1619 Poems

Description

Leather Binding, Rebound, Scarce

ESTC citation number S125214.

The publisher is misspelled 'Swethwicke' to the title page, it is meant to read 'Smethwicke'. Smethwicke was a London publisher, one of the 'junior partners' in the publishing syndicate that, in 1623, issued the First Folio.

The illustrated title page, title page, and leaf Qqq4 are provided in facsimile.

An early collection of the poetry of Michael Drayton, published a couple of decades into his career.

This is an important collection of Drayton's poetry, as it was published when he was trying to gain popularity in the new court of James I. On James' accession Drayton addressed a poem to the King, however it was ridiculed and he was rejected from the court.

Drayton dedicated this edition to Sir Walter Aston, an English courtier and diplomat, a patron of Drayton. In this edition Drayton edited his 'Idea', taking out the passages that attacked Selena, who was a portrayal of Lucy the Countess of Bedford, and eliminating the dedications to the Countess of Bedford.

This 1619 edition contains the only surviving portrait of Drayton, where he is perceived as a satiric laureate, with a laurel wreath, and a frowning expression on his face.

Drayton was very popular in the Elizabethan era, who published his first book, 'The Harmony of the Church', in 1590. Most of the copies of 'The Harmony of the Church' were seized by the Archbishop of Canterbury to destroy.

In a custom cloth slipcase.

The occasional contemporary ink annotation to the margins. The annotations all pertain to Drayton, being short biography pieces on him, or transcribed letters that Drayton wrote.

From the library of H. J. Massingham, the prolific ruralism writer, a poet who wrote mostly about the countryside and agriculture.

Bookplate of Allen Freer to the front pastedown.