Published by John Bell, 1791-1793, London:, 1791
Seller: Grendel Books, ABAA/ILAB, Springfield, MA, U.S.A.
First Edition
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Three complete plays bound in one volume. Six illustrated plates. First edition thus. Duodecimo, half bound in green leather with gilt lettering and design along the spine, marbled boards, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers. Light edge wear, leather portions are mostly faded to brown, occasional foxing throughout text block, else very good. Binding is sound and tight.
Published by John Bell, London, 1791
Seller: Liberty Book Store ABAA FABA IOBA, Jupiter, FL, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Good. 24mo (14 x 9cm). Various paginations: [3], iv-v, [4], 110pp., [3], iv-x, [5], 136pp., [3], iv-xi, [2], 80pp., with double frontis and title page for each play. Brown leather, upper cover loose but holding, loss to head/tail of spine, corners bumped. P.O. name to verso of free endpaper, rest of text block tight and unmarked. OCLC 318814016.
Published by J and R Tonson 1762-1765, London, 1762
Leather. Condition: Very Good. None (illustrator). A collection of poetry by two different authors, bound in one volume. Bound in full leather, with decorative marble endpapers. John Philips' poem, Splendid Shilling was described by Joseph Addison as "the finest burlesque poem in the English language." It was written in blank verse in the style of Milton. A number of his other imitations are included in this collection, most notably Cyder, which was an imitation of Vergil's Georgics. Ambrose Philips was in his day an established poet of pastorals and odes. A stuanch whig he was friends with Addison and Steele and a regular at Button's coffee house. He had a vitriolic on-going war with Alexander Pope and the two seemed to have spent much time lampooning each other. Bound in full leather, with decorative marble endpapers. There is some wear to the extremities, including marks to the boards and bumping to the corners. The spine is cracking with some loss, and the title label is partially missing. The binding is tight and firm although the hinges are starting to strain and the cords are visible in one place. Internally, the pages are bright and clean with only the very occasional brown spot or handling mark. There is a bookplate on the front pastedown. Overall, apart from the wear to the spine, this volume is in very good condition. Very Good. book.
Published by John Bell and C, Etherington, London and York, 1776
Seller: Raymond Tait, Beccles, SUFFO, United Kingdom
First Edition
Full-Leather. Condition: Good. First Edition. Eighteen of the twenty volumes of this set of British plays. Volumes 4 (comedies) and 18 (tragedies) are missing. Volume 11 is present but the spine is completely split and the book is now in two parts. All the other volumes are in at least good condition with rubbing to the spine with some chipping to the top and bottom in several volumes. There is rubbing around the edges and some light discolouration to the front and rear panels. Volume 1 has a narrow two inch stain to the rear panel but there are no other heavy marks. Each volume has two title panels on the spine - at the top this has 'Bell's Theatre' and near the centre a panel with the volume number and the category (Tragedies, Comedies or Opera). Volumes 1,3,5,7,10,12,14,16 and 20 contain tragedies. Volumes 2,6,8,11,13,15,17 and 19 contain comedies and volume 9 contains operas. Some of these panels have unfortunately been lost with the top panel missing from three volumes and the volume panel missing from eight volumes. There is a browning to the page edges. Each volume has the original owner's bookplate - this was Alfred Octavius Hartley, M.A. of Steeple Ashton Vicarage in Wells in Norfolk. Browning to the endpapers. There is browning on the title pages of each volume and also at the beginning of each individual play - these are all individually paginated and each play has a title page and a pictorial frontispiece with several of these folding out. Some light browning and spotting through each volume but most of the pages are largely unmarked. Because this is a set of 18 volumes there will be an additional postage charge so if this is a concern please make contact before ordering so the different options can be discussed.
Published by J. Buckland; J. Rivington and sons; T.Payne and son; L. Davis; E. White and son; ;T. Longman; B. Law; J. Dodsley; H. Baldwin; J. Robson; C. Dilly and others, London, 1790
Seller: Raymond Tait, Beccles, SUFFO, United Kingdom
Full-Leather. Condition: Very Good. Second Edition. 73 of the 75 volumes of this set. This is a new edition dating from 1790. This set was originally published in 1779. All are in good to very good condition with rubbing to the spine and around the edges and some light marking and edge wear to the front and rear panels. Each volume has gilt decorations and three title panels on the spine: At the top this is burgundy and has 'Johnson's Poets' on it and this is present and more or less complete on 54 volumes; in the centre it is black and has the names of the poets in the volume on it and this is present on 38 volumes; and at the bottom there should be a small black panel with the volume number - this has proved the most fragile and is now only present on 3 volumes. There is a little browning to the page edges. Each volume has the original owner's bookplate - this was Alfred Octavius Hartley, M.A. of Steeple Ashton Vicarage in Wells in Norfolk. There is a little browning to the endpapers. The pages are also slightly browned with marks and stains to a few volumes but they are generally free from any spotting. The set deals with the life and work of 66 poets. Volumes 1-6 contain the lives of the poets and the final two volumes contain a general index. The remaining volumes contain the works of the poets. Some volumes contain the works of more than one poet while for the major poets several volumes are devoted to their work. Because this is a set of 73 volumes there will be an additional postage charge so if this is a concern please make contact before ordering so the different options can be discussed.