Stereotype Edition of The British Essayists The Spectator Vol I - VI No. 1 - No. 635 Tatler Vol I - III No. 1 - No. 271 With Notes and Illustrations The Guardian Vol I - II No. 1 - No. 175 With Notes and Illustrations

Eleven hardbound volumes of 'The British Essayists', very scarce in the original paper boards. The Spectator was a daily publication of 171112, founded by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele in England after they met at Charterhouse School. Eustace Budgell, a cousin of Addison's, also contributed. The stated goal of The Spectator was "to enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality. to bring philosophy out of the closets and libraries, schools and colleges, to dwell in clubs and assemblies, at tea-tables and coffeehouses" (No. 10). It recommended that its readers "consider it part of the tea-equipage" (No. 10) and not leave the house without reading it in the morning. One of its functions was to provide readers with educated, topical talking points, and advice in how to carry on conversations and social interactions in a polite manner. In keeping with the values of Enlightenment philosophes of their time, the authors of The Spectator promoted family, marriage, and courtesy. The original Tatler was founded in 1709 by Richard Steele, who used a nom de plume of "Isaac Bickerstaff, Esquire", the first such consistently adopted journalistic persona, which adopted in the first person, as it were, the seventeenth-century genre of "characters", as first established in English by Sir Thomas Overbury and soon to be expanded by Lord Shaftesbury's Characteristics (1711). Steele's idea was to publish the news and gossip heard in London coffeehouses, hence the title, and seemingly, from the opening paragraph, to leave the subject of politics to the newspapers, while presenting Whiggish views and correcting middle-class manners, while instructing "these Gentlemen, for the most part being Persons of strong Zeal, and weak Intellects.what to think." To assure complete coverage of local gossip, a reporter was placed in each of the city's popular coffeehouses, or at least such were the datelines: accounts of manners and mores were datelined from White's; literary notes from Will"s; notes of antiquarian interest were dated from the Grecian Coffee House; and news items from St. James"s. In its first incarnation, it was published three times a week. The original Tatler was published for only two years, from April 12, 1709 to January 2, 1711. A collected edition was published in 171011, with the title The Lucubrations of Isaac Bickerstaff, Esq. The Guardian was a short-lived newspaper published in London from 12 March to 1 October 1713. It was founded by Richard Steele and featured contributions from Joseph Addison, Thomas Tickell and Ambrose Philips. The bindings are tight and firm with all covers and pages securely attached. There is some wear to the extremities including rubbing to the boards. Internally the pages are generally clean and bright with the occasional handling mark. The pages are rough cut and the occasional one is uncut at the top. Very Good. …