Letters written from leverpoole, chester, corke, the lake of killarney, dublin, tunbridge-wells, bath

DERRICK, Samuel

Published by Printed for L. Davis and C. Reymers, London, 1767

In two volumes. [2], ix, [1], 132; [2], iii, [1], 152pp. With an engraved portrait frontispiece and an additional leaf featuring 'Proposals for Printing by Subscription Memoirs;.' bound in before the title of Vol. I. Contemporary gilt-ruled (faintly) marbled calf, contrasting red morocco lettering-pieces. Lightly rubbed, else a fine set. Inked ownership inscriptions of 'Hugh Entwisle 1818' to FFEP and 'John Markland Jun.' to head of each volume, and the recent bookplate of Robert J. Hayhurst to FEP of Vol. I. The first edition of a collection of letters by Irish 'hack' and failed actor Samuel Derrick (1724-1769) who was appointed master of ceremonies of Tunbridge Wells and Bath (where he succeeded Beau Nash), with an unrecorded â proposal for printingâ leaf for a never realised work. Known to both Boswell and Johnson (who famously responded 'there is no settling the point of precedency between a louse and a flea' when asked which of Derrick or Smart were the better poet), Derrick is now perhaps best known as the likely compiler, between 1757 and his death in 1769, of the famous London prostitute directory Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies. The single leaf 'Proposals For Printing by Subscription Memoirs; Anecdotes Critical Historical and Dramatic; Odes; Epistles; and various other Pieces in Prose and Verse', printed to recto only, advertises, with four subscription conditions at a price of one Guinea, a work that was apparently never realised. Presumably the plans were interrupted by Derrick's death. Unrecorded; we can find no trace of this proposal for printing in any of the usual databases. ESTC T135403. Size: 8vo. Seller Inventory # AQ19551

Bibliographic Details

Title: Letters written from leverpoole, chester, ...
Publisher: Printed for L. Davis and C. Reymers, London
Publication Date: 1767
Binding: Hardcover
Edition: 1st Edition