The Eight Volumes of Letters Writ by a Turkish Spy (Complete 8-Volume Set) (With signed letter by George Talbot Goodspeed laid in)

Marana, Giovanni Paolo (Often attributed historically to Sir Roger Manley)

Published by London, A. Wilde, London, 1753

About this Item

Stated thirteenth edition, 1753-1754. Small volumes, 4 x 6.5 inches. Signed 1928 letter by legendary rare book dealer George Talbot Goodspeed laid in Vol. 1.

Complete eight-volume set bound in original calf with hubbed spines & gilt numbers & ruling, still bright. Binding & joints all solid & attached. Text blocks tight & securely bound throughout. Leather surfaces show chipping, surface scratching, stains & other wear, but leather remains soft, supple & attractive.

Multi-volume publication as issued, with early volumes dated 1753 and Vol. 8 dated 1754. Vol. 1 features the original engraved frontispiece portrait illustration of the spy, "Mahmut the Turkish Spy". Header of title pages features ink ownership signature "Wm. Caston" in period handwriting. End papers of Vol 1 have light pencil & ink writing. No other writing, not previously mentioned, is observed in any of the books.

Pages are remarkably clean & bright for their age, with light foxing on a small number of pages only. Front & rear endpapers & flyleaves on all volumes (plus sometimes an adjacent leaf or two) display a prominent, historic rectangular block-toned pattern. This uniform leather burn framing the endpapers is quite beautiful & visually substantiates the book's completely original, un-restored 1753 hand-made paper & hand-bound binding. At least one small newsprint piece observed which has created a small toned shape (left in book).

Laid in Vol. 1 is an original typed letter signed from renown antiquarian book dealer George Talbot Goodspeed of the famed Goodspeed's Book Shop in Boston. Dated Dec. 1, 1928, and addressed to a customer, the letter, on original shop letterhead, outlines Goodspeed's reasons for declining the purchase of the set, describing shifts in literary attribution regarding Sir Roger Manley's disputed authorship of the text (referencing Marana, Manley & Midgley).

This archival letter adds a wonderful layer of provenance & 20th-century rare book trade context to an exceptional, complete collector's set of this epistolary work. Please see photos for exact marks, additional photos available upon request. Ships same day or next day, a signature will be required upon delivery.

Seller Inventory # ABE-1785597885194

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Eight Volumes of Letters Writ by a Turkish Spy (Complete 8-Volume Set) (With signed letter by George Talbot Goodspeed laid in)
• Publisher: London, A. Wilde, London
• Publication Date: 1753
• Language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 5th or later Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
• Seller catalogs:
  • Fiction & Literature
  • Antiquarian & Collectible Sets