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GERMAN ROMANCE: Specimens of Its Chief Authors; with Biographical and Critical Notices by the Translator of Wilhelm Meister and the Author of The Life of Schiller (i.e. THOMAS CARLYLE). FOUR VOLUMES (Complete in These 4 Volumes). Edinburgh: William Tait, Prince's Street, and London: Charles Tait, Fleet Street, MDCCCXXVII (1827). FIRST EDITION. Original hardcovers, gray paper covered boards, brown paper covered spines, printed title information on spines, 5" x 8", 337, 317, 309 and 352 pages respectively. Each Volume is complete with a half title and engraved title page. Early Thomas Carlyle book appearance, this was only his fourth work in book form. Carlyle greatly admired German writers and was instrumental in introducing them to the England through this, his 4 volume set of books. The four volumes are: Vol. I: Musaeus and Fouqué; Vol II: Tieck and Hoffman; Vol. III: Richter; and Vol. IV: Goethe (this 4 volume set is most renowned for this volume entirely on Goethe). All four Volumes were previously part of the CARLYLE COLLECTION of DR. SAMUEL A. JONES, with a decorative rubber stamp that states "CARLYLE COLLECTION / SAM'L A JONES" on the front free endpaper of each volume, and a second such stamp on the front pastedown of the first volume. In addition, each volume is hand numbered according to its place in the collection. The volumes are hand numbered 20, 21, 22 and 23, respectively. Dr. Samuel A. Jones was renowned collector of Thomas Carlyle. His entire collection was catalogued by the University of Michigan in 1919. The association gives this set a rather wonderful provenance. CONDITION: Volume I has a disbound front cover and is missing its spine covering. The spine covering of Volume II is almost completely chipped away, the spine coverings of Volumes III and IV are chipped, rubbed and worn, with the spine lettering only partially legible. The covers of all 4 Volumes are worn at the edges, with most edges worn through, and the paper starting to peel away at a number of places. Volume I has a clipping from an old bookseller's catalogue pasted to the front pastedown. The clipping lists a similar set of Carlyle books for 1 pound 5 shillings. The bookseller was Alfred Russell Smith (Soho, London). Internally, there is foxing, offsetting, some spotting and some shorelining, mainly to the first and last few pages of each Volume, otherwise the inner pages are pretty nice - complete, tight, bright, clean and unmarked. SCARCE FIRST EDITION SET OF THIS IMPORTANT THOMAS CARLYLE WORK with a WONDERFUL ASSOCIATION to one of the most notable COLLECTOR'S OF CARLYLE. Seller Inventory # 000203
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