JOHNSON, Samuel. A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland. London: Printed for W. Strahan; and T. Cadell in the Strand, 1775. 8vo.
The first edition, first impression of Samuel Johnson’s celebrated account of his journey through Scotland and the Hebrides with James Boswell in 1773.
Johnson had long wished to visit the Highlands and islands, and at the age of sixty-three finally undertook the expedition with Boswell as his companion. Travelling through Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness, Skye and the Hebrides, Johnson recorded not simply the landscape but the language, religion, customs, economy and changing social structure of the communities he encountered. His observations — characteristically forthright, sceptical and frequently entertaining — produced one of the great works of eighteenth-century British travel literature.
Contemporary Johnsonian Satire
The present copy is particularly appealing for an eighteenth-century printed satire on Johnson’s prose style tipped in at the rear. Headed For the St. James’s Chronicle and entitled:
A Pedestrious Ramble from Hyde-Park Corner to Farnham, written for the Encouragement of Johnson’s Dictionary
the piece affectionately lampoons Johnson’s celebrated preference for elaborate and Latinate vocabulary. Its anonymous traveller chooses “modern Latinity” over ordinary vernacular English, describes smells through his “olfactory Nerves”, and turns an otherwise unremarkable journey out of London into an exercise in magnificently inflated Johnsonian diction.
The combination of the first impression, handsome tree-calf binding and contemporary Johnsonian satire makes this a particularly characterful copy of one of Johnson’s most important works.
Size
21.5 × 14 cm.
Condition
Contemporary tree calf, attractively patterned, with raised bands, gilt decoration and red morocco lettering-piece to spine. Binding rubbed and worn at the extremities, with some surface abrasion and wear to corners. Upper joint cracked and weakened, though the board remains attached; some lesser wear to the lower joint.
Endpapers with old staining and marking. Internally generally very good, with scattered spotting and occasional light staining. A little worming at the extreme blank margin of several preliminary leaves, without significant loss of text. The contemporary satirical cutting at the rear has old folds and some age-related wear but remains substantially complete and clearly legible.
An attractive and substantially unrestored copy.
Bibliographical Note
First edition, first impression. Twelve-line errata leaf; cancel leaves D8 and U4 present. [2], 384, [2] pp.
References
Fleeman 75.1J/1a; ESTC T84319; Courtney & Smith, pp. 122–23; Chapman & Hazen, p. 151; Tinker 1357; Rothschild 1256.
