Rejected Addresses: Signed (5 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Good. 16 mo (7 in. x 4 1/2 in.) Navy ribbed cloth over boards, ruled in blind with corner decorations. Gilt letterin to spine. Rubbing and wear to extremities, but yet solidly bound. A 19th century version of the 20th century "Bad Hemingway" competition; only the entries here were entirely concocted by the wickedly self-satisfied brothers. The resulting book proved a bestseller and went into numerous reprintings. On August 14th, 1812, the brothers James and Horace Smith posted an advertisement which appeared in most of the daily newspapers. They announced their sponsoring of a "free and fair competition for an Address to be spoken." before the public audience, on October, 10th 1812, upon the re-opening of Drury Lane Theatre, which had been destroyed by fire. -------------------------- "As none of the actual entries were considered adequate in the end, Lord Byron was commissioned to write one specially. But when the brothers James and Horace Smith heard of the result of the competition, they planned a volume of parodies of writers of the day (Wordsworth, Byron, Scott, Southey, etc.), to be published as supposed failed entries and issued to coincide with the theatre's opening." (Wikipedia). In the prefaces to this later printing, the brothers Smith delightfully wrote: ".One hundred and twelve Addresses have been sent in, each sealed and signed, and mottoed, "as per order," some written by men of great, some by men of little, and some by men of no talent.One hundred and eleven of the Addressesmust, of course, be unsuccessful: to each of the authors, thus infallibly classed with the genus irritabile, .The Editor.has.culled what has the appearance of flowers, from what possessed the reality of weeds.In general, they bear a close resemblance to each other; thirty of them contain extravagant compliments to the immortal Wellington and the indefatigable Whitbread.The Editor here begs leave to advance a few words in behalf of that useful and much abused bird the Phoenix.Not less than sixty-nine of the competitors have invoked the aid of this native of Arab ia; but as, from their manner of using him after they had caught him, he does not by any means apear to have been a native of Arabia Felix." Twenty-Second Edition with Additional Notes.…

Full Morocco Leather. Condition: Very Good. Eighteenth Edition. SIGNED BINDING. Full green morocco leather binding with raised and gilt lettering on the spine. Gilt rolled edges of board. Front boards have gilt bind stamped centered medallion. Top edge gilt other edges untrimmed. Leather slightly darkened from handling. Green slik ribbon. Lovely inner dentalling with fillet. Offsetting front the leather to the free endpages (as is usual). Binding signed "W.P.E." on the obverse of the rear free endsheet. Overall a VERY GOOD++ condition. Excellent gift. James Smith (10 February 1775- 24 December 1839) and Horace Smith (31 December 1779- 12 July 1849), authors of the Rejected Addresses, sons of a solicitor, were both born in London. The occasion of their happy jeu d'esprit was the rebuilding of Drury Lane theatre in 1812, after a fire in which it had been burnt down. The managers had offered a prize of 50 for an address to be recited at the reopening in October. Six weeks before that date the happy thought occurred to the brothers Smith of feigning that the most popular poets of the time had been among the competitors and assuing a volume of unsuccessful addresses in parody of their various styles. They divided the task between them, James taking William Wordsworth, Robert Southey, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and George Crabbe, while George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, Thomas Moore, Walter Scott and Bowles were assigned to Horace. Seven editions were called for within three months. The Rejected Addresses are the most widely popular parodies ever published in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and take classical rank in literature. The brothers fairly divided the honors: the elder brother's Wordsworth is evenly balanced by the younger's Scott, and both had a hand in Byron. A striking feature is the absence of malice; none of the poets caricatured took offence, while the imitation is so clever that both Byron and Scott are recorded to have said that they could hardly believe they had not written the addresses ascribed to them. Size: 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. Signed by Binder. Hardcover.…

Eighteenth edition. [iii]-xxxi, [1], 170pp. With engraved frontispiece (features picked out in rouge), without half-title. Contemporary pink calf, gilt, spine richly so, contrasting green morocco lettering-piece. Light rubbing and slight marking to extremities, slight spotting and offsetting, else fine. Presentation copy, inscribed '1838 This Book was presented to Sir Edward Sugden by one of its authors and his faithful friend and servant James Smith' A presentation copy of one of the most significant works, and inventive parodies, of the Romantic era. The brothers Horace (1779-1849) and James Smith (1775-1839), within the conceit of Rejected addreses from a supposed poetry competition, successfully send up the major (and several minor) poets of the Romantic age. This copy was evidently presented to Sir Edward Sugden (1781-1875), English lawyer, writer and Conservative politician in the year before James Smith's death. Size: 8vo.…

Eighteenth edition. xxxi, [1], 170pp. With an engraved portrait frontispiece. Bound by Zaehnsdorf (stamp-signed to front turn-in) in late nineteenth- century gilt-tooled navy morocco, eight intricate metal bosses (likely added later) with green, red, and turquoise detailing to upper board, A.E.G. Housed in custom clamshell case. A trifle rubbed. A choice copy, in a wildly elaborate binding, of one of the most significant works, and inventive parodies, of the Romantic era. The brothers Horace (1779-1849) and James Smith (1775-1839), within the conceit of Rejected addresses from a supposed poetry competition, successfully send up the major (and several minor) poets of the Romantic age, including Byron, Coleridge, and Wordsworth. Size: 8vo. …

Early Edition. Early Edition. Bound in full crushed brown morocco iwth geometic gitl ruling and gilt dots on both covers, and inner dentelles, by Captain Gladstone, signed, C.E.G. lower inside front dentelle. A widely read collection of parodies by contemporary poets. Fine. Signed.