The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.; Including a Journal of His Tour to the Hebrides; To which are Added, Anecdotes by Hawkings, Piozzi, Murphy, Tyers, Reynolds, Steevens, &c.; And Notes by Various Hands

Boswell, James, Esq

Published by John Murray, Albemarle Street, London, 1835

About this Item

10 vol. Small 8vo. [5], vi-xxiv, [2], 3-325, [3]; [5], vi-viii, [1], 2-344, [2]; [5], vi-ix, [2], 2-323, [3]; [5], vi-xii, [1], 2-343, [1]; [5], vi-viii, [1], 2-341, [3]; [5], vi-viii, [1], 2-342, [2]; [5], vi-viii, [1], 2-381, [3]; [5], vi-xi, [2], 2-431, [3]; [5], vi-xv, [2], 2-335, [3]; [5], vi-xii, [1], 2-376, [2] pp. Late nineteenth-century half polished sheep over pink cloth, spines in six compartments (spines unpolished), lettered and tooled in gold; all edges gilt. Marbled endpapers and pastedowns. Beautifully bound by Riviere & Son. Each volume illustrated with a frontispiece and vignette engraved title page, volume three with a fold-out map of Scotland and the Hebrides. Volume six contains the fold-out Round Robin facsimile of Johnson's hand-writing (to which there is a tiny hairline split, not affecting the legibility of the fold-out plate). Oxford DNB, Pat Rogers, "Johnson, Samuel (1709?1784)". Pottle 92. The second Croker edition, with little change to the text except for "the notes and Johnsoniana" (Pottle 182). Pottle notes that the last two volumes in the set are extremely useful , with some material never having been before published. Pottle also calls this "the first illustrated edition" (Pottle, 183). A stunning set of Boswell's magnum opus, a monumental and early English biography. Samuel Johnson, most famous for compiling the English dictionary that would replace the Bailey dictionary (and would later become the dictionary that Noah Webster would consult) is a legendary author and man of letters. Here, his biographer and diarist, James Boswell, relates his life, work, and correspondences in the ten volumes. The final two volumes include the anecdotes about Johnson from his contemporaries. A principal work in English biographical literature, housed in a lovely binding. A Near Fine set with a few hints of wear to the extremities, overall bright and beautiful.

Seller Inventory # 00009011

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.; Including a Journal of His Tour to the Hebrides; To which are Added, Anecdotes by Hawkings, Piozzi, Murphy, Tyers, Reynolds, Steevens, &c.; And Notes by Various Hands
• Publisher: John Murray, Albemarle Street, London
• Publication Date: 1835
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: Later edition.
• Condition: Near Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Biography & Autobiography
  • Literature
  • History