hand-colored portraits include: Edward Cave; Henry Thrale; James Oglethorpe; Samuel Johnson; Flora McDonald; Michael Johnson; Revd. Owen Cambridge; Thomas Warton; Warren Hastings; Topham Beauclerk.<br/><br/>The additional hand-colored views include: Lichfield; Grammar School Litchfield; Edial Hall Near Litchfield; Residence of the Rev. Francis Wise at Ellsfield near Oxford; Residence of Thomas Davies Covent Garden; Residence of George Steevens Hampstead Heath; Dr. S. Johnson's House Bolt Court Fleet Street; Kettel Hall Oxford; Residence of Catherine Clive Twickenham; <br/><br/>The Life of Samuel Johnson LL.D. first published in 1791 is a biography of Dr. Samuel Johnson written by James Boswell. The work was a popular and critical success when first published. It is regarded as an important stage in the development of the modern genre of biography; many have claimed it as the greatest biography written in English but some modern critics object that the work cannot be considered a proper biography. While Boswell's personal acquaintance with his subject only began in 1763 when Johnson was 54 years old Boswell covered the entirety of Johnson's life by means of additional research. The biography takes many critical liberties with Johnson's life as Boswell makes various changes to Johnson's quotations and even censors many comments. Nonetheless modern biographers have found Boswell's biography an important source of information on Johnson and his times.<br/><br/>Pottle 92. London: John Murray, 1835 unknown books
1791307361London: Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly 1791. First Edition first state of S4r with "gve" for "give. Engraved portrait by J. Heath after Joshua Reynolds 2 other engraved plates in Volume II. xii 16 516; 2 588 i.e. 586 pp. 2 vols. 4to. Bound in contemporary brown mottled calf rebacked with original red and green labels on spine laid down. Bookplate of John Mountenay Lely 1839-1907 and Robert McKinlay. In open-faced blue cloth slipcsae. First Edition first state of S4r with "gve" for "give". Engraved portrait by J. Heath after Joshua Reynolds 2 other engraved plates in Volume II. xii 16 516; 2 588 i.e. 586 pp. 2 vols. 4to. Pottle 79; Rothschild 463; Grolier English 65 Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly unknown
179121183381791. London: Henry Baldwin. 1791. Two vols 4to. Rebound full calf; raised bands to spines ruled in gilt spines lettered and ornamented in gilt; speckled edges; marbled endpapers; pp. I: xii xvi 516; II: iv 588; engraved frontispiece in vol. I of Johnson by J. Heath after Joshua Reynolds; with two facsimile plates one showing Johnson's handwriting; minimal rubbing to hinges of spines; internally clean; a very good set. First edition second issue with the 'give' printed on p. 135.Widely praised since its publication Boswell's The Life of Samuel Johnson provides an entertaining in-depth account of Johnson based on material kept in Boswell's diaries. Extensive in both size and subject this work provides intricate details about arguably one of the most important literary figures of the eighteenth century.Boswell's biography is a meticulously detailed account of Johnson's life beginning with his early years and tracing his journey through the intellectual and literary circles of the time. It explores Johnson's upbringing his struggles with poverty and his remarkable literary achievements. Boswell's narrative is peppered with direct quotations from Johnson and their conversations allowing readers to not only understand Johnson's life but to hear his unique voice and wit. The work provides a glimpse into Johnson's relationships with other notable figures of his time including the likes of Joshua Reynolds and Edmund Burke further enriching the historical and cultural context of the narrative.This work offers valuable insights into eighteenth-century England its intellectual and social life and the burgeoning literary scene giving readers a deeper understanding of the historical context in which Johnson lived and worked. Additionally Boswell's approach to biography which combines personal observation interviews and correspondence has had a profound influence on the way biographies are written becoming a standard practice in the genre. It also serves as a historical and cultural document offering a window into eighteenth-century England the emergence of modern literary criticism and the challenges faced by writers of the time. This work continues to be a cornerstone in the world of biography and literature and its cultural significance endures through the ages and without it our contemporary understanding of the character of Johnson would be far less detailed.ESTC T64481 hardcover
193453385Mount Vernon New York: William Edwin Rudge 1934. Edition limited to 570 copies designed by Bruce Rogers this 290 complete set in 18 volumes plus the separately published but uniformly bound Boswell's tour of the Hebrides1936 by the Viking Press and Oxford University Press's Index limited to 1250 copies; 20 volumes in all; folio quarto and octavo extensively illustrated throughout with facsimiles of the manuscripts; a fine bright unopened set in original red cloth-backed red paper-covered boards printed paper labels on spines publisher's slipcases also with printed paper labels; index volume with original but tattered glassine cover small splits to that volume's slipcase. The Work of Bruce Rogers 370; Stark Books Designed by Bruce Rogers p. 10; Rogers Paragraphs on Printing p. 72: "If the style of typographic treatment was ever unmistakably indicated by the content it was in this instance. Boswell and Baskerville were contemporaries and had these papers been published during Boswell's lifetime they might well have appeared in something like their present form though perhaps not so luxuriously printed. The modern Baskerville type seemed by all odds the logical one to use." Laid in are: the prospectus in original red wrappers with paper label on upper cover; announcement of Scott's passing and Pottle's taking up the mantel in original red wrappers with gilt title on upper wrapper; two letters to the writer and critic Harry Hansen from J. B. Orrick and Frederick Pottle along with Hansen's typescript review of the second wave of papers discovered at Malahide; a signed typescript letter from Isham to accompany the announcement of Pottle's entry into the project; and an order form. <br/><br/> William Edwin Rudge hardcover books
178368272First Edition of Boswell's First Foray into Politics BOSWELL James. A Letter to the People of Scotland On the Present State of the Nation. Edinburgh: Printed and Sold by all the Booksellers 1783. First Edition. 43 1 blank pp. Some minor foxing mainly to title-page. This pamphlet is bound at the end of the volume. This pamphlet representing Boswell's first foray into politics is rare at auction. There have been no copies of this first at auction since 1968. According to Pottle "The pamphlet seems to be rare; at least it appears in the catalogues of few large libraries. There are two copies in the British Museum one in the Harvard College Library and one in the New York Public Library." "This is the first of Boswell's " characteristical pamphlets" to bear his name on the title-page and it makes a new and important stage in Boswell's career his real reason for penning the pamphlet undoubtedly being that he saw a general election imminent and proposed to stand as parliamentary candidate for Ayrshire." Maggs 603-1953. ESTC T17200. Pottle 105/106. Bound together with DE LOLME John Lewis. Observations upon the National Embarrassment and the Proceedings in Parliament Relative to the Same. London Printed for J. Debrett 1789. 2 81 1 publisher's advertisement pp. Old ink note on title-page. "First published in 1789 as ÃThe present national embarrassment consideredÃ". ESTC T185623 And DUTENS M.L. Histoire De Se Qui S'est Passe Pour L'Establissement D'une Regence En Angleterre En 1788 et 1789. London Chez J. Walter 1791. Third Edition. iv 155 1 blank pp. And ANONYMOUS Serious Enquiries into the Motives and Consequences of Our Present Armament against Russia. London. J. Debrett 1791. 4 60 8 publisher's advertisements pp. With half-title and a folding chart. And ANONYMOUS Considerations on the Approach of War and the Conduct of His Majesty's Ministries. London. For J. Debrett 1791. 2 40 2 publisher's advertisements pp. And ANONYMOUS A Short Seasonable Hint addressed to the Landowers and Merchants of Great Britain on the Alarm of a War with Russia. London. For J. Debrett 1791. 38 2 publisher's advertisements pp. And Lettre D'un Habitant De Paris Au Baron d'E a L en Suisse Sur La Journee du 19 Juin 1790. 99 1 blank pp. Octavo 8 1/4 x 5 inches; 210 x 128 mm. All pamphlets bound together in contemporary half calf over marbled boards. Red morocco spine label lettered in gilt. Some occasional foxing but otherwise very clean. Previous owners old ink notes on front endpapers. A very good copy. HBS 68272. $5000 Printed and Sold by all the Booksellers hardcover books
17917195London: Printed by Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly in the Poultry 1791. First Edition. Full Leather. Very Good. Two volumes. 4to. Pp. xii 16 3-516; 1 2-588 2. Engraved portrait frontis. after Sir Joshua Reynolds in the first volume. Second volume illustrated with two plates of Dr. Johnson's handwriting in facsimile. Marbled endpapers. Full speckled calf with gilt filigree borders and inner dentelles rebacked in period style; repaired corners. Two bookplates: "The High Canon's Library" and "Malo Mori Quam Foedari" possibly the plate of Cardinal Henry Edward Manning. Interiors quite nice. First edition first state with "gve" in lieu of "give" on p.135 of Vol. I.<p>Boswell's achievement was not to simply capture the brilliance and wit of his subject but to provide through meticulous scholarship the complexities of Johnson amid the literary realm of his era.<p>Provenance: Sold at the 1922 Sotheby's sale of The Valuable Library . of the Late Baroness Burdett Coutts. Printed by Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, in the Poultry unknown
