The Works of Lord Byron: With His Letters and Journals and His Life, by Thomas Moore, Esq.(in 17 Volumes)

A complete set of 17 volumes, from 1832-33, first edition. Hard cover, small 8vo, ( 6 7/8 inches tall x 4 1/2 width) in three quarter-green morocco over green cloth-covered boards, the spines with five raised bands, ruled in gilt, with titles to the second and third compartments, top edges gilt, marbled endpapers, v.p. Each volume with engraved frontispiece, engraved vignette title pages and letterpress half titles. Vols. I - VI: "The Life of Lord Byron," (by T. Moore). Vol. VII: "Hours of Idleness, Etc." Vol. VIII: "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage." Vol. IX: "The Giaour" and "The Corsair." Vol. X: "The Siege of Corinth, Parisian, Etc." Vol. XI, "Manfred Etc." Vol. XII: "Marino Faliero" Etc. Vol. XIII "Sardanapalus" Etc." Vol. XIV: "Cain," "Werner" Etc." Vols XV-XVII "Don Juan," Appendices and Index. Complete as issued. **CONDITION: Very Good. Light wear seen to spines, top edge, or boards of a few volumes. Several have light wear to extremities of front joints; hinges are in order. Light soiling to rear board seen on 2 volumes. Inside, text is generally clean and bright, with light marginal foxing and toning affecting some of the earlier plates. Frontis at Vol. I a bit over-opened. Some missing tissue guards. Vol.1 and XIV show some exterior soiling to the rear boards. A small burgundy and gold foil printed booksellers label appears to gutter of volume I, reading "William Brown/Fine Art & Antiquarian Bookseller/5 Castle Street, Edinburgh." The bookstore was at this city center address into the twentieth century. Armorial bookplate of Gwen and Henry Melchett to each volume endpaper. **THE ART-- The largest contingent of engraved plates (17) are after works by J.M.W. TURNER, R.A. (1775-1851). British marine artist and former sailor CLARKSON FREDERICK STANFIELD, RA, RBA (1793-1867) has seven scenes. William Cattermole, W. Purder, J.D. Harding, William Westall and G. Cattermole provide the remaining numbers, totaling 30 scenes and two engraved facsimile MS. The scenes were engraved by London's WILLIAM (1787-1852) and EDWARD FINDEN (1791-1857). From Cadiz to Constantinople, Newstead Abbey, the Bernese Alps, Seville, along the Rhine, to Venice, Rome, and Greece, the illustrations trace the travels of the itinerant author in his years of "voluntary exile" from Britain, said, by biographer R.Holmes, to escape "gambling debts, a broken marriage and tempestuous scandals." **Published between 1832-33, this collection contains the six volumes of an amended biography by fellow Irish poet and novelist, Thomas Moore, first brought out in 1830. Included are some of Byron's correspondence with his publisher, and biographer, as well as speeches and other materials. The series was originally planned at fourteen volumes, later growing to seventeen, as explained in the advertisement to Vol. VIII. The many Notes, Letters, Prefaces and Dedications reflect Byron's contemporary popularity, some detractors as well-- amongst those who knew and worked with him, including his publisher John Murray, Sir Walter Scott, John Wilson.with some being both detractors and admirers. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Mary Godwin and Percy B. Shelley are all noted, as is the Countess Guiccioli, and diarists Pietro Gamba and Col. Leicester Stanhope. **PROVENANCE: Bookplate of (Lord and Lady) "Henry and Gwen Melchett," with their armorial bookplate to each volume. Gwen Wilson Mond, Lady Melchette (1899-1982) married Henry Mond, 2nd Baron Melchett in 1920. She was a South African-born art student who met her future husband while studying at the Slade School of Art. Both the Melchetts were patrons of the arts, with their Mulberry House, Westminster drawing room featuring a modernist mural "The Loves of Jupiter" by the painter Glyn Philpot. Bohemian artistic friends also included Augustus John, Gilbert Cannan and others of the Bloomsbury artists and writers of the time. R. Holmes, Coleridge: Darker Reflections 1804-1834 (1998). Watson 271. (AMJ).…