BOSWELL, James. The Life of Samuel Johnson. 1791. FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE.
Sale 1336 - Fine Books and Manuscripts, including Worlds of Tomorrow, and Americana
Jun 7, 2024
9:00AM CT
Live / Chicago
Estimate
$1,000 -
$1,500
Sold for $1,270
Sold prices are inclusive of Buyer’s Premium
Lot Description
BOSWELL, James (1740-1795). The Life of Samuel Johnson. London: Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly, 1791.
2 volumes, 4to (279 x 216 mm). Engraved frontispiece in vol. I of Johnson after Sir Joshua Reynolds, 2 engravings in vol. II. (Marginal spotting to frontispiece with some offsetting to title-page, very occasional spotting throughout.) Early polished calf (rebacked); slipcase. Provenance: Sir John Cope (armorial bookplate).
FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE with "gve" reading on p. 135, line 10, of the first volume. "Homer is not more decidedly the first of heroic poets, Shakespeare is not more decidedly the first of the dramatists, Demosthenes is not more sensibly the first of orators, than Boswell is the first of biographers" (Macaulay). Boswell's great biography of his friend, author Dr. Samuel Johnson was published 16 May 1791 and achieved immediate critical acclaim. It has not been out of print since. ESTC T64481; Grolier English 65; Rothschild 463; Tinker 338.
Property from the Collection of Dr. K. William Harter, Alexandria, Virginia
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