Shotterel Robert (1 results)

First edition of this witty versification of Roger Ascham's Toxophilus (1545), here in contemporary morocco by the "Tulip Spine Binder" and with an exceptional provenance. The copy comes from the library of Sarah Sophia Banks (1744-1818), a formidable antiquarian collector and accomplished archer. Banks's discreet ownership inscription, dated 1792, appears at the head of B1, accompanied by a manuscript note tipped in at the front. In it she observes that the word "Finis" on p. 78 had been pasted in to disguise a missing leaf, adding that she had since supplied the defect. The repair remains: "Finis" clipped from another copy and neatly pasted to F7, with the catchword concealed; the supplied leaf F8 contains the poem "In laudem Sagittatiorum". The annotation is a characteristic example of Banks's alert bibliographical eye and her conscientious approach to restoration. A lifelong devotee of archery, she owned and annotated several standard works on the subject, including Ascham's Toxophilus. The British Library holds two copies of Archerie Reviv'd, suggesting that this one may have escaped her bequest as a duplicate. The book itself is scarce. ESTC records fourteen institutional copies (seven in Britain, seven in North America), and auction records list just seven examples since 1920, including Charles II's copy offered by Maggs in 1950. The present binding corresponds to that on the Folger Library copy, attributed to the "Tulip Spine Binder", active in England in the 1670s, although the original spine here has been lost. Shotterel and D'Urfey's text argues for the revival of archery at a time when firearms had rendered it obsolete, appealing directly to Charles II and Catherine of Braganza, both known enthusiasts. The dedication is clearly strategic. For D'Urfey, newly arrived in London and at the outset of his literary career, this may be his first book; success followed soon after at court. Shotterel, an actor in the King's Company and a captain of the Finsbury Archers, likely contributed the practical postscript that concludes the work. R. K. Eaglen, "Sarah Sophia Banks and her English Hammered Coins", The British Numismatic Journal, Volume 78, 2008; ESTC R5622; Antonia Fraser, King Charles II, Phoenix, 1993; Grolier, Wither to Prior, 801; H. J. Jackson, Marginalia: Readers Writing in Books, New Haven, Yale University Press, 2001; Lawrence V. Ryan, "Roger Ascham's Toxophilus in Heroic Verse", The Huntington Library Quarterly, Vol. 22, February 1959, p. 119); Wing S3647. Octavo (177 x 111 mm). Contemporary English black morocco neatly rebacked to style, sides with gilt double panel incorporating tulip and sunflower tools, remnants of green fabric ties, marbled endpapers, gilt edges. Initial blank present, terminal leaf supplied (see note) and somewhat shorter with paper flaw grazing one letter. Light wear at tips else binding in bright condition, some surface loss and patching to endpapers (where perhaps once pasted together), contents lightly browned, scattered foxing. A very good copy.