pp. 12 (Ode to Henry S. John; in English and Latin); 36 (Life of Philips by Sewell); 8 (Splendid Shilling)[1719]; 28 (Blenheim); 71 (Cyder); 1 (Publisher's Advertisement) + Engraved portrait frontispiece and engraved plate at 'Cyder. Both plates engraved by Gucht. 12mo. 165 mm. Original full leather binding; cracked at joints. Age stain to fly leaves. Manuscript ownership of J. Chappel Woodhouse, 1772 (Woodhouse apparently was Rector of Donington, in Shropshire). Engraved bookplate of George F. Northall. Hardbound. Scarce Third Edition. John Philips (1676-1709), English poet, was one of the few to write in blank / free verse in an age when the heroic couplet was the standard form. His 'Splendid Shilling' (1701, 1705) is a parody of Milton. 'Cyder' (1708), a utilitarian poem describing the cultivation of apples and the pressing of cider, is modeled after Virgil's 'Georgics'. This is a fine early collection of of Philips' major poems, works that, "written in revolt against the heroic couplet, between the death of Dryden and the appearance of Pope, occupy an important position in the history of English literature." The various editions of Philips's poetry are all nonce collections (with separate title pages, and often variant imprint details and dates). Foxon, p. 570 (incorporating p242 and p249); CBEL II 563. Scarce. **PRICE JUST REDUCED! W140
