{"title":"Literature","description":"\u003cp\u003eRare and antiquarian works of fiction, poetry, drama, and classical literature. Encompassing first editions, fine bindings, and important literary texts from antiquity through the twentieth century.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"nares-the-veracity-of-the-evangelists-demonstrated-first-edition-1816","title":"Nares — The Veracity of the Evangelists Demonstrated — First Edition, 1816","description":"\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNARES, Robert.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Veracity of the Evangelists Demonstrated, by a Comparative View of Their Histories.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e London: printed for F. C. and J. Rivington, 1816. 12mo.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAn attractive first edition of Robert Nares’s study of the historical consistency of the Gospel narratives. Nares approaches the Evangelists comparatively, examining differences of wording, sequence and testimony while arguing that their accounts remain mutually corroborative. Particular attention is given to passages shared between the Synoptic Gospels, culminating in the folding Greek table at the end of the volume, which places the accounts of the Parable of the Sower alongside one another for direct comparison.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRobert Nares (1753–1829) was an English clergyman, philologist and antiquary. He served at the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBritish Museum\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, first as Assistant Librarian and, from 1799 to 1807, as \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKeeper of Manuscripts\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and became \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eArchdeacon of Stafford\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e in 1801. A Fellow of both the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Society, he was also a founding editor of the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBritish Critic\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, which he edited from its establishment in 1793 until 1813. He is best remembered for his substantial \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGlossary, or Collection of Words, Phrases, Names, and Allusions\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (1822), devoted particularly to the language and literature of the Elizabethan period.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eContemporary half calf over marbled boards, with calf corners; spine divided by gilt rules and decorated with repeated gilt floral tools, the title lettered directly in gilt.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe work belongs to the early nineteenth-century tradition of Christian evidential writing and is an interesting example of comparative analysis of the Gospel narratives.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSize\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e19.5 × 12 cm.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCondition\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBinding \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003esound and attractive\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, with light rubbing and wear to the calf, principally at the extremities and corners; gilt decoration and lettering remain bright and clear. Marbled boards well preserved, with only minor surface wear. Internally generally clean, with occasional light spotting and toning, mainly to the endpapers. Text block firm. Terminal folding comparative table \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ecomplete and well preserved\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, with the folds remaining sound. A particularly neat copy in an appealing contemporary binding.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBibliographical Note\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFirst edition. 288 pp., followed by a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eterminal folding comparative table\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, headed \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAppendix No. V. The Parable of the Sower\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, presenting parallel passages from Matthew, Mark and Luke in Greek.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA second edition, with additions, followed in 1819. The first edition appears uncommon in commerce.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Reservoir Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57994923803006,"sku":null,"price":125.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1018\/4464\/8318\/files\/IMG_0134.jpg?v=1789026225"},{"product_id":"scott-the-lay-of-the-last-minstrel-second-edition-1805-neoclassical-gilt-calf","title":"Scott — The Lay of the Last Minstrel — Second Edition, 1805 — Neoclassical Gilt Calf","description":"\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSCOTT, Walter.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Lay of the Last Minstrel. A Poem.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Second Edition. London: printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, Paternoster-Row, and A. Constable and Co., Edinburgh, by James Ballantyne, Edinburgh, 1805. 8vo.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eScott’s first major narrative poem and the work which established him as one of the most successful poets of his generation. Set amid the feuds and legends of the sixteenth-century Scottish Borders, the poem combines historical romance, antiquarian scholarship and the supernatural within the framework of a tale recited by an ageing minstrel. The first edition of 750 copies appeared in January 1805 and was rapidly exhausted; this \u003cstrong\u003esecond edition of 1,500 copies\u003c\/strong\u003e followed in October of the same year. The success was extraordinary for contemporary poetry and established the pattern for Scott’s enormously popular narrative poems which followed.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA particularly attractive copy in contemporary mottled calf, gilt extra in a strongly Neoclassical design, the covers framed by Greek-key rolls and elaborate repeating ornament incorporating lyres, urns, floral swags and classical devices, with small gilt-lettered cartouches incorporated into the decoration. Marbled endpapers.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWith the small contemporary bookseller’s ticket of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWilliam Lindsell, 87 Wimpole Street, Cavendish Square, London\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, where Lindsell is recorded as bookseller and stationer from 1802.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eProvenance\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom the library of Roger Poole (1939–2003), literary theorist and scholar. With a loose manuscript bibliographical note, apparently in Poole’s hand.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSize\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e22 × 14 cm.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCondition\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGood overall, and an attractive copy despite wear. Contemporary calf rubbed and worn at the extremities, with areas of surface abrasion and some splitting to the binding, but retaining a substantial amount of its elaborate original gilt decoration. Marbled endpapers well preserved. Contents generally clean and fresh, with occasional minor spotting and age-toning.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTwo notable closed tears, without apparent loss, affect leaves P2 (pp. 243–244) and P6 (pp. 251–252); the longer tear to p. 244 extends upwards from the lower edge into the text, while that to p. 252 is shorter.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBibliographical Note\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSecond edition, published later in the same year as the first. 334 pp., with half-title, dedication to Charles, Earl of Dalkeith, and prefatory matter.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTodd \u0026amp; Bowden 14Ad. The edition has a known pagination irregularity towards the end, with the sequence which should constitute pp. 305–332 numbered 307–334. Leaves P2 and P6 were subject to cancellation in this edition.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe present copy has an additional and unusual configuration. Pages 243–244 and 251–252 occur in their normal positions, but additional examples of both leaves are also bound into the final portion of the volume. After p. 324 the sequence is: 324, 243, 244, 328, 325, 326, 331, 332, 329, 330, 251, 252, 333, 334.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eComparison of the relevant readings:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003ep. 244 (normal position): “order of sanctity” | additional leaf: “odour of sanctity”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003ep. 252 (normal position): “barell” | additional leaf: “barell”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA comparable second-edition copy described under Todd \u0026amp; Bowden 14Ad likewise retains both normally positioned and additional versions of P2 and P6, although its reported readings differ from the present copy. The precise status of the duplicated leaves and their relationship to the cancellation process is currently being investigated with the University of Edinburgh Special Collections. This note will be updated if further information becomes available.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eReferences\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTodd, William B. \u0026amp; Bowden, Ann, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSir Walter Scott: A Bibliographical History\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, 14Ad.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Reservoir Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57996451938686,"sku":null,"price":350.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1018\/4464\/8318\/files\/IMG_0128.jpg?v=1789026165"},{"product_id":"homer-the-odyssey-translated-by-alexander-pope-four-volumes-london-1771","title":"HOMER. The Odyssey. Translated by Alexander Pope. Four volumes. London, 1771.","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHOMER.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Odyssey of Homer.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Translated by Alexander Pope. London: printed for J. Whiston, Baker and Leigh, and others, 1771. Four volumes, 17.5 × 11 cm.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOriginally published in 1725–1726, with substantial contributions from William Broome and Elijah Fenton, Pope’s translation renders Odysseus’s long return from Troy in the polished heroic couplets of the Augustan age.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eA handsome four-volume edition of Homer’s \u003cem\u003eOdyssey\u003c\/em\u003e in Alexander Pope’s celebrated English translation, preserved in attractive contemporary gilt, polished calf.  Uniformly bound with gilt borders to the boards and raised bands. Contrasting morocco lettering and numbering pieces, gilt board edges and turn-ins, marbled endpapers and red-stained edges complete an appealing Georgian library set.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProvenance\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEngraved armorial bookplate of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGeorge White, Esq.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, to the front pastedown of each volume, with a shield surrounded by floral garlands and surmounted by a demi-lion holding a flag. The design appears consistent with a late-eighteenth-century date.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBindings with rubbing, scuffing and surface marks; board edges and corners worn, with small losses to the leather and exposure of the underlying board in places. Spines rubbed, with wear and loss to the gilt and labels, and chipping at the head and foot, particularly to volume III. Joints rubbed and locally cracked; boards remain attached.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMarbled endpapers remain attractive. Contents generally clean and bright, with occasional light spotting, toning and handling marks. Horizontal creasing to the title leaf of volume I. Red-stained edges with some fading, rubbing and marks. A visually appealing set retaining much of its original decorative character.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBibliographic Note\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003ePublished in London in 1771 by a trade conger of leading booksellers including J. Whiston, Baker \u0026amp; Leigh, W. Strahan, and T. Payne. Issued in a compact 12mo format, this set reproduces Alexander Pope's benchmark translation of the \u003ci\u003eOdyssey\u003c\/i\u003e. Although produced concurrently alongside a matching five-volume \u003ci\u003eIliad\u003c\/i\u003e, this four-volume \u003ci\u003eOdyssey\u003c\/i\u003e was also sold independently.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVol. I: [4], lix, [2], 63–292 pp.; Vol. II: [4], 314 pp.; Vol. III: [10], xiii, [1], 361 pp.; Vol. IV: [10], 366 pp.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReference\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eESTC T90240.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Reservoir Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58022047646078,"sku":null,"price":300.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1018\/4464\/8318\/files\/IMG_0360.jpg?v=1789301412"}],"url":"https:\/\/reservoirbooks.store\/collections\/literature-and-classics.oembed","provider":"Reservoir Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}