Lives of the English Poets, uncut in original boards - photo 1
Lives of the English Poets, uncut in original boards - photo 2
Lives of the English Poets, uncut in original boards - photo 3

Lives of the English Poets, uncut in original boards

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$ 1 890
Auction dateClassic
06.10.2022 12:00UTC -04:00
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CHRISTIE'S
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USA, New York
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ID 813627
Lot 105 | Lives of the English Poets, uncut in original boards
Lives of the English Poets, uncut in original boards

Samuel Johnson, 1781

JOHNSON, Samuel (1709-1784). The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets; with Critical Observations on their Works. London: Printed for C. Bathurst, et al, 1781.



A lovely copy of the first separate edition, uncut in original boards; the Hogan-Borowitz copy. The first edition, with the longer title of Prefaces, Biographical and Critical, to the Works of the English Poets, was published in 10 volumes, 1779-1781, to accompany the 56-volume set of Works and was not at first sold separately. "The recital of facts in the Lives tends to stay close to sources, condensing and sometimes paraphrasing their information. But Johnson's use of his predecessors is hardly mechanical. Converting a problem to an advantage, he casts a skeptical eye on the sources themselves, and makes his analysis of their plausibility or doubtfulness a center of interest," writes Lawrence Lipking. "What is new in the Lives is the prominence of the reflections, which assume that the poet's life and biography are valuable as examples of conduct for anyone's life." Courtney & Smith, p. 141-142; Lipking Samuel Johnson: The Life of an Author, Cambridge, Mass., 2000, pp. 267-68.



Four volumes, octavo (223 x 135mm). Engraved portrait frontispiece with imprint of Samuel Johnson by T. Trotter after Sir Joshua Reynolds (occasional minor soiling or edgewear internally). Original blue-grey paper boards, white paper spines, printed spine labels (some loss to blue paper near top edge of vol. 1, small chip to lower spine on vol. 4, general minor soiling). Custom chemises and slipcase. Provenance: early pencil annotations – J. Walker (inscription to rear endpaper) – Frank Hogan (bookplate; Sotheby’s New York, 25 April 1945, lot 420) – David and Lulu Borowitz (bookplate; Sotheby’s New York, 15 November 1977, lot 139).

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