Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$300.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Two 12mo volumes (4 x 6 9/16 inches). Pp. [4], iv, 169, [1, blank], [2, contents]; [4], 262, [2, contents]. Bound without the first and final blank in each volume. Contemporary calf neatly rebacked with original spines and morocco labels laid down. Some browning and occasional staining. Vol. II front free-endpaper and half-title loose; a short tear to lower corner of E2 (pp. 75-76), and small paper flaw to margin of F1 (pp. 97-98), neither affecting text. Slight flaking to joint of Vol. II. An attractive, presentable copy. Includes Pope's "The Rape of the Lock," Gray's "An Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard," Samuel Johnson's "London," Dryden's "Alexander's Feast" and Gay's "The Shepherd's Work," among others.In his preface, Goldsmith writes, "my Bookseller having informed me that there was no collection of English Poetry among us, of any estimation, I thought a few Hours spent in making a proper selection would not be ill bestowed."
Seller: Long Brothers Fine & Rare Books, ABAA, Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Oliver Goldsmith. The Beauties of English Poesy. William Griffin, London, 1767.
Price: US$375.00 + shipping
Description: Two volumes, tall duodecimos, new boards, lightly and uniformly embrowned, minor foxing, quite decent, and complete with the half titles. Goldsmith selected what he considered to be the very best examples from the best authors: Milton, Dryden, Gay, Pope, Swift, and others, and then wrote a preface by way of introduction, explanation, and rationale for his selections. First edition.
Seller: G. W. Stuart, Jr., ABAA(emeritus), Yuma, AZ, U.S.A.
Goldsmith, Oliver, selector. The Beauties of English Poesy. William Griffin, London, 1767.
Price: US$450.00 + shipping
Description: First edition, with half-titles. [4], iv, [ii], [1]- 167 [i.e. 269], [1]; [6], 262 pp. 2 vols. 12mo. Each poem has an unsigned short preface by Goldsmith. Later marbled paper over boards [4], iv, [ii], [1]- 167 [i.e. 269], [1]; [6], 262 pp. 2 vols. 12mo
Seller: James Cummins Bookseller, ABAA, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$1300.00 + shipping
Description: 175 x 105 mm. (6 7/8 x 4 1/4"). Two volumes. PRETTY RED MOROCCO, GILT, BY STIKEMAN & CO. (stamp-signed on front turn-in), covers framed by gilt fillets, oblique lancet tools at corners, raised bands, spines gilt in compartments with lancet centerpiece and leafy curls at corners, gilt lettering, densely gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Front pastedowns with engraved bookplate of Samuel F. Barger. ESTC T146028. âGutter open at final leaf of volume I, one opening with marginal printer's smudge, other trivial imperfections, but still a fine, attractive set, the text fresh and clean, and the appealing bindings with almost no signs of use. This well-known work on English poetry was written by one of the major literary figures of the 18th century and attractively covered by a leading American binder somewhere around the turn of the 20th century. Ranging from Pope and Milton to lesser-known bards like Gay and Garth, the present collection of poetry was chosen by writer Oliver Goldsmith (1728? - 1774), who also wrote brief introductions to many of the poems, and added extensive explanatory footnotes to Pope's "Use of Riches." During the period from the retirement of William Matthews to the establishment of the Club Bindery, there was no better binder in America than Henry Stikeman, who exhibited "extraordinary skill . . . in design, inlaying, and tooling." (Maser Collection) Stikeman's firm did high-end publisher's bindings as "bread and butter" work, and luxurious gilt-tooled bindings for collectors. According to Jeff Stikeman, binding expert (and great-great grandson of Henry's brother George), those bindings signed "Stikeman" or "Stikeman & Co." (as here) are finished by hand, as opposed to the firm's later blocked bindings, which are signed "Stikeman & Co., NY." The former were done from 1887 to about 1915, the latter from 1915 to 1939. The hand tooled bindings are very much more desirable. The attractive set comes from the library of lawyer and railroad financier Samuel F. Barger (1832-1914), a longtime director of Cornelius Vanderbilt's New York Central Railroad. FIRST EDITION, First State (volume I with pp. 265-69 misnumbered pp. 165-169, p. 145 with catchword "Thoug").
Seller: Phillip J. Pirages Rare Books (ABAA), McMinnville, OR, U.S.A.
Price: US$1763.68 + shipping
Description: First edition, complete with the half-titles and contents leaves in both volumes. This is a particularly nice copy, in a handsome unrestored contemporary binding, of this scarce anthology of English poetry selected by Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774), published the year after The Vicar of Wakefield. The selection includes such near-contemporary works as Pope's "Rape of the Lock", Gray's "Elegy", Johnson's "London", and Young's "Night Thoughts", as well as Milton's earlier "Il Penseroso" and "L'Allegro", and is an excellent introduction to 18th-century taste. Goldsmith's Preface states the book's intention to "shew them what is beautiful, and inform them why it is so", to which end each poem is introduced by a succinct critical commentary. The author closes his preface by wryly hoping that "this work be useful in schools, or amusing in the closet". 2 volumes, octavo (167 x 101 mm). Contemporary speckled calf, spines gilt-tooled in compartments with raised bands gilt-rolled and two gilt morocco title labels (one red, one tan) each, board edges gilt-rolled. Extremities lightly rubbed, a few minor marks and scratches to calf, small chip to calf at the head of spine of volume I, corners bumped, joints sound, internally fresh but for ink marks and a small perforation to leaf B4 and otherwise some very faint spotting and the occasional minor mark. An excellent copy.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom