Details
[GOLDSMITH, Oliver (ca. 1730-1774)]. The Vicar of Wakefield: A Tale. Supposed to be written by Himself. Salisbury: Printed by B. Collins for F. Newbery, 1766.
2 volumes, 12o (167 x 97 mm). Contemporary calf, speckled edges (rebacked, some minor rubbing); morocco pull-off case. Provenance: Anne Dumarque (bookplate).
FIRST EDITION, Scott's variant "B" with no catchword on p. 213 of vol. I, but with the catchword "him" correct on p. 39 of vol. II and p. 159 of vol. II correctly paginated. Although the manuscript for The Vicar of Wakefield was sold to the publisher Collins nearly four years earlier, through the intervention of Samuel Johnson, it was not published until 1766. "The occasion for the delay has been explained in various ways. One explanation is that it was held back until the Traveller, which came out in 1765, should have increased the author's reputation. It may have been, as Johnson told Boswell, that the publishers were afraid that the book would not sell" (Grolier English 53). Rothschild 1028; Scott Goldsmith, pp. 173-75; Sterling 400; Tinker 1110. (2)
2 volumes, 12
FIRST EDITION, Scott's variant "B" with no catchword on p. 213 of vol. I, but with the catchword "him" correct on p. 39 of vol. II and p. 159 of vol. II correctly paginated. Although the manuscript for The Vicar of Wakefield was sold to the publisher Collins nearly four years earlier, through the intervention of Samuel Johnson, it was not published until 1766. "The occasion for the delay has been explained in various ways. One explanation is that it was held back until the Traveller, which came out in 1765, should have increased the author's reputation. It may have been, as Johnson told Boswell, that the publishers were afraid that the book would not sell" (Grolier English 53). Rothschild 1028; Scott Goldsmith, pp. 173-75; Sterling 400; Tinker 1110. (2)
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