THE "BEST EDITION" OF A BELOVED 18TH-CENTURY POET

PRIOR, Matthew. The Poetical Works of Matthew Prior: Now First Collected, with Explanatory Notes, and Memoirs of the Author. London: Pr. for W. Strahan, T. Payne, J. Rivington and Sons, et al., 1779. Two volumes. Octavo, 19th-century full light brown levant morocco gilt, elaborately gilt-decorated spine, raised bands, green morocco spine labels, marbled endpapers, outer edges marbled, all edges gilt. $850.

First printing of what Lowndes describes as the best edition of Prior's collected works, handsomely bound by Chambolle-Duru.

In Thackeray's opinion, Prior's works were "amongst the easiest, the richest, the most charmingly humorous of English lyrical poems. Horace is always in his mind, and his song and his philosophy, his good sense, his happy easy turns and melody, his loves and his Epicurianism, bear a great resemblance to that most delightful and accomplished master." This edition of the collected poems opens with a frontispiece engraved by John Keyse Sherwin after John Hamilton Mortimer, illustrating the popular poem "Henry and Emma," and also features an engraved vignette portrait of Prior. CBEL II: 289. ESTC T42745. Lowndes, 1975.

Pages bright and clean. Very slight wear to joints; front cover of Volume II with minor discoloration. A beautiful set, handsomely bound.