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Gay, John (1685-1732). FABLES by John Gay, with a Life of the Author, and Embellished with a Plate to Each Fable.. Rivington, White & others printed Darton & Harvey, London, 1793.

Price: US$94.87 + shipping

Condition: Good

Description: Copperplate engravings (67 ovals on 34 plates & Engraved TP & frontis by G. Neagle (bound after Life of Gay). Octavo (207x124mm) 2 Parts in 1 volume gilt calf (rebacked with old spine laid on - pine lacks labels & has some flaking & darkening, tips worn) xvi+256pp. Occasional minor spotting else clean and crisp throughout. *Based on Kent, Wooton & Gravelot engravings, some on Stockdale/Blake edition, others differ from both (eg. Fable 9). 1 volume.

Seller: Abbey Antiquarian Books, Blockley, GLOS, United Kingdom

Aesop; Samuel Croxall; Bookplates By Franz Von Bayros For William R. A. Hays; 112 Engraved Plates With Protective Tissue By Thomas Stothard, J. Landseer, Hunt, Medland, Lovegrove, Skelton, Powell, Eastgate, W. Grainger, Clarke, L. Chapman, A. Smith, J. Saunders, Audinet, William Blake, Wilson Et Al. Fables Of Aesop, With A Life Of The Author: And Embellished With One Hundred & Twelve Plates. In Two Volumes.. John Stockdale, London, 1793.

Price: US$275.00 + shipping

Condition: Good

Description: Lxv, [1], 189Pp; Xi, [1], 248Pp. 24.8 X16 Cm. Later 1793 Issue, Without Advertisement Leaf For Stockdale's "Gay's Fables" And With Corrected Page Number For P.198 Of The First Vol. Quarter Polished Calf, Rules, Bl;Ack Spine Labels, Marbled Boards. Bindings Probably Original, Well Worn, Spine Labels Intact, Fraying, Front Board Of Vol I Detached, Front Board Of Volume Ii Held Only By The Cords. Pages Generally Bright And Clean, But With Small Areas Of Foxing On Some Pages, And Faint Offsetting Of Plates (Tissue Guards Are Not Present). Ownership Signatures On Title Pages. Each Volume With Bookplates 12 1/2 Cm X 11 1/2 Cm Designed For The Artist William R. A Hays By Franz Von Bayros (1866 – 1924), An "Austrian Commercial Artist, Illustrator, And Painter, Best Known For His Controversial "Tales At The Dressing Table" Portfolio. He Belonged To The Decadent Movement In Art, Often Utilizing Erotic Themes And Phantasmagoric Imagery. Bayros Was Born In Zagreb, In Present-Day Croatia, Then Part Of The Austro-Hungarian Empire. At The Age Of Seventeen, He Passed The Entrance Examination For The Vienna Academy With Eduard Von Engerth. Bayros Mixed In Elegant Society And Soon Belonged To The Circle Of Friends Of Johann Strauss Ii, Whose Stepdaughter Alice He Married In 1896. The Next Year, Bayros Moved To Munich. In 1904, He Gave His First Exhibition In Munich, Which Was A Great Success. From 1904 Until 1908, He Travelled To Paris And Italy For Further Studies. Returning To Vienna, He Felt Himself A Stranger. The Outbreak Of The First World War Came As Yet Another Setback For Bayros. " (Wikipedia).

Seller: Arroyo Seco Books, Pasadena, Member IOBA, Pasadena, CA, U.S.A.

John Gay. Fables. John Stockdale, London, 1793.

Price: US$324.89 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: An early edition of John Gay's influential 'Fables', a nicely illustrated editions with some plates engraved by William Blake. First Stockdale edition later issue, with a short "s" throughout.A collection of the fables of John Gay, with seventeen fables in this volume.Illustrated with sixteen plates and an engraved title page.Fables in this volume include 'The Dog and the Fox', 'The Vulture, the Sparrow, and Other Birds', 'The Baboon and the Poultry', 'The Ant in Office', 'The Bear in a Boat', and more.Gay originally wrote fables for Prince William, the Duke of Cumberland, in 1727, and despite writing them for a royal, he wrote about the vanities of court honours.This edition is notable for including engravings by William Blake,a Romantic poet and painter, a seminal figure of the era. He wrote prophetic works, though he was largely unrecognised during his lifetime.Volume II only of a total of two volumes, lacking Volume I.Bookplate to the front paste down. In a half straight grain morocco binding with paper to the boards. Externally, generally smart. Light rubbing go the boards and raised bands. Minor bumping to the extremities. A few minor marks to the boards, including a faint tide mark to the rear board. A very small patch of loss of paper to the front joint. Bookplate to the front paste down. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are bright and generally clean with some scattered spots. Very Good

Seller: Rooke Books PBFA, Bath, United Kingdom

GAY, John. Fables; With a life of the author, and embellished with a plate to each fable. printed by Darton & Harvey, for F. & C. Rivington, B & B. White, T. Longman, B. Law & Son, G.G. & J. Robinson, T. Cadell. S. Bladon, R. Baldwin, J. Sewell, J. Johnson, H.L. Gardner, J. Bew, W. Goldsmith, J. Murray, W. Lowndes, J. Scatcherd & Co. G. & T. Wilkie, & E. Newbery, London, 1793.

Price: US$335.95 + shipping

Condition: Near Fine

Description: Octavo : pp. [2] xvi, 256 : title page engraved : 69 further engravings, 12 after William Blake : new eps and marbled covered boards : recent calf spine lettered in gilt : with variant state of A2 which ends "as he pro-" and the catchword is "bably". ESTC T13872 Foxmark (1cm) extending from rhs of engraved face on title page; three other pin head fox marks to title; very occasional mark thereafter. John Gay (1685-1732) was an. English poet and dramatist, chiefly remembered as the author of The Beggar's Opera, a work distinguished by good-humoured satire and technical assurance. His poetry was much influenced by that of Alexander Pope, who was a contemporary and close friend. Gay was a member, together with Pope, Jonathan Swift, and John Arbuthnot, of the Scriblerus Club, a literary group that aimed to ridicule pedantry. This Darton & Harvey edition, printed the same year as the first Stockdale edition contains two plates to a page which very closely copy (often reversed) those in the Stockdale; "most notably in this respect is the strikingly Blakean shepherd imitated from Blakes first engraving". Bentley, Blake Books, p.566.

Seller: Archives Fine Books (ANZAAB, ILAB), Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Gay, John. Fables by John Gay. With a Life of the Author and embellished with a Plate to each Fable. Printed by Darton & Harvey, London, 1793.

Price: US$345.00 + shipping

Description: 256p., illus. An edition which copies the John Stockdale edition of the same year with plates by William Blake (cf. Bentley 460) Two oval (7 x 9 cm.) engravings to each plate Good condition, worn calf, corners chipped, some foxing, light tide mark in outer margin

Seller: J. Lawton, Booksellers, Readville, MA, U.S.A.

Gay, John [William Blake engravings]. Fables [volume 2 only]. London. Printed for John Stockdale, Piccadilly. 1793., 1793.

Price: US$400.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: London. Printed for John Stockdale, Piccadilly. 1793. Hardcover, bound in full calf. 175 pages. A very fine binding with raised cords on the spine, maroon and black title labels, gilt edges and marbled endpapers. This volume contains 17 of Gay’s Fables. Each is nicely illustrated with engravings. 17 engravings, including the title page. Of particular interest are 3 plates engraved by the young William Blake. Blake was in his mid-thirties when this book came out – he had already written and illustrated his Songs of Innocence and was finishing up his Marriage of Heaven and Hell – but these plates in Gay’s fables are among the earliest examples of his professional work. The Blake engravings in this volume show; 1) A Dog and A Fox to illustrate the fable of that name. 2) Pan and Fortune, showing those two figures against a rural landscape and 3) The Ravens, The Sexton and the Earthworm, showing a funeral scene. Other plates in the volume by Wilson, Mazell, Skelton, and Grainger are whimsical and attractive. Pages are clean although faded in some places, and engravings have ghosted to the facing pages in a few places. Overall cntents are in very good condition. Slight wear to leather hinges, but other than that, binding too in very good condition. Gay’s fables were first published in 1738, but remained a popular title throughout the century, in part because it lent itself so well to new sets of illustrations. He is best remembered for his Beggar’s Opera, but like much like Alexander Pope, Gay was a respected wit and poet in his day, carrying the torch for theatre and literary arts during a time of religious backlash in England.

Seller: Riverby Books, Fredericksburg, VA, U.S.A.

Gay, John. Fables by . with a life of the author [by Samuel Johnson] ; and embellished with a plate to each fable. Printed by Darton and Harvey, for F. & C. Rivington, B & B. White, T. Longman, B. Law & Son [and 1 others], London, 1793.

Price: US$400.00 + shipping

Description: Frontispiece, engraved title-page with vignette, and 67 illustrations [includign 12 after designs by William Blake] on 34 leaves. 1 vols. The illustrations are copies of the 1793 Stockdale edition, re-engraved in an oval form. Cf. Gumuchian, no. 2682. The "Life of John Gay, p [iii]-xiv, is from Johnson's Lives of the English poets. 19th-century full tree calf, gilt spine with red leather label. Upper joint barely starting, otherwise a lovely copy Frontispiece, engraved title-page with vignette, and 67 illustrations [includign 12 after designs by William Blake] on 34 leaves. 1 vols

Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.

Gay, John. Fables (Volume II ony)). John Stockdale, London, 1793.

Price: US$495.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: 1st printing; 187 clean, unmarked pages; 3/4 black leather w/bblue boards, raiseed bands; gilt titles; 1" of top spine mssing, front boards detached; deccorative end papers Size: 8 Vo

Seller: Dorley House Books, Inc., Hagerstown, MD, U.S.A.

Gay John. FABLES BY JOHN GAY; With a Life of the Author and Embellished with a Plate to Each Fable. [With a Life of John Gay by Samuel Johnson as derived from his Lives of the Poets]. London Darton & Harvery for F. & C. Rivington, B & B. White, T. Longman, B.Law & Son, F.F. & J. Robinson, T. Cadell et. al 1793, 1793.

Price: US$495.00 + shipping

Description: Two parts in One Volume as issued. First Edition Thus. Illustrated with engraved frontispiece, engraved title-page with vignette and an engraved illustration to every fable including 12 after designs by William Blake. 8vo, very handsomely bound in 18th century polished tree calf, the spine with multi-ruled gilt fillet lines separating the compartments, central gilt ornaments in each compartment, red morocco lettering label gilt, the covers with double gilt fillet lines at the borders enclosing roll tooled gilt key inner borders, turnovers gilt rolled, marbled endleaves. xvi, 256 pp. A very handsome copy with a bit of expected age mellowing, sometime expertly and unobtrusively restored at the back, the plates and text-block all well preserved. FIRST OF THE EDITION BY DARTON & HARVEY USING THE PLATES PRINTED BY STOCKDALE ISSUED HERE IN OVAL FORMAT. With a life of Gay by Dr. Samuel Johnson. Dedicated "To his Highness William, Duke of Cumberland, These New Fables, Invented for His Amusement, are humbly dedicated, by his Highness's most faithful, and most obediant servant, John Gay." One of Gay’s best known works, the fables are not moral tales : "for a Fable he gives now and then a Tale or an abstracted Allegory; and from some, by whatever name they may be called, it will be difficiult to extract any moral principle. They are, however, told with liveliness; the versification is smooth; and the diction, though now and then a little constrained by the measure of the rhyme, is generally happy." [Johnson]

Seller: Buddenbrooks, Inc., Newburyport, MA, U.S.A.

Gay, John. FABLES by John Gay, with a Life of the Author and embellished with seventy plates. John Stockdale, London, 1793.

Price: US$500.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: Two volumes, 19thC polished calf, both uniformly rebacked with new leather spines. Scattered moderate foxing , largely confined to prelims and rears, not affecting textblock or engravings. ith engraveings by William Blake.

Seller: Johnnycake Books ABAA, ILAB, Salisbury, CT, U.S.A.

Gay, John; William Blake [Illustrator]. Fables by John Gay, with a life of the author and embellished with seventy plates, Vol. I. & II. [in 2 volumes]. John Stockdale, London, 1793.

Price: US$500.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: 2 volume set 1793 Stockdale in gilt ruled pebbled full leather bindings, dentelles and marbled endpapers. 5 hub spine all edges gilt. Volume one shows tone to free endpapers from newspaper clipping having been laid in. Bookplate to front paste down. oversized and overweight. D55 Please email for photos. Larger books or sets may require additional shipping charges. Books sent via US Postal

Seller: Griffin Books, Stamford, CT, U.S.A.

GAY, John. Fables.; With a Life of the Author. John Stockdaele, London, 1793.

Price: US$500.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: 2 volumes. Frontispiece and title page with engraved vignette. Embellished with 70 very fine engraved plates, offsetting to facing pages. Tall 8vo, older 3/4 brown calf with marbled boards, top edges gilt (hinges & joints repaired, spine chipped). London: John Stockdale, 1793. Overall very good. A finely printed work, famous for the 12 plates engraved by William Blake, as well as the work of many other artists and engravers. This copy contains the "Gay Monument" frontispiece, which is often lacking.

Seller: Argosy Book Store, ABAA, ILAB, New York, NY, U.S.A.

Gay, John. Fables. John Stockdale, 1793.

Price: US$750.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: Slipcase (VG). original leather binding. two volume set. 70 engravings

Seller: RP BOOKS, Newport, NH, U.S.A.

Gay, John; William Blake. Fables: with a Life of the Author and Embellished with Seventy Plates.. John Stockdale, London, 1793.

Price: US$799.99 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: Contemporary mottled calf, neatly rebacked, marbled endpages. Two volumes in one. Some foxing; bookplate, old PO name. Seventy copperplates, twelve engraved by Blake, includes frontis to volume 1. A tall copy of the first Blake edition, with the eleven page list of subscribers, and ad on the final page for Barlow's Aesop Fables. First issue, with the long "S. "; quarto

Seller: curtis paul books, inc., Northridge, CA, U.S.A.

Gay, John :. Fables by John Gay. With a Life of the Author and embellished with Seventy Plates. 2 Vols. (in 1).. London, John Stockdale 1793., 1793.

Price: US$835.29 + shipping

Description: 4° Kupferstich-Titel, Xi., 225 S. / Kupferstich-Titel, VII., 187 S. + 68 Kupferstiche (cplt.). Roter Ganzlederband der Zeit mit Rücken- und dreiseitigem Goldschnitt. = Erste Ausgabe / First Edition. Exlibr. a. d. Innendeckel. Alle Kupferstiche sind sauber, die Textseiten dagegen tls. braunfleckig. Schönes, gut erhaltenes Buch.

Seller: Antiquariat Heiner Henke, Passau, Germany

Gay, John. FABLES. John Stockdale, Piccadilly, 1793.

Price: US$914.95 + shipping

Description: 2 Volumes bound in later 3/4 buckram with matching marbled paper covered boards and end-papers; includes a short biography of Gay, a list of subscribers, a one page advertisement. There are seventy [70] plates, each 3x4 inches [on 6.5x10.5 inch pages], 12 by William Blake. Six that have some hand-coloring; These new fables were invented for the amusement of His Highness William Duke of Cumberland. 187 & 225 pages. The covers are in very good condition, the interior is tight and clean although there are a couple plates that have a small piece out of the edge [nowhere near the image] and the paper is foxed in varying degrees throughout. General foxing throughout, some pages heavily, some mildly.

Seller: By The Way Books, Richmond, TX, U.S.A.

Gay, John; [Blake, William (engr.)]. Fables by John Gay, with a Life of the Author (Vol. I-II, Complete). John Stockdale, London, 1793.

Price: US$1000.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: Contemporary morocco, ornate gilt-stamped border on boards, gilt-stamped lettering and ornament on spine; 2 volumes, 4to; pp. xi, [1], 225; vii, [1], 187, [1] (ad); plus an engraved title-page for each volume, and 68 plates (including 12 by William Blake); collates complete. First Stockdale edition, first issue, with the long "s" throughout. Boards faintly rubbed; joints and edges of boards lightly bumped and scuffed. Some very faint foxing; the occasional dusty smudge; but overall internally bright and clean. Considered one of the finest examples of Blake's work as a reproductive engraver. Ray, England 1; Essick, William Blake's Commercial Book Illustrations, XXVI.

Seller: Sanctuary Books, A.B.A.A., New York, NY, U.S.A.

Gay, John & Blake, William.. Fables.. London: John Stockdale., 1793.

Price: US$1100.00 + shipping

Condition: Good

Description: 2 vols. With a life of the author and embellished with seventy plates. With twelve plates engraved by William Blake. GAY. Vol. I. [II.] London: Two octavo volumes. xi, [1, blank], 225; vii, [1, blank], 187, [1, ads] pp. Seventy-one engraved plates, Qtr. Contemporary leather and marbled boards. Spines chipped, marbling peeling off lower corners of covers of both volumes, corners lightly bumped and worn in general, edges a little worn, front hinges of both volumes loose but not falling off yet, mild foxing to endpapers and title page.

Seller: Wittenborn Art Books, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.

GAY, JOHN. FABLES BY JOHN GAY, With a Life of the Author and embellished with Seventy Plates.. London. Printed for John Stockdale. 1793, 1793.

Price: US$1104.61 + shipping

Description: Tall octavo 10 x 6 1/2 inches- very handsomely leather bound in full late nineteenth century light calf gilt. Gilt suns in compartments, contrasting leather lettering labels, gilt Greek key fillet to the boards, marbled endpapers. In good condition. Frontispiece the monument plate, two engraved titles and 67 fable plates. Complete with accompanying text. 12 plates by William Blake (1757-1827). Minor spotting. Blake also appears in the list of subscribers. John Gay (1685–1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. This work was first published in 1727 and this edition is legendary because of the Blake plates. A pretty copy.

Seller: Charles Russell, ABA, ILAB, est 1978, cirencester, United Kingdom

Gay, John. Fables. With a life of the author and embellished with seventy plates. John Stockdale, London, 1793.

Price: US$1125.00 + shipping

Description: First edition thus, tall 8vo, 2 volumes in 1, xii, 225; vii, 175; engraved titles to each volume, engraved frontispiece and 67 fine plates, including 12 by William Blake; full contemporary tree calf, red morocco label on gilt decorated spine, labels slightly cracked and small chip at the bottom not affecting any letters, corners a little rubbed, very good and sound.

Seller: Rulon-Miller Books (ABAA / ILAB), St. Paul, MN, U.S.A.

Gay, John. Fables by John Gay with a Life of the Author and Embellished with Seventy Plates. London: John Stockdale, 1793, 1793.

Price: US$1200.00 + shipping

Description: Leather-bound hardcover. Quarto. Two Volumes bound as one. Original leather boards rebacked with gilt decorated spine. Very good condition. Light foxing to a few plates. Former owner's signature and a few notes in pencil written on the endpapers. 2 engraved title pages and 68 plates, making a total of 70. 12 original plates by William Blake created especially for this edition. Here is an extraordi nary opportunity to own original engravings by one of the most important figures in world art and literature. These engravings come from early in Blake's career and were created in the same years as h is engravings for Songs of Innocence and Experience.

Seller: A Book By Its Cover, Louisville, KY, U.S.A.

(BLAKE, William) Gay, John. Fables . with a Life of the Author. Printed for John Stockdale, London, 1793.

Price: US$1250.00 + shipping

Description: First Stockdale edition and first with the Blake plates, later issue with short "s" throughout. 2 engraved title-pages with vignette, "Gay Monument" frontispiece and 68 illustrations (including 12 etchings by William Blake). [ii], xii, 225; [ii], vii, 188 pp. 2 vols. 8vo (10-3/8 x 6-3/4 inches). With 12 Plates by Blake. The Stockdale edition of Gay's Fables with 12 engravings by Blake, who freely adapted his source material. Ray considers this one of the best examples of Blake's work as a reproductive engraver. Bentley & Nurmi 371A; Ray, England 1; Essick, William Blake's Commercial Book Illustrations, XXVI Bound to style in acid-stained calf, covers gilt with outer roll border, flat spine gilt with red morocco lettering-pieces and volume label, a.e.g. Title-pages trimmed with some loss, light foxing to some plates 2 engraved title-pages with vignette, "Gay Monument" frontispiece and 68 illustrations (including 12 etchings by William Blake). [ii], xii, 225; [ii], vii, 188 pp. 2 vols. 8vo (10-3/8 x 6-3/4 inches) First Stockdale edition and first with the Blake plates, later issue with short "s" throughout.

Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.

Gay, John. Fables, with A Life of the Author. John Stockdale, London, 1793.

Price: US$1450.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: First issue of the Stockdale edition, distinguished by the use of the long "s" throughout the text. xi, [1], 225; vii, [1], 187, [1]pp., plus one engraved frontis, two engraved titles, and 68 engraved plates. Two tall 8vo volumes, untrimmed. 12 of the illustrations were done by a young William Blake, who accepted the commission to both design and engrave the plates in the same year that he created the illuminations for his Songs of Innocence and Experience. While the engravings were based on those used in the 1738 first edition of Gay's Fables (after Wootton and Kent), Blake interpreted them in a highly idiosyncratic way, imparting what anyone familiar with his work will recognize as his mature style. Contemporary tree calf, expertly rebacked with the original backstrips laid down. Gilt-ruled compartments on spine, dentelle borders in gilt to boards, and gilt-tooled edges. Hinges strong, textblocks square, text clean, though with some offsetting from plates. First and last leaves a bit toned at edges. Ex libris plates on front free endpapers, with slight wrinkling to those leaves. A very handsomely bound and well-preserved set of an important work.

Seller: Sigla Books, Calgary, AB, Canada

Gay, John; William Blake [Etchings]. Fables: With a Life of the Author. John Stockdale, London, 1793.

Price: US$1500.00 + shipping

Description: First Stockdale edition, first issue with the long "s" throughout, and list of subscribers. xi [1], 225; [2], vii, 187, [1] pp. Two engraved title-pages with vignette, "Gay Monument" frontispiece and 68 illustrations (including 12 etchings by William Blake). Later full calf polished with gilt borders, gilt decorated spines; marbled endpapers and edges. Very Good with joints expertly repaired and strengthened, some general light wear and scuffing to calf, offsetting to endpaper edges, illustrated bookplates of author and bibliophile Louise Ward Watkins, and Frances and Jourdan Hoyt, scattered light foxing to interiors. The first edition of Gay's classic Fables to have etchings by William Blake, who is listed as one of the subscribers at the rear.

Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.

GAY John.; BLAKE William. Fables by John Gay with a Life of the Author. , 1793.

Price: US$1559.46 + shipping

Description: First edition with Blake?s plates, large paper copy. Illustrated with seventy plates, 12 engraved by Blake. Two volumes bound in one. Large 8vo. xi, [1, blank], 225, [1, blank], vi, [1, blank], 187, [1, advertisements] pp. Near contemporary half red straight-grain moroccco with marbled paper covered boards, flat spine with seven gilt bordered panels, second panel lettered in gilt, the rest tooled in gilt. London, Stockdale. Keynes notes in his bibliography that the illustrations in this edition seem to be modelled on the illustrations of earlier editions, further noting that the first plate is ?the most characteristic example of Blake?s work.? A very good copy, with rubbing to corners, extremities and boards, top and tail of spine also lightly rubbed. Some spotting to the prelims, final few pages and some of the plates, offsetting from plates. Keynes, 106.

Seller: Maggs Bros. Ltd ABA, ILAB, PBFA, BA, London, United Kingdom

Gay, John. Fables; With A Life of the Author and embellished with Seventy Plates. John Stockdale, London, 1793.

Price: US$1750.00 + shipping

Description: 225, 187. 27 x 17 cm. First Stockdale edition, first issue (with long "s" throughout). Frontispiece memorial illustration, engraved title pages in both volumes, and 68 engraved plates, including 12 by William Blake. Published posthumously with a life of the author at the end of volume 2. List of Subscribers also end of Vol.2; with verso of last leaf a publisher advert. With the "Gay Monument" plate at rear of second volume. BENTLEY 460. GORDON RAY. "Blake's twelve engravings follow designs in earlier editions of the 'Fables,' but hey are freely adapted." KEYNES 106. Wide text margins, plates with tissue guards, marbled endpapers, inner dentelles, backstrip lettered and decorated with gilt motifs. Bound by Lloyd, Wallis & Lloyd Bentley of London. Full green levant, spines evenly faded to brown. Aeg. Fine

Seller: Royoung Bookseller, Inc. ABAA, Ardsley, NY, U.S.A.

(Blake, William) Gay, John. Fables . with a Life of the Author. Printed for John Stockdale, London, 1793.

Price: US$1750.00 + shipping

Description: First Stockdale edition and first with the Blake plates, first issue with the long 's' throughout. 2 engraved title-pages with vignette, "Gay Monument" frontispiece and 68 illustrations (including 12 etchings by William Blake). [ii], xii, 225; [ii], vii, 188 pp. 2 vols. 8vo (10-3/8 x 6-3/4 inches). With 12 Plates by Blake. A tall copy in contemporary binding of the Stockdale edition of Gay's Fables with 12 engravings by Blake, who freely adapted his source material. Ray considers this one of the best examples of Blake's work as a reproductive engraver. Bentley & Nurmi 371A; Ray, England 1; Essick, William Blake's Commercial Book Illustrations, XXVI Contemporary full straight-grained red morocco, covers stamped in gilt with outer roll border, flat spines divided into 6 compartments, 2 with title and volume number, the rest gilt with small tool, a.e.g., marbled endpapers. Light wear to extremities, some foxing to title-pages. Bookplate of Frasier W. McCann 2 engraved title-pages with vignette, "Gay Monument" frontispiece and 68 illustrations (including 12 etchings by William Blake). [ii], xii, 225; [ii], vii, 188 pp. 2 vols. 8vo (10-3/8 x 6-3/4 inches) First Stockdale edition and first with the Blake plates, first issue with the long 's' throughout.

Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.

Gay, John. Fables by John Gay; With a Life of the Author and Embellished with Seventy Plates. John Stockdale, London, 1793.

Price: US$1815.00 + shipping

Condition: Very Good

Description: 2 vol. Large 8vo. [2], iii-xi, [1], 1-225, [1] ; [4], iii-vii, [1], 1-187, [1] (page of publisher's advertisements) pp. Mid-nineteenth century paneled sheep: each board with a calf border inlaid with gilt pointillé in the border, three gilt borders on each board, gilt fleur-de-list to the turn-ins, spines in six compartments with three morocco labels lettered in gilt on each spine (two red and one brown), gilt decorations on the spine; all edges decoratively stained yellow. Beautiful marbled endpapers and pastedowns. Bound by W. Worsfold of London. Each volume with an engraved title page, volume one with a frontispice, 51 plates, and volume two with 16 plates. Bentley and Nurmi 371A. Oxford DNB, David Nokes, "Gay, John (1685-1732)". Packer 168. Ray 1. First published in 1727, Gay's Fables achieved popularity thanks to their anthropomorphic characters and general charm. A beautiful edition of Gay's Fables, sumptuously bound. Twelve of the seventy plates done by William Blake, the poet and titan of eighteenth-century illustration. The plates in these volumes bring Gay's fables to life, with rabbits, elephants, boars, dogs, foxes, and other creatures expertly and humorously engraved with expressive countenances. Minor rubbing to the extremities, some of the plates are foxed but the pageblock and plates are still largely clean and sharp, one leaf in volume two with a hairline repair.

Seller: Evening Star Books, ABAA/ILAB, Madison, WI, U.S.A.

Gay, John with Plates by William Blake. Fables by John Gay with a Life of the Author and Embellished with Seventy Plates. 2 Volume Set. John Stockdale, London, 1793.

Price: US$1950.00 + shipping

Condition: Near Fine

Description: Near Fine condition two volumes in full leather with decorative gilt stamping. Marbled endpapers. Professionally Rebacked. A very handsome copy. Corners lightly rubbed. ; 4to - over 9¾" - 12"

Seller: Book Gallery // Mike Riley, Phoenix, AZ, U.S.A.

BLAKE, William (engr.); GAY, John.. Fables.. London: John Stockdale, 1793, 1793.

Price: US$2144.25 + shipping

Description: First edition thus, with 12 plates engraved by William Blake; these are sometimes stated to have been designed as well as engraved by Blake, but the illustrations are based largely on designs from earlier editions, particularly those of John Wootton and William Kent for the first edition of 1727. Keynes notes that the first Blake plate, "The Shepherd and the Philosopher", is the most characteristic example of his work. Gay's Fables "have had long-running success, going through more than 350 editions, mostly before 1900. Their popularity relies less on ironic wit than on their anthropomorphic and proverbial charm, but at court [Gay's] female friends were delighted" (ODNB). This attractive copy is from the library of Charles William Vane, third marquess of Londonderry (1778–1854), with his elaborate bookplate; his arms, with hussar supporters, including his many military awards. A brave but not particularly brilliant soldier - Sir John Moore described him as "a very silly fellow" - Vane served with variable distinction throughout the Peninsular War. His Narrative of the War (1828), based on his correspondence with his half-brother Lord Castlereagh, was not uncontroversial. His dashing and dandified portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence is at the National Portrait Gallery. Keynes 106. 2 volumes, octavo (240 x 141 mm). Contemporary marbled half sheep, smooth spines divided by gilt wavy-line and ornamental rolls, gilt lettered direct in second and fourth compartments, remainder with alternating central arrow-and-feathers and spear-tip foliate motifs, Shell on Stormont pattern marbled paper sides, yellow edges. Engraved title in each volume and 67 plates, of which 12 were engraved by William Blake, the others by Audinet, Cook, Grainger, Lovegrove, Mazell, Skelton and Wilson. Endpapers toned and foxed. A superior copy, tall and clean, in a most appealing period binding.

Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom

Aesop (S. Croxall transl.). The Fables of Aesop; With a Life of the Author; and Embellished with one Hundred & twelve Plates. John Stockdale, London, 1793.

Price: US$2400.00 + shipping

Condition: Fine

Description: 2 vol., Large 8vo, 11 x 7 in. (278 x 178 mm); pp. lxv, 189 (misnumbered 891); advertisement, xi, 248; engraved vignettes on title page of each vol. and 110 other plates, one for each fable, by various engravers including Skelton and Barrett, J Chapman, Clarke, J. Smith, some unsigned. Vol. 2 contains the advertisement for the publication of The Fables by John Gay by the same publisher and the same year. Offset to some pages from engraved plates (tissue guards not present) and very occasional foxing. Handsome later binding in green crushed morocco by F. Bedford (gilt stamped on turn-in of Vol. 1) with gilt fillets on boards, decorative motifs on turn-ins, marbled endpapers, 5 raised bands, spines elaborately gilt and tooled, gilt title, t.e.g., rest uncut. [Brunet I, 103; Lowndes, I, p. 17; ESTC T84992; Bentley, Blake Books, 460]. A beautiful edition with all 110 engravings by over 30 engravers and two vignette title pages. In his comprehensive study Blake Books, G. E. Bentley mentions that this edition was advertised at the end of the 1793 Stockdale edition of John Gay's Fables, as containing Blake engravings, although Blake did not sign any of the plates. The elegant binding is by Francis Bedford (1799-1883) who was much beloved by patrons of the English upper class. Many of his choicest productions are imitations of the work of the great French bookbinders of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries Bedford himself considered that an edition of Dante was his chef d'oeuvre. (Dictionary of National Biography, suppl. I, pp. 162-63).

Seller: Rob Zanger Rare Books LLC, Middletown, NY, U.S.A.