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The Laurel of Liberty, A Poem. By Robert Merry, A.M. Member of the Royal Academy of Florence. Second Edition. London: Printed by John Bell, Bookseller to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, at the British Library, Strand, MDCCXC. [1790] [Price Three Shillings and Sixpence.] Paginates: vi, 38 p. Complete. Second Edition. Scarce in institutions. Rare at Auction. Not in ESTC. This copy with the dedication To The National Assembly of France , followed by the author's preface, and then the 38 pg. poem. BOUND WITH proceeding this title: The Triumphs of Temper; A Poem. In Six Cantos. By William Hayley, Esq. London: Printed for J. Dodsley, in Pall-Mall, M.DCC.LXXXI. [1781] Paginates: iii-xii, 164 p. First Edition. Lacking the half-title. The two volumes bound together with the Hayley first. In full newer calf with blind ruled board edges. Spine in six panels with five double gilt-ruled raised bands, and with a red lettering piece in the second compartment from the top. Binding in near fine condition with some rubbing to the boards. Inspired by Pope's Rape of the Lock, Hayley's Triumphs of Temper represents his attempt to raise serio-comic poetry from the level of satire to one where it might also aspire to delineate the more engaging features of female excellence (preface). Intended principally for female readers, the poem enjoyed a tremendous success. Merry's poem, first published in 1790, is a panegyric to the French Revolution. Merry was the founder of the Della Cruscan school of poetry, characterized by its overblown rhetoric; his Laurel's turgid similes were gleefully mocked by Walpole. The preface to the Laurel of Liberty (1790) attacked 'complacent members of the elite so charmed by apparent commercial prosperity, that they could view with happy indifference the encroachments of insidious power, and the gradual decay of the Constitution'. He was confident that the progress of Opinion, 'like a rapid stream, though it may be checked, cannot be controuled'. The volume measures 28 x 23 x 2 cm. Each leaf measures 272 x 220 mm. Seller Inventory # ABE-1693419343806
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Bibliographic Details
Title: The Laurel of Liberty, A Poem. By Robert ...
Publisher: London: Printed by John Bell, Bookseller to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, at the British Library, Strand, MDCCXC.
Publication Date: 1790
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Near Fine
Edition: 2nd Edition
