| |
| Id |
20597 |
| Category |
antiquarian book |
| Author / Composer |
PRIOR, Matthew (1664-1721) |
| Title |
Poems on several occasions. |
| Place |
London |
| Publisher |
Printed for Jacob Tonson and John Barber |
| Publication Date |
1718 |
| ISBN / Plate No. |
|
| Series |
|
| Size |
Folio. [xx (title, dedication to Lionel Earl of Dorset and Middlesex, preface, postscript)], [xx (list of subscribers)], 506, [vi (contents)] pp. + full page engraved frontispiece. |
| Description |
Modern polished quarter calf, raised bands, some occasional light marginal foxing. Engraved vignette to title and numerous engraved head-pieces and tail-pieces. From the collection of Christopher Hogwood (1941-2014). One of a small number of copies of this sumptuous "Superfine" issue, with the watermark of a fleur-de-lys surmounting a shield, organised and published by Prior’s friends. The Strasburg bend watermark was used generally for the subscribers and normal copies were issued with the London arms watermark. Matthew Prior was one of the most important English poets of the century, and a diplomat as well. To raise money after his release from house arrest during the shift of power in England, Tonson and Alexander Pope especially aided Prior in setting to type a subscriber's edition of his poems. The project was a great success with nearly 1,500 names included among the original subscribers to the work. "The book reprinted and reordered all the poems from the 1709 edition of Poems on Several Occasions and added a number of poems written since that time, notably 'Solomon' and 'Alma.' Though he probably did not make as much money as is commonly cited (4000 guineas), Prior undeniably made a small fortune by this publication and found himself comfortably off for the rest of his life, independently wealthy and no longer dependent on repayments from a remiss and recalcitrant government" (DNB). |
| Reference |
First folio edition, subscriber's issue. Foxon p. 641. ESTC T75639. |
| Price |
£1350.00 |
|
