Ayloff (2 results)

Cloth. Condition: Near Fine. None (illustrator). First edition. The very scarce first separate edition of these two satirical works, heavily criticising the corruption in the court of King Charles II. The first separate edition. 'The History of Insipids' was first circulated in manuscript in the 1680s with the first published example included as part of 'A Second Collection of the Newest and Most Ingenious Poems, Satyrs, Songs, &c.' in 1689.This edition appears in two distinct settings, one with fourteen flower motifs to the front board and one with six. This particular example has six flower motifs. No priority given.Signature runs A-A8. Endpapers renewed and blanks discarded.Authorship for 'The History of Insipids' has been long disputed, and whilst the title page states authorship as Lord Rochester, it is now generally understood that the work was in fact written by John Freke of Strickland although has also been attributed to Marvell. The work is a scathing satire on Charles II, attacking the corruption of the monarchy.Published with Marvil's Ghost, a satire by John Ayloff, which imagines Andrew Marvell's ghost returning and commenting on the state of England. Ayloff was a key figure in the Rye House Plot to assassinate the King. Rebound in marbled paper covered boards. Externally fine. Internally firmly bound. Scattered spotting and marginal age toning. Endpapers and blanks discarded. Closely trimmed with occasional loss to page numbers to the head of the leaf. Near Fine. book.

Condition: Good. 6 floral ornaments rather than 14 cf.Foxon 249 sm. Octavo disbound. 16pp The top THE in the title is half cropped off and the page numbers of the last leaf are also partly affected the [15] or so than the [16]. Usual foxing/paper tanning and JV or possibly W in margin of first text leaf + two old ink corrections else neat. The Insipids are a satire of Charles II written some 30 years earlier in 1680 but only circulated in manuscript until it was printed, with other items, in a Miscellany. There are two editions of this 1709 printing one with 6 flower ornaments on the titlepage the other with 14. 1 volume. Hardcover.