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Details
BOSWELL, James (1740-1795). The Life of Samuel Johnson. London: Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly, 1791.
2 volumes, 4o (283 x 215 mm). Engraved portrait of Johnson by James Heath after Sir Joshua Reynolds, 2 engraved plates of facsimiles by H. Shepherd. (Some minor pale spotting, mostly marginal.) Late 19th-century half morocco gilt.
FIRST EDITION, second issue, with "give" on p.35 in vol. I; Mm4, Nn1 (volume I), E3, Oo4, Qq3, Zz1 and Eee2 (volume II) are cancels. 1,750 copies of the first edition were printed.
"Homer is not the more decidedly the first of heroic poets, Shakespeare is not more decidedly the first of the dramatists, Demosthenes is not more sensibly the first of orators, than Boswell is the first of biographers" (Macaulay). Boswell's great work was published 16 May, 1791 and achieved immediate critical acclaim. It has not been out of print since. Grolier English 65; Rothschild 463; Tinker 338. (2)
2 volumes, 4
FIRST EDITION, second issue, with "give" on p.35 in vol. I; Mm4, Nn1 (volume I), E3, Oo4, Qq3, Zz1 and Eee2 (volume II) are cancels. 1,750 copies of the first edition were printed.
"Homer is not the more decidedly the first of heroic poets, Shakespeare is not more decidedly the first of the dramatists, Demosthenes is not more sensibly the first of orators, than Boswell is the first of biographers" (Macaulay). Boswell's great work was published 16 May, 1791 and achieved immediate critical acclaim. It has not been out of print since. Grolier English 65; Rothschild 463; Tinker 338. (2)