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Philadelphia: Robert Bell, 1777. A 1777 Robert Bell Philadelphia Imprint with Contemporary Annotations by a Loyalist Relating Shakespeare and Richardson to the American Revolution Thomson, James [1700-1748]. [Murray, John (1726-1800)]. The Seasons: Containing, Spring. Summer. Autumn. Winter. With Poems on Several Occasions. To Which are Added, An Account of the Life and Writings of the Author. Philadelphia: Printed and sold by Robert Bell, 1777. [x], 251 (i.e. 253), [3] pp. Copperplate portrait frontispiece of Thomson. Text followed by 3 pp. of publisher advertisements. Octavo (7-1/4" x 4-1/2"; 18.6 x 11.5 cm). Contemporary sheep, raised bands, blind fillets and blind-stamped "T" to spine. Light rubbing to boards, some shallow scuffing near edges, moderate rubbing to extremities, spine ends chipped, corners bumped and worn, hinges cracked. Toning and light foxing to interior. Later bookplate and shelf label of Amedo Alaimo to front pastedown, later ink owner stamp of the Comte de Ludolf to foot of title page. Owner signatures of John Murray to pp. 3, 44 and 160, underlining, marks to margins and brief annotations in his hand throughout, brief annotations to pp. 75 and 76, longer annotations to recto and verso of rear endleaf, pencil annotation in Alaimo's hand to rear pastedown. Housed in a handsome dark blue quarter morocco clamshell case. A notable edition with a fascinating provenance. $7,500. **THIS DESCRIPTION IS TRUNCATED DUE TO CHARACTER LIMITS. PLEASE CONTACT US FOR A COMPLETE VERSION.** * First Philadelphia edition, and the first edition printed in the independent United States. Published in four parts from 1726 to 1730, The Seasons, a celebration of country life, was one of the most popular poems of the eighteenth century. It inspired several subsequent works, including Haydn's oratorio The Seasons and paintings by Gainsborough, Turner and Fuseli. The very rare first American edition was published without an imprint in 1764, most likely in Boston. Bell, the publisher of the second edition, specialized in inexpensive editions of important English books. One of these was the first American edition of Blackstone's Commentaries. He was also the first publisher of Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Murray, the annotator of our copy, was a staunch Loyalist. A member of a landed Scottish family in Philiphaugh, and a Member o.
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