The English Anthology.

"The public is here presented with a selection of English poetry, in a chronological series, from the beginning of the sixteenth century (or, including an extract from Chaucer, from the latter part of the fourteenth) to the present time, upon a plan hitherto unattempted, at least in this country. It will not be thought possible that a collection in three volumes should comprise every poem in the language; but it may be confidently asserted that there is scarce a single poet of any eminence or merit who has not contributed generally his best, and in some cases his only, production, and that no publication of like nature ever comprehended such a number and variety of excellent poems, or was printed with superior elegance, fidelity, or correctnessÉ" (Advertisement). Three volumes, octavo. [4], xvi, 349, [1], [1, errata], [1, blank]; xiiii, [1], 370; viii, 334, [1, ads], [1, blank] pp. Signature H repeated in Volume III. Engraved title-page vignettes, and engraved and woodcut head- and tail-piece vignettes by Thomas Stothard. Full nineteenth-century red crushed morocco by F. Bedford. Covers with gilt triple fillet border with tiny gilt corner ornaments and central gilt arms, spines decoratively tooled and lettered in gilt in compartments, board edges ruled in gilt, turn-ins decoratively tooled in gilt, top edge gilt, others uncut, marbled endpapers. Occasional light foxing and offsetting, lower corner of A4 (pp. 7/8) renewed and short marginal tear to *H1 (pp. *109/*110) in Volume III. A beautiful set, with the bookplate of Chicago collector Abel Berland in each volume. First edition.…