By James Boswell; Alexander Napier; Hester Thrale
London   George Bell and Sons
7" by 4.5" [7], viii-lv, [2], 2-413; [5], vi-viii, [1], 2-410; [3], vi-viii, [1], 2-480; [5], vi-vii, [2], 2-496; [11], xii-xix, [2], 2-422; [5], vi-xiii, [6], 4-479pp
A finely bound set of James Boswell's influential biography on the author and his friend Samuel Johnson, with Hester Thrales 'Anecdotes', Illustrated throughout, including with folding plates.
By James Boswell; Alexander Napier; Hester Thrale

1884 The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. Together With the Journal of a Tour of the Hebrides Johnsoniana, Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson, LL.D.

London   George Bell and Sons
7" by 4.5" [7], viii-lv, [2], 2-413; [5], vi-viii, [1], 2-410; [3], vi-viii, [1], 2-480; [5], vi-vii, [2], 2-496; [11], xii-xix, [2], 2-422; [5], vi-xiii, [6], 4-479pp
A finely bound set of James Boswell's influential biography on the author and his friend Samuel Johnson, with Hester Thrales 'Anecdotes', Illustrated throughout, including with folding plates.
Sold
: 5kgs / : 661P19

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Description

Illustrated, Leather Binding, Signed Binding

Complete in six volumes. In a signed binding by Sotheran & Co. Containing five volumes of Boswell's 'Life of Johnson', as well as one volume of Hester Thrale's 'Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson'. Volume I with a frontispiece. Volume II with a frontispiece. Volume III with a frontispiece, and a folding plate. Volume IV with a frontispiece. Volume V with a folding map. Volume VI with a frontispiece. The influential biography of the English writer Samuel Johnson. This biography has been noted as being the best biography written in the English language, being an important work of literature. James Boswell, the author, met Johnson in 1763, when Johnson was fifty-four years old, when they quickly became friends, a friendship that lasted until Johnson's death in 1784. Johnson has been revered by some as being the only true great critic of English literature of his time. Possibly his best known work was his influential 'A Dictionary of the English Language', which had a far-reaching effect on the Modern English language. That dictionary remained the standard for one-hundred and fifty years, when the 'Oxford English Dictionary' was published. Boswell is best known for this work, and for his mass of diaries and letters. However it was this work that brought his fame. He was admired for bringing more personal and human details into the biography than was usual in biographies of the time. 'Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson' is a collection of anecdotes on the life of the author Samuel Johnson, published after his death in 1784. Hester Lynch Piozzi, also known as Hester Thrale, was a diarist and patron of the arts. Her diaries and letters have proven to be a very important source of life in eighteenth century England, and also the life of Samuel Johnson. Bookplate to the front pastedowns, 'W. A. Basham'. Prior owner's ink inscription to the recto to the front free endpaper, 'Joseph Frederick Green, from the members of the Mothers Meeting, St. Mary's Tothill Fields, Westminster, April 1886'. Green was a British politician, sitting in the House of Commons from 1918 to 1922, and was also a Member of Parliament for Leicester West. He was a member of the Social Democratic Federation for around eleven years, resigning over plans to enlarge the Royal Navy. However, his views changed at the outbreak of the First World War, after which he joined the Socialist National Defence Committee.

Condition

In a half calf binding with marbled paper to the boards. Externally, smart. Light bumping to the head and tail of the spines and to the extremities. A little discolouration to the spines. Some minor rubbing to the joints. Light rubbing to the boards. Front hinge of Volume III is starting but firm. Bookplate to the front pastedowns. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are bright and generally clean, with the odd spot to the first and last few pages.

Very Good Indeed

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