Macpherson James Attributed (2 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Author: Ossian (attributed). Translated from the Original Galic by James Macpherson. Title: Fingal, A Poem in Six Books, by Ossian: Translated from the Original Galic by Mr. Macpherson; and Rendered into Verse from that Translation. Publisher: Oxford: Printed for J. and J. Fletcher; T. Payne, at the Mews-Gate; and J. and F. Rivington, St. Paul's Church-Yard, London, 1772. Language: Text in English. Size: 8" x 5". Pages: viii + 180 pages. Binding: Very good contemporary full mottled calf over boards. Gilt fillet borders and gilt corner fleurons to boards. Spine with five raised bands, gilt fillets, and gilt floral ornaments to compartments (Outer hinges partly cracked (ca. 2 cm to upper joint) but still tight and secure - as shown, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.   Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing or staining - as shown, light age-toning in places - as shown, early ownership inscription in a late 18th-century hand ("Basil Heron April 1782") to the front free endpaper - as shown).   ****  The book: This 1772 Oxford edition of Fingal represents one of the most controversial literary works of the 18th century. Marketed as a lost Gaelic epic by the third-century bard Ossian, it was "translated" by James Macpherson, who claimed to have discovered fragments of ancient poetry in the Scottish Highlands. Fingal quickly caused an uproar in coffee houses and academic circles across Britain, admired for its sublime landscapes and heroic tone, but hotly contested as a possible forgery. Whether authentic or not, the poems inspired an entire generation of Romantic writers and artists across Europe, from Goethe to Napoleon. This copy, handsomely preserved in its original late 18th-century mottled calf binding, offers both literary importance and historical resonance.

Glasgow: 1776 (illustrator). Glasgow: 1776. A Response to the Second Continental Congress [MacPherson, James (1736-1796), Attributed]. The Rights of Great Britain Asserted Against the Claims of America: Being an Answer to the Declaration of the General Congress. With Additions. Glasgow: Printed From The Fourth London Edition, 1776. [ii], 78 pp. With a half-title and folding table. Octavo (6-1/2" x 3-3/4"; 16.5 x 9.5 cm). Disbound stab-stitched pamphlet. Moderate toning, light foxing to a few leaves, lower outside corner of half-title lacking, light edgewear to folding table, last few leaves starting at foot but secure. $950. * Published in response to the Second Continental Congress's Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms, which is reprinted on pp. 69-78. The work, which sets forth Great Britain's position on America's complaints, was written "with access to original papers, accurate estimates, and authentic dispatches" as well as Parliamentary records (Advertisement). It was disseminated widely and went through 20 editions in Great Britain, Ireland, America and France. Its authorship is disputed. Cohen writes that "Adams makes a pursuasive [sic] case for attributing it to James MacPherson (1736-1796), a Scottish poet and translator who also served as a political writer for Lord North. It has also been attributed to Sir John Dalrymple (1726-1810) and to Henry MacKenzie and Lord George Germaine" (internal citation omitted). MacPherson is perhaps best known as the author of the Ossian Poems. See Cohen, Bibliography of Early American Law 6636. Adams, American Independence 220p. Adams, The American Controversy 75-95q. English Short-Title Catalogue N12887.