Double Rogers Samuel (1 results)
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Published by Printed for T. Cadell by T. Bensley, London, 1822
Seller: Phillip J. Pirages Rare Books (ABAA), McMinnville, OR, U.S.A.Phillip J. Pirages Rare Books (ABAA)
Contact seller3-star seller170 x 105 mm. (6 5/8 x 4 1/8"). 4 p.l., 319, [1] pp. Quite nice period honey-brown straight-grain morocco, covers with frame of decorative blind rolls, gilt armorial supralibros of William Carr, Viscount Beresford at center, raised bands, densely blind-tooled panels, gilt lettering, gilt-framed turn-ins, vellum endleaves, leathe…r hinges, all edges gilt. WITH APPEALING DOUBLE FORE-EDGE PAINTINGS, one depicting Richmond Bridge, the other Kingston upon Thames. (Joints expertly strengthened.) Numerous small illustrations in text. Light wear to spine, covers just slightly marked, title and last leaf a little foxed, intermittent trivial foxing elsewhere, other insignificant defects, but an excellent copy, the binding sturdy and lustrous, the contents fresh and clean, and the fore-edge paintings well preserved. This volume of Romantic poems comes adorned with two atmospheric fore-edge paintings. English poet Samuel Rogers (1763-1855), the scion of a wealthy banking family, first achieved fame with the publication in 1792 of "The Pleasures of Memory," and was later greatly inspired by his Italian travels, during which he met Shelley and Byron in Pisa. The present collection of his works is decorated with pleasing fore-edge paintings of sights closer to home. Fanned to the right, the fore-edge depicts Richmond Bridge in London, its graceful stone arches framing the reflections of trees and bobbing boats. Fanned to the left, a scene of Kingston upon Thames is revealed, a fishing boat with two silhouetted figures in the foreground, and the tower of All Saint's Church rising over the red-roofed cottages. Both scenes are executed in cheerful, though muted, colors, with lush greenery and serene waters. It is difficult to tell the age of the paintings, but we can at least say that they convey a convincing expression of quietude. As often happens with authors whose works are greatly popular and then suddenly not so much, Rogers' poetry fell abruptly out of fashion later in his life, at roughly the time our volume was issued. As a consequence, his books became a popular target for fore-edge adornment as a way to encourage the sales of volumes that otherwise might languish on the bookstore shelf. Our copy is from the library of William Carr Beresford (1768-1854), the first Viscount Beresford. He distinguished himself as a general in the Peninsular War fighting alongside the Duke of Wellington. He was elevated to the peerage in honor of his military achievements, and invested in the Order of Bath, whose motto, "Tria Juncta in Uno" ("Three Joined in One"), circles his crest here.
