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[iv], 228pp., 12mo. Engraved plate of the "London Stone" opposite p. 85; one gathering a bit spotted from variable paper quality. A very nice copy in contemporary sheep; neatly rebacked and gilt. Engraved bookplate of Lord Gray with shelf-mark, and John Ferrier. First edition. Hutton was no rake, rather an historian and free-thinker, a friend of Joseph Priestley whose house shared the wrath of the Birmingham mob in 1791. Hutton s wife suffered ill-health. As a result Hutton seems to have made annual visits to places that interested him, and his account of the ladies of London is comprehensive. He notes the vast number that ply the streets, and that "some of the finest women I saw in London were of this class. I conversed with many of them. - They could all swear, talk indecently, and drink gin." One evening, he continues: A genteel figure, and one of the handsomest women I had ever seen, approached me; a few insignificant remarks opened a conversation, as is customary with those who have nothing to say, but who understand intentions better than words. And pray, Madam, what could you do with an old fellow? "O, my dear Sir, I love an old man better than a young one." Provided he is better furnished in the - - - pocket. And so you take any thing into your arms, if you can but take the cash in your fingers. "It is a cold night, and I wish to take you." But I have no fire about me. "Let me lead you, Sir, to my apartments." Perhaps I shall find one there; or rather, like the Israelites, be led by a pillar of fire. "Let me drink your health, Sir." Perhaps you are able to destroy health without drinking. "Do, Sir, favour me with a glass." I have not one drop of spirits, or they should be much at your service. "But you have that which will purchase them." And that I will give you with pleasure. . . . "I will do any thing to oblige you, Sir." You are extremely civil, Madam. "I will strip myself, if you chuse." Perhaps you will strip me. "Indeed, Sir, 1 shall be upon honour." I did not know, Madam, that that word was written upon your bed. "O you joker." "Please to give me something to drink your health." Take that then, and I wish it may preserve your s. A curtesy divided us for ever. Not a rare book, and one which shows Hutton as a bit of a bore, but an unusual, and likely reliable first-hand account of an encounter with a London street-walker. Seller Inventory # 12417
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Bibliographic Details
Title: A Journey From Birmingham To London. By W. ...
Publisher: Birmingham: Printed by Pearson and Rollason; and sold by R. Baldwin, Pater-Noster Row, and W. Lowndes, in Fleet Street, London, 1785.
Binding: Hardcover
Edition: 1st Edition.
