{"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","url":"https:\/\/reservoirbooks.store\/products\/scott-the-lay-of-the-last-minstrel-second-edition-1805-neoclassical-gilt-calf","provider":"Reservoir Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}