Scarce Books & Elegant Editions

‘‘Scarce

Books

& Elegant Editions’’

Samuel Johnson & James Boswell: Selections from the Edward R. Leahy Collection

‘‘Scarce

Books

& Elegant Editions’’

Samuel Johnson & James Boswell: Selections from the Edward R. Leahy Collection

Heritage Room, Weinberg Memorial Library, The University of Scranton September 18, 2009 – December 11, 2009

Samuel Johnson S

amuel Johnson (September 18, 1709 – December 13, 1784) was the most important prose writer (as well as a fine poet) in England during the middle and late 18th century. His reputation is so secure that the 40 years of his literary dominance, from the 1740s until his death in 1784, have been called “The Age of Johnson.”

Johnson was raised in a financially struggling family. His father owned a book shop and was a minor official in the city of Lichfield. Young Samuel was a sickly child and ill health plagued him throughout his life. A childhood case of scrofula cost him vision in one eye. He had nervous tics and likely had Tourette’s syndrome.

He was plagued by depression (No. 39 in this checklist). But, in part because he grew up in a bookshop, he read voraciously. He also received a standard classical education and briefly attended Oxford. Due to financial problems, he left Oxford without a degree and worked as a tutor (No. 36) and later as a schoolmaster.

In 1735, Johnson married Elizabeth Porter, a widow 20 years his elder. He moved to London in 1737 where he eked out a living as a journalist writing for the Gentleman’s Magazine, and also began building his reputation as a writer. Johnson garnered international attention with his Dictionary of the English Language (No. 11), published in 1755, but he had already been producing well-respected essays and poetry. In fact, Johnson became quite famous for producing biweekly essays under the title, The Rambler (No. 8), and then later, weekly essays under the title, The Idler (No. 13).

King George II died in 1760 and was succeeded by his grandson George III. Johnson had been very critical of King George II ( e.g., Marmor Norfolciense, No. 4). King George III was more sympathetic to the

No. 8 The Rambler

6

arts and Johnson more sympathetic to the King. George III awarded Johnson a pension of £300 in 1762. Pensions were occasionally given to talented but poor artists and writers, so Johnson’s pension was not unusual and it provided financial stability for the first time in his life. He was able to travel outside of London, although with the exception of a trip to France, he visited only England, Wales, and Scotland. Johnson also expanded his social world and became friends with Henry Thrale, a brewer and Member of Parliament, and his wife Hester. Johnson undertook two more major projects during his life, an edition of the plays of Shakespeare (No. 14) and a biographical and critical survey of the works of English poets (No. 20). Johnson died in December 1784. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Samuel Johnson is a transitional and a rather transformational figure in the history of writing and publishing.

No. 11 A Dictionary of the English Language Although books had been printed since the second half of the 15th century, the revolutionary impact of printing on the lifestyle of writers did not fully occur until the 18th century. Until that time, many writers still fashioned themselves as aristocrats producing courtly letters, and supported, appropriately, by aristocratic or royal patrons. Although writers like Shakespeare and Ben Johnson worked primarily for money in the early 17th century, they cultivated patrons and also attempted to acquire the trappings of gentility. Indeed, Shakespeare acquired a coat of arms, giving him the right to call himself a “gentleman.” Even in the early 18th century, Alexander Pope, who made a decent living as an author, disdained the new world of mass printing.

But Samuel Johnson was a different writer entirely. He wrote for money. He wrote quickly and efficiently and produced on deadline, at least when not overwhelmed by melancholia. He did not have patrons and, indeed, is remembered for a scathing letter to Lord Chesterfield rejecting his tardy and condescending attempt at patronage upon the publication of the Dictionary. The heartstab is so eloquent as to merit recital: “Seven years, my Lord, have now past, since I waited in your outward rooms, or was repulsed from your door; during which time I have been pushing on my work through difficulties, of which it is useless to complain, and have brought it, at last, to the verge of publication, without one act of assistance, one word of encouragement, or one smile of favour. Such treatment I did not expect, for I never had a patron before....

Is not a patron, my Lord, one who looks with unconcern on a man struggling for life in the water, and, when he has reached ground, encumbers him with help? The notice which you have been pleased to take of my labours, had it been early, had been kind; but it has been delayed till I am indifferent, and cannot enjoy it; till I am solitary, and cannot impart it; till I am known, and do not want it.”

Samuel Johnson wrote for newspapers and magazines. He wrote essays, poetry, satire, fiction, history, biography, literary criticism, and created his landmark dictionary. He wrote in every available medium. He told James Boswell, “No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money.” If Samuel Johnson were alive today, he would have a blog, as long as it paid. And who better to tweet than a writer known for concise bon mots such as “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than open one’s mouth and remove all doubt,” or “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel,” or “Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good.”

7

James Boswell J

8

No. 34 Boswell’s Life of Johnson

ames Boswell (October 29, 1740 - May 19, 1795), born in Edinburgh, was the eldest son of Alexander Boswell, a judge and the 8th Laird of Auchinleck. Although raised in a wealthy Calvinist family, Boswell felt unloved and suffered from various nervous ailments as a child and adolescent, including depression. While at the University of Glasgow, Boswell considered converting to Catholicism. When his father ordered him to return home, Boswell decamped to London. But after three months living as an impoverished libertine, Boswell returned to Scotland and completed his oral law exam.

In 1762, Boswell returned to London where he hatched scheme after scheme to meet the great Johnson.

Finally, on May 16, 1763, when Johnson bounded into Davies’ bookshop, the momentous meeting occurred.

Boswell wrote, “…I was sitting in Mr. Davies’s back-parlour, after having drunk tea with him and Mrs. Davies, [when] Johnson unexpectedly came into the shop; and Mr. Davies having perceived him through the glass-door in the room in which we were sitting, advancing toward us,—he announced his aweful approach to me, somewhat in the manner of an actor in the part of Horatio, when he addresses Hamlet on the appearance of his father’s ghost, ‘Look, my Lord, it comes.’”

Having achieved his goal of gaining Johnson’s acquaintance, Boswell left London again to continue his legal studies at Utrecht University. He then spent two years traveling the continent, meeting Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He also traveled to Corsica and met the leader of the independence movement, Pasquale Paoli. His trip to Corsica formed the basis of his book, An Account of Corsica (No. 27), which was well received. Boswell returned to London in February 1766 and thereafter passed his final law exam in Scotland.

He practiced law in Scotland, although not very successfully, for more than a decade and, in general, only spent about a month a year with Johnson in London. Boswell married Margaret Montgomerie in November 1769. She died from tuberculosis in 1789.

Boswell was given to drink, depression, and dissipation. And while he had literary success, he did not write quickly and published rather little. After Johnson died in 1784, Boswell spent the next seven years working on his biography. His legal career faltered, his drinking increased, and his health began to fail due to venereal disease and alcohol abuse. Boswell died in 1795 in London.

Boswell was a problematic personality. He was widely liked. He had an engaging personality. But he was not trusted, even by his friends, probably because of his great ability to remember conversation. This skill, coupled with a lack of discretion, gave Boswell both his fame and his notoriety. It is one thing for a gentleman to keep a private notebook where he records the unguarded comments of his drinking and dining companions. But it is something else when he publishes those comments attributed to the people who made them. Boswell not only documented conversations, but would often attempt to provoke controversy in order to capture his subjects commenting in the heat of the moment. He did this often and effectively with Johnson, who was most likely aware that he was being baited, but other acquaintances were less tolerant. The skill that gave the world The Life of Samuel Johnson eventually made Boswell unwelcome among his peers.

9

The Exhibit

The Life of Samuel Johnson I

n an age when celebrity foibles and failures seem to consume our media, it is difficult to imagine how revolutionary and controversial Boswell’s approach to biography was. Boswell wrote about Johnson “warts and all.” He portrayed his tics, fears, and ill-humour, along with his wisdom, brilliance, and compassion. He wrote about what Johnson ate, drank, and wore, specifically his shabby dress and poorly fitting wig. Today, the public demands to know such details of its temporary icons, but in the 18th century a biographer was expected to produce hagiography; to show his subject as a paragon of virtue and a model to be emulated. As Boswell wrote, “I will venture to say that he will be seen in this work more completely than any man who has ever yet lived. And he will be seen as he really was; for I profess to write, not his panegyrick, which must be all praise, but his Life; which, great and good as he was, must not be supposed to be entirely perfect.... in every picture there should be shade as well as light, and when I delineate him without reserve, I do what he himself recommended....”

It took Boswell nearly seven years after Johnson’s death to complete his biography. Along with trying to earn a living, pursuing his dubious entertainments, and suffering from bouts of indolence and depression, Boswell also published his Journal to the Hebrides (No. 31), and undertook a tremendous amount of research to document Johnson’s life. Boswell interviewed Johnson’s friends, solicited copies of correspondence, checked facts, and edited and re-edited his journal entries. In the meantime, John Hawkins (No. 50), Hester Lynch Piozzi (Nos. 49, 51), and others published their accounts of Johnson’s life. Nonetheless, when Boswell’s Life of Samuel Johnson finally appeared in 1791, it took the literary world by storm. A second edition was published in 1793 and Boswell was working on a third edition when he died in 1795.

T

he exhibit title, Scarce Books and Elegant Editions, taken from Johnson’s Account of the Harleian Library, truly reflects this collection. As the book world knows, Edward Leahy has diverse collecting interests that include incunabula, English literature, ranging from Spenser through Dickens and a little beyond, Bligh and the Bounty, children’s books, Cosway bindings, jeweled bindings, modern illuminated manuscripts, horror and science fiction and more.

But rarity and exceptional quality are themes that run throughout his collections. In this exhibit, scarcity is in abundance with books inscribed by Johnson, Boswell, and Piozzi. On exhibit are a Boswell letter, concerning the Life, and a letter, recently rediscovered by the collector, relating to Johnson’s early career.

Numerous titles are present in their original boards with crisp, clean, pages; others in original calf. A. Edward Newton’s copy of the Life is included. Besides being owned by a famous collector, this is the first discovered copy, of a mere handful now known, of the Life with the canceled page that sees Dr. Johnson hold forth on marital fidelity. Perhaps the rarest item is an immaculate copy of an advertisement soliciting subscriptions for the first American edition of the Life. In fact, the centerpiece of this wonderful collection is a unique assemblage of seven copies of the first edition of Boswell’s Life of Johnson, including a copy in the original blue boards, the above-mentioned Newton, a copy inscribed twice by Boswell to a friend of Johnson’s, and a copy in a fabulous Cosway binding with portraits of Johnson and Boswell on the covers.

Elegance is exemplified by the splendid red-morroco Rambler, once owned by Johnson’s friend Robert Chambers, the Boswell and Piozzi Cosway bindings, the elaborately gilt Doheny copy of The Adventurer (No. 10), and many other volumes in fine contemporary calf with gilt spines and boards. Indeed, our checklist eschews describing the condition of each volume because to do so would be repetitive. The number of absolutely fine copies in this collection is remarkable.

The Leahy Johnson and Boswell material is a collection of discernment. The major works are present, often in multiple copies, and almost always in a superb example of condition, quality, and/or rarity. There are unique items with the potential to make a contribution to scholarship and many items to delight the eye and inform anyone interested in the world of print, literature, and bookmaking in 18th century England.

— Michael Knies

Selected Bibliography DeMaria, Robert. The Life of Samuel Johnson: a Critical Biography. Cambridge: Wiley-Blackwell, 1995.

Kernan, Alvin B. Samuel Johnson & the Impact of Print. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1989.

Martin, Peter. Samuel Johnson: A Biography. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 2008.

Meyers, Jeffrey. Samuel Johnson: The Struggle. New York: Basic Books, 2008.

Redford, Bruce. Designing the Life of Johnson. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2005. Print.

Sisman, Adam. Boswell’s Presumptuous Task: Writing the Life of Dr. Johnson. London: HarperPerennial, 2006.

No. 35 Life of Johnson

10

11

Samuel Johnson 1. Husbands, John. A Miscellany of Poems by Several Hands. Oxford, Lichfield, 1731. 8vo. First edition. Contemporary calf. This compilation contains Johnson’s first publication, a translation into Latin of Alexander Pope’s poem, “Messiah.” The preface states that the “translation was delivered to his tutor as a college exercise, by Mr. Johnson, a commoner of Pembroke College in Oxford.”

2. Lobo, Jerónimo, Le Grand, Joachim. A Voyage to Abyssinia. London [i.e., Birmingham], 1735. 8vo. First edition. Contemporary paneled calf, gilt paneled and tooled spine, with red leather label. Johnson translated Lobo’s work, written in Portuguese, from Le Grand’s French translation.

3. London: A Poem, in Imitation of the Third Satire of Juvenal. London, 1738. Folio. Second edition. Modern threequarter red morocco over boards.

4. Marmor Norfolciense: Or An Essay on an Ancient Prophetical Inscription, in Monkish Rhyme, Lately Discovered Near Lynn in Norfolk, by Prolus Brittanicus. London, 1739. 8vo. First edition. Original calf-backed blue boards. Bound with a series of early 18th century tracts, and retaining the half-title.

No. 38 Life of Johnson

5. The Plan of a Dictionary of the English Language; Addressed to the Right Honourable Philip Dormer Earl of Chesterfield, One of His Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State. London, 1747. 4to. First edition. Polished mottled calf, gilt paneled spine with leather label. Johnson’s plan for his magnum opus.

6. The Vanity of Human Wishes. The Tenth Satire of Juvenal, Imitated. London, 1749. 4to. First edition. Full mottled calf, gilt paneled spine. The Sterling Foote, Ralph Isham, Bradley Martin copy.

7. Irene: A Tragedy. As It is Acted at the Theatre Royal in Drury-Lane. London, 1749. 8vo. First edition. Modern red morocco, gilt paneled spine and covers with fleurons and cornerpieces, gilt inner dentelles, all edges gilt. With the half-title and the advertisement leaf. n 8. The Rambler. 2 Vols., London, 1751. Folio. First edition. Finely bound in 18th century red morocco, the covers tooled with a wide gilt border of flowers and flower vases within a narrow Greek key pattern roll, smooth spine divided into six panels, with the crest of Johnson’s friend, Sir Robert Chambers, in the fifth panel. The Chambers copy.

9. The Rambler. 6 Vols., London, 1752. 12mo. First edition in book form. Original calf, gilt borders and spine.

No. 8 The Rambler title page

12

13

10. Hawkesworth, John, et al. The Adventurer. 2 Vols., London, J. Payne, 1752-54. 140 numbers in 2 volumes. Folio. First edition. Full contemporary calf, elaborately gilt decorated paneled spines, retaining original leather labels, uncut, and retaining the printer’s imprint at the foot of each number. Johnson wrote at least 29 of these 140 essays, and there is some evidence that he may have revised all of the essays before they went to press. The Doheny copy.

11. A Dictionary of the English Language: in which the Words are Deduced from Their Originals, and Illustrated in their Different Significations by Examples from the best Writers. To Which Are Prefixed, A History of the Language, and An English Grammar. 2 Vols., London, 1755. Folio. First Edition. Contemporary three-quarter calf over marbled boards.

Leather labels.

12. The Prince of Abissinia. A Tale. 2 Vols., London, 1759. Small 8vo. First edition. Gilt paneled contemporary calf, gilt paneled spines with floral and vase devices, retaining original red leather labels.

13. The Idler. 2 Vols., London, 1761. 12mo. First collected edition. Full contemporary gilt paneled calf with original labels.

14. The Plays of William Shakespeare in Eight Volumes with the Corrections and Illustrations of Various Commentators; To Which Are Added Notes by Sam. Johnson. 8 Vols., London, 1765. 8vo. First edition. Modern half brown morocco over marbled boards.

15. The Idler. 2 Vols., London, 1767. Third edition with additional essays. Contemporary calf, re-backed.

Presentation copy inscribed by Johnson, “To dear Mrs. Eccles from the Author.”

16. A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland. London, 1775. 8vo. First edition, first issue, with the 12-line errata leaf at the end. Contemporary polished calf with gilt decorated spine with original red morocco label.

17. A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland. London, 1775. 8vo. First edition, second issue, with the 6-line errata leaf at the end. Original blue boards, white paper spine, uncut.

18. Political Tracts. Containing, The False Alarm. Falkland’s Islands. The Patriot; and, Taxation No Tyranny. London, 1776. 8vo. First collected edition. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards, with red morocco label, uncut.

19. Dodd, William. The Convict’s Address to His Unhappy Brethren. Delivered in the Chapel of Newgate, on Friday, June 6, 1777. London, 1777. 8vo. First edition. Modern three-quarter red morocco gilt over marbled boards. Ghostwritten by Johnson in an attempt to have Dodd’s death sentence for forgery commuted.

No. 21 Lives of English Poets

n 21. The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets; with Critical Observations on Their Works by Samuel Johnson. 4 Vols., London, 1781. 8vo. First separate London edition. Original boards, uncut, original paper labels. The Hogan-Borowitz Copy.

22. The Poetical Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D., Now First Collected in One Volume. London, 1785. 8vo. First edition, first issue, with “than” in line 5 of the advertisement, and all of the leaves that are usually canceled are in this copy uncanceled. Contemporary tree calf, gilt paneled spine with red leather label, with the 6-line errata at the foot of the last page.

23. Prayers and Meditations, Composed by Samuel Johnson, LL. D., and Published from His Manuscripts. London, 1785.

8vo. First edition. Three-quarters contemporary calf over original marbled boards.

24. A Diary of a Journey into North Wales in the Year 1774; Edited with Illustrative Notes by R. Duppa. London, 1816.

8vo. First edition. Original paper boards with original paper label intact, uncut. Complete with half title, ads, plates and errata.

20. The Works of the English Poets. With Prefaces Biographical and Critical. 68 Vols., London, 1779-81. 8vo. Full contemporary calf, gilt paneled spines, retaining the original leather labels.

25. Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language: Containing Many Additional Words Not to Be Met with in Former Pocket Editions. Accentuated for Pronunciation, on the Basis of Walker, Also a Compendium of Chronology, Prepared Expressly for This Work by Edmund Bellchambers.... London, 1838. 24mo. Contemporary ornate blind-tooled leather. An early miniature version of Johnson’s Dictionary.

14

15

James Boswell 26. Letters Between the Honorable Andrew Erskine and James Boswell, Esq. London, 1763. 8vo. First edition. Contemporary calf.

27. An Account of Corsica, the Journal of a Tour to that Island; And Memoirs of Pascal Paoli. Glasgow, 1768. 8vo. First edition. Contemporary calf retaining original leather label, folding engraved map in the first state.

28. British Essays in Favour of the Brave Corsicans: By Several Hands. Collected and Published by James Boswell, Esq. London, 1769. 12mo. First edition. Bound with Robert Dodsley’s The Oeconomy of Human Life. Full contemporary calf.

29. The Decision of the Court of Session, Upon the Question of Literary Property, in the Cause of John Hinton of London, Bookseller, Pursuer; Against Alexander Donaldson and John Wood, Booksellers in Edinburgh, and James Meurose, Bookseller in Kilmarnock, Defenders. Edinburgh, Published by James Boswell, Esq., Advocate, One of the Counsel in the Cause, 1774. 4to. First edition, second issue. Modern three-quarter blue morocco gilt over marbled boards.

This case, particularly noteworthy for bibliophiles, involved the question of whether booksellers could reprint a work without the author’s permission. Boswell represented the booksellers, in whose favor the case was decided.

30. A Letter to the People of Scotland, on the Alarming Attempt to Infringe the Articles of the Union, and Introduce the Most Pernicious Innovation, by Diminishing the Number of the Lords of Session. London, 1785. 8vo. Stitched, as issued, uncut.

31. The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, with Samuel Johnson, LL.D..... London, 1785. 8vo. First edition. Contemporary marbled boards, calf back, vellum corners, uncut. With the half-title and the errata leaf.

32. The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. Comprehending an Account of His Studies and Numerous Works in Chronological Order; A Series of His Epistolary Correspondence and Conversations with Many Eminent Persons; and Various Original Pieces of His Composition, Never Before Published. The Whole Exhibiting a View of Literature and Literary Men in Great-Britain, for Near Half a Century, During Which He Flourished. 2 Vols., London, 1791. 4to. First edition. Full mottled calf gilt, gilt paneled and decorated spine, gilt edges and gilt elaborately designed dentelles. With the “give” reading on page 135 of volume 1, and complete with portrait and the two facsimiles.

33. The Life of Samuel Johnson LL.D. Comprehending an Account of His Studies and Numerous Works in Chronological Order.... 2 Vols., London, 1791. 4to. First edition, presumed first state with the “gve” reading on page 135 of volume 1. Contemporary polished and marbled calf expertly re-backed with the original red leather labels laid down.

34. The Life of Samuel Johnson LL.D. Comprehending an Account of His Studies and Numerous Works in Chronological Order.... 2 Vols., London, 1791. 4to. First edition, with the “give” reading on page 135 of volume 1. Full purple-brown morocco gilt, silk endpapers, gilt dentelles, morocco doublures decorated in gilt, all edges gilt, by Bayntun-Riviere. A Cosway binding with watercolor and gouache portraits on ivory of Johnson and Boswell inset on the upper covers of both volumes.

16

35. The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D, Comprehending an Account of His Studies and Numerous Works in Chronological Order.... 2 Vols., London, 1791. 4to. First edition. Original blue boards, the spines retaining the original paper labels, the edges uncut.

“Give” reading. Extremely rare in boards, particularly in this condition. n 36. The Life of Samuel Johnson LL.D. Comprehending an Account of His Studies and Numerous Works in Chronological Order.... 2 Vols., London, 1791. 4to. First edition, with the “give” reading on page 135 of volume 1. Contemporary marbled calf.

The Whitby copy from the Library at Creswell. Tipped in is No. 36 Life of Johnson a letter, dated “Stafford May 10” (probably 1732 or 1733), from Hon. John Addenbrooke, Rector of Stafford and later Dean of Lichfield, to Thomas Whitby, Esq. at Heywood. The letter discusses Johnson’s employment as a tutor for Whitby’s son, and asks Whitby to propose terms. “I can only say, that if Mr. Johnson will do what he is capable of doing in that time, he will be of more service to your Son than a year Spent in the usual way at the University.” An additional note, dated Nov. 18, 1824, is added to the letter by Ned Whitby noting that he heard Mrs. Wells, his “father’s youngest sister,” say she remembered that Johnson had been a “Tutor to her Brothers and that he frequently instructed her in the English language.” This letter, long lost and recently rediscovered after a century and a quarter by the collector, conclusively places Johnson with the Whitby family as a tutor for a period of time after leaving Pembroke College, Oxford.

37. The Life of Samuel Johnson LL.D. Comprehending an Account of His Studies and Numerous Works in Chronological Order.... 2 Vols., London, 1791. 4to. First edition, presumed first state, with the “gve” reading on page 135 of volume 1. Contemporary quarter calf over contemporary marbled paper applied atop original blue boards, skillfully re-backed with the original backstrips laid down. Red and green gilt labels, uncut. An extremely rare copy (fewer than a half-dozen known) with the original uncanceled leaf 2Q3 (pages 301-02) of volume 2, that contains Johnson’s unexpurgated and controversial remarks on marital infidelity . The A. Edward Newton copy. Newton discovered this bibliographic rarity in this copy. n 38. The Life of Samuel Johnson LL.D. Comprehending an Account of His Studies and Numerous Works in Chronological Order... 2 Vols., London, 1791. 4to.

Together with The Principal Corrections and Additions to the First Edition of Mr. Boswell’s Life of Dr.

No. 38 Life of Johnson Inscription

17

Johnson. London, 1791. 4to. First editions, with the “give” reading on page 135 of volume one. Contemporary full mottled calf gilt, red and black morocco lettering pieces. Inscribed twice by Boswell (first on the front flyleaf of volume 1, and then on the reverse of the title page of The Principal Corrections and Additions) to Dr. John Douglas, Bishop of Carlisle, and later Bishop of Salisbury.

The inscription in volume one, in Boswell’s distinctive broad hand, reads: “ To the Right Reverend Dr. John Douglas Lord Bishop of Carlisle &c. &c. from his Lord Bishop’s obliged and faithful humble servant the Author.”

The inscription by Boswell on the CorNo. 38 Life of Johnson Advertisement rections and Additions reads: “To the Lord Bishop of Salisbury from his Lordship’s obliged and faithful humble servant the Author.” Douglas was a friend of Johnson’s who is mentioned several times in the Life, and was himself a prolific and vigorous writer. Presentation copies of Boswell’s works are rare and presentation copies of his Life of Johnson are the absolute rarest of these.

39. James Boswell to the Reverend Ralph Churton of Brasenose College, London, April 5, 1792. 4to, 3 1/2 page letter. This important letter discusses Churton’s comments concerning the Life of Johnson. Boswell’s letter is a response to a letter from Churton, in which the Reverend compliments the Life of Johnson with a few qualifications. Churton was primarily concerned that Boswell did not challenge or qualify Johnson’s “morbid melancholy” (depression) and Johnson’s “far too gloomy” view of human life. Boswell responded, “As to Johnson’s notion of the unhappiness of human life, I have when mentioning the Rambler (Vol. 1 p. 116) in some degree obviated any reflections against him on that head; and when mentioning Rasselas (Vol.1 p.186) I suggest that his ‘morbid melancholy’ may have made life appear to him more miserable than it generally is. But the truth, Sir, is as you have judiciously observed, that I myself have a large portion of melancholy in my constitution for which I am satisfied that allowance should be made. Your remark upon this important subject is so good, that if you will give me permission, I will insert it as a note on “the unhappiness of human life” in my Second Volume p. 242.... I am much pleased with your remark on the passage concerning the Burial service, and shall be very happy also to insert it. In both instances, I request that the sanction of your name may not be refused.

My Octavo edition is now in the press....” Churton’s original letter, to which this is the response, appears as an extended footnote in the second edition of the Life under Saturday, June 12, 1784, volume 3, pages 563-67.

The Burial service appears in the Life on Monday, April 28, 1783, volume 3, page 467.

41. Boswell’s Life of Johnson. Advertisement for Boston publishers William Andrews and Lemuel Blake’s proposal to publish The Life of Samuel Johnson by subscription, no date, probably 1806. 4to. Uncut, unfolded, unbound. “This work will be printed from the fourth London Edition, and comprised in three Octavo Volumes, of nearly 600 pages each, on a superfine yellow wove paper and a new type... It will be delivered to Subscribers at Two Dollars and Twenty-Five Cents per Volume, payable on delivery, neatly finished in boards.” A remarkable survival.

42. The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. Comprehending an Account of His Studies and Numerous Works in Chronological Order; A Series of His Epistolary Correspondence and Conversations with Many Eminent Persons; and Various Original Pieces of His Composition, Never Before Published. The Whole Exhibiting a View of Literature and Literary Men in Great-Britain, for Near Half a Century, During Which He Flourished. 3 Vols., Boston, W. Andrews and L. Blake, 1807. 8vo. First American edition. Original calf, gilt spine, red leather labels.

Johnsoniana 43. Johnsoniana; or a Collection of Bon Mots, etc. By Dr. Johnson, and Others. London, 1776. 8vo. First edition. Engraved portrait frontispiece by I. Taylor. Modern half calf over marbled boards.

44. Dodd, William. Thoughts in Prison: in Five Parts. Viz. The Imprisonment. The Retrospect. Publick Punishment. The Trial. Futurity. To Which Are Added, His Last Prayer, Written in the Night before His Death: and Other Miscellaneous Pieces.

London, 1777. 8vo. First edition. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards, calf corners.

45. McNicol, Donald. Remarks on Dr. Samuel Johnson’s Journey to the Hebrides in Which Are Contained, Observations on the Antiquities, Language, Genius, and Manners of the Highlanders of Scotland. London, 1779. 8vo. First edition.

Contemporary calf, gilt paneled and tooled spine.

46. Callender, James Thomson. The Deformities of Dr. Samuel Johnson, Selected from His Works. London, 1782. 8vo.

Second Edition. Morocco-backed marbled paper boards.

47. The Beauties of Johnson: Consisting of Maxims and Observations, Moral, Critical, and Miscellaneous, by Dr. Samuel Johnson. Dublin, 1782. First Dublin edition. Contemporary calf.

48. Young, John. A Criticism on the Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. Being a Continuation of Dr. Johnson’s Criticism on the Poems of Gray. London, 1783. 8vo. First Edition. Contemporary marbled calf, gilt paneled with borders of stars and diamonds, spine elaborately gilt with sun bursts, red leather label, gauffered edges. A contemporary parody of Johnson by a professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow.

40. The Principal Corrections and Additions to the First Edition of Mr. Boswell’s Life of Dr. Johnson. London, Printed

by Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly in the Poultry, 1793. 4to. First edition. Contemporary speckled calf, gilt Greek-key border to sides. The Gell copy.

49. Piozzi, Hester Lynch. Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson, LL. D. During the Last 20 Years of His Life. London, 1786. 8vo. Fourth edition. Contemporary calf, gilt paneled and tooled spine. Presentation copy inscribed by Piozzi, “From the Author. July 1797.”

18

19

No. 50 Hawkin’s Life of Johnson

No. 54 Piozzi Letters to and from Johnson

n 50. Hawkins, Sir John. The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. London, 1787. 8vo. First edition. Original blue, paper-backed boards retaining the original printer’s label. With early (possibly original?) loose plain paper wrapper. Uncut.

n 54. Piozzi, Hester Lynch. Letters to and from the Late Samuel Johnson, LL.D. To Which Are Added Some Poems Never Before Printed. Published from the Original Mss. in Her Possession. 2 Vols., London, 1788. 8vo. First edition. Full morocco, by Bayntun. A Cosway binding with portrait miniatures on ivory of Dr. Johnson and Mrs. Piozzi on front doublure of volumes 1 and 2, respectively. Volume 1 contains an autograph letter signed by Mrs. Piozzi.

Extra illustrated with 70 contemporary portraits and views.

51. Piozzi, Hester Lynch. Letters to and from the Late Samuel Johnson, LL.D. To Which Are Added Some Poems Never Before Printed. Published from the Original Mss. in Her Possession. 2 Vols., London, 1788. 8vo. First edition. Original boards and paper label. Uncut. With errata slip.

52. Piozzi, Hester Lynch. Letters to and from the Late Samuel Johnson, LL.D. To Which Are Added Some Poems Never Before Printed. Published from the Original Mss. in Her Possession. 2 Vols., London, 1788. 8vo. Full contemporary mottled calf, gilt paneled spines retaining the original morocco labels.

53. Piozzi, Hester Lynch. Letters to and from the Late Samuel Johnson, LL.D. To Which Are Added Some Poems Never Before Printed. Published from the Original Mss. in Her Possession. 2 Vols., London, 1788. 8vo. First edition. Contemporary calf. Presentation copy from Mrs. Piozzi to her friend Mrs. Lambart.

20

55. Piozzi, Hester Lynch. Observations and Reflections Made in the Course of a Journey through France, Italy, and Germany. 2 Vols., London, 1789. 8vo. First edition. Original blue, paper-backed boards retaining the original bookseller’s label. Uncut.

56. Knight, Ellis Cornelia. Dinarbas; A Tale Being a Continuation of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia. London, 1790.

12mo. First edition. Contemporary calf.

57. Merry, J. of Pembroke College [pseudonym]. The Witticisms, Anecdotes, Jests, and Sayings, of Dr. Samuel Johnson During the Whole Course of His Life. Collected from Boswell, Piozzi, Hawkins, Baretti, Beauclerk, Sir Joshua Reynolds, And a Full Account of Dr. Johnson’s Conversation with the King. To Which Is Added, a Great Number of Jests... London, 1791.

8vo. First edition. Contemporary tree calf, gilt spine, red morocco label, also with frontispiece engraving of Johnson, Boswell, and the Thrales.

21

58. Dr. Johnson’s Table-Talk: Containing Aphorisms on Literature, Life, and Manners; with Anecdotes of Distinguished Persons: Selected and Arranged from Mr. Boswell’s Life of Johnson. London, 1798. 8vo. First edition. Contemporary calf, rebacked to style. n 59. Rowlandson, Thomas. Illustrations of Johnson’s Tour to the Hebrides & Other Caricatures. London, 17941810. Folio. 22 hand-colored text plates by Rowlandson, after Collings, caricaturing James Boswell’s Hebridean journey with Johnson. Extra illustrated with an engraved full-length portrait of Johnson in the Hebrides

by T. Trotter, 1786, and two hand-colored satirical plates of life in Scotland by George Cruikshank, 1810.

Bound with engravings from Humphrey’s Outlines of the Opposition... London, 1794. Contemporary quarter sheep over orange boards. A complete and wonderful survival.

60. Attalus. (Mudford, William). A Critical Enquiry Into the Moral Writings of Dr. Samuel Johnson. In Which the Tendency of Certain Passages in the Rambler, and Other Publications of That Celebrated Writer, Is Impartially Considered. To Which Is Added an Appendix Containing a Dialogue between Boswell and Johnson in the Shades. London, 1802. 8vo. First edition. Original blue paper wrappers, uncut.

61. Boothby, Miss Hill. An Account of the Life of Dr. Samuel Johnson, From His Birth to His Eleventh Year, Written by Himself. To Which Are Added, Original Letters to Dr. Samuel Johnson, by Miss Hill Boothby. London, 1805. First edition.

Contemporary calf.

62. Trial of James Stuart Esq. Younger of Dunearn, Before the High Court of Justiciary, on Monday the 10th Day of June 1822 for the Murder of Sir Alexander Boswell of Auchinleck, Bart. in a Duel on the 26th Day of March Last. Edinburgh, 1822. 8vo. First edition. Contemporary purple half morocco over boards. An account of the trial of Stuart for the death of Boswell’s son in a duel.

63. Carlyle, Thomas. Samuel Johnson. London, 1853. 8vo. First edition. Original printed wrappers.

No. 59 Johnson & Boswell

22