1831, ISBN: 9fbadee00f0ac8d83f31b10be9dfe9bd

London: Printed by Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly, in the Poultry, 1791. 2 volumes. First Edition, First Issue, with 'gve' on p.135 of the first volume; Mm4 and Nn1 in Volume I and E3,… Mehr…

London: Printed by Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly, in the Poultry, 1791. 2 volumes. First Edition, First Issue, with 'gve' on p.135 of the first volume; Mm4 and Nn1 in Volume I and E3, Qq3, and Eee2 in Volume II are cancels as called for. With round robin plate, signatures page, portrait frontispiece. 4to (275 x 210 mm.), full contemporary mottled calf, the spines with raised bands separating the compartments, the bands ruled in gilt, two compartments with terra-cotta-red morocco lettering labels gilt, the covers with double gilt fillet rules at the borders, gilt tooled edges, original endleaves. xii, (16), 516; 588 pp. A handsome and fine set with the bindings in excellent condition, sometime expertly and very sympathetically renewed at the spines to style. A very pleasing set quite clean and crisp throughout. IMPORTANT FIRST EDITION, FIRST STATE IN PLEASING CONDITION. 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 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..." (Macauley, in the Edinburgh Review, 1831). Boswell learned a great deal about the art of biography from his subject, and brought to his task boundless curiosity, persistence, and zest. Boswell had been collecting material for this work since his first interview with Johnson in 1763, and was confident that his kind of biography, "which gives not only a History of Johnson's visible progress through the world, and of his publications, but a view of his mind in his letters and conversations, is the most perfect that can be conceived, and will be more of a Life than any work that has ever yet appeared." He said too that: A sanction to my faculty of giving a just representation of Dr. Johnson I could not conceal. Nor will I suppress my satisfaction in the consciousness, that by recording so considerable a portion of the wit and wisdom of the brightest ornament of the eigteenth century, I have largely provided for the instruction and entertainment of mankind. If Boswell does indulge in a little harmless flattery to himself, the concluding words of his preface are literally true, for Boswells Johnson, as much as any other book, has largely provided for the instruction and entertainment of mankind. Only 1750 copies of the first edition were printed., Printed by Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly, in the Poultry, 1791, 0<

1933, ISBN: 9fbadee00f0ac8d83f31b10be9dfe9bd

Westminster: Archibald Constable and Co, 1896. 178 x 114 mm. (7 x 4 1/2"). Bound with the half titles. Six volumes. Edited by Augustine Birrell. Simple but pleasing contemporary tan cru… Mehr…

Westminster: Archibald Constable and Co, 1896. 178 x 114 mm. (7 x 4 1/2"). Bound with the half titles. Six volumes. Edited by Augustine Birrell. Simple but pleasing contemporary tan crushed morocco over vertically ribbed green buckram, spines flat with gilt lettering, olive green chalky endpapers, top edges gilt, other edges rough trimmed. With engraved frontispiece in each volume. A touch of rubbing to the joints and extremities, spines just very slightly sunned, but an extremely appealing little set, the bindings with negligible wear (the cloth boards like new), and the text entirely fresh and clean. Generally considered to be the greatest biography in any language, this 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 of the famous biography was edited by Augustine Birrell (1850-1933), lawyer, Liberal politician, and chief secretary for Ireland during the difficult years 1907-16. Birrell was also a respected man of letters and bibliophile, amassing a library of more than 10,000 volumes. DNB calls his essay on Johnson "witty and elegant."., Archibald Constable and Co, 1896, 0<

1925, ISBN: 9fbadee00f0ac8d83f31b10be9dfe9bd

THE LIFE OF SAMUEL JOHNSON.Boswell, JamesCosway style bindingPublished by George Bayntun, Bath, 19252 Vols Cosway Style Bindings by Bayntun Riviere, Bath, England.Beautiful, first edition… Mehr…

THE LIFE OF SAMUEL JOHNSON.Boswell, JamesCosway style bindingPublished by George Bayntun, Bath, 19252 Vols Cosway Style Bindings by Bayntun Riviere, Bath, England.Beautiful, first edition, illustrated two-volume edition of the most celebrated biography in the English language. Quarto, Published by George Bayntun. bound in full Brown morocco, spines slightly sunned, Cosway Style binding extra gilt, with gilt titles and gold and blind tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, Silk deblures, all edges gilt. Housed in 2 separate cloth slipcases. Complete with 576 illustrations, facsimiles and maps including 13 plates in photogravure. Newly edited with notes by Roger Ingpen.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)., George Bayntun, Bath, 1925, 0<