Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes First Edition - John Keats - Bauman Rare Books

Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes

John KEATS

Item#: 101502 We're sorry, this item has been sold

Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes

Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes

Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes

Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes

BEAUTIFUL FIRST EDITION OF KEATS’ LAMIA, HIS LAST AND GREATEST VOLUME OF POETRY, INCLUDING THE FIRST PUBLISHED APPEARANCE OF MANY OF HIS FINEST WORKS

KEATS, John. Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems. London: Taylor and Hessey, 1820. 12mo, early 20th-century full navy morocco, elaborately gilt-decorated spine, raised bands, all edges gilt.

First edition of Keats’ third and greatest volume of poetry, the last issued during his lifetime, containing two of his finest poems, “Ode to a Nightingale” and “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” Includes the first printed appearance of “Hyperion,” “Ode on Melancholy,” “To Autumn,” and “Ode to Psyche,” among others. An excellent copy in full morocco-gilt by Riviere & Son.

In March 1819, following the death of his brother Tom, Keats emerged from a period of depression and began an astonishing three months of creative energy, producing "Ode to a Nightingale," "Ode on a Grecian Urn," and "Ode on Melancholy," among other works. These poems, with The Eve of St. Agnes, were the best and last significant poems Keats was to produce; within months it was discovered that he had contracted tuberculosis while nursing his brother, and in the last months of his life he produced little. "By the contents of this volume Keats lives as one of the great English poets… [His] imaginative range is wide, from the pathos and grimness of 'Isabella' to the elemental majesty of 'Hyperion,' from the glowing romance color of the 'Eve of St. Agnes' to the classical enchantments of 'Lamia,' and from these to the brooding inwardness of the meditative odes… For easy and assured poetic mastery much of his work in this volume stands next in English literature to that of the great Elizabethans from whom he seems lineally descended… Almost immediately on the appearance of the volume its true value was recognized by such judges as Lamb and Shelley" (DNB). Of the 13 poems collected here, only two—"Ode to a Nightingale" and "Ode on a Grecian Urn"—appeared previously in periodicals (both anonymously). Without scarce half title and advertisements. MacGillivray 3. Grolier 100. Hayward 233. Lowndes, 1255.

About-fine condition.

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Aquatint Copperplate process by which the plate is “bitten” by exposure to acid. By changing the areas of the plate that are exposed and the length of time the plate is submerged in the acid bath, the engraver can obtain fine and varying shades of gray that closely resemble watercolor washes. Although the name contains the word “tint”, this is a black-and-white printing process; aquatint plates can often be hand colored, however.
Armorial Used to describe a binding bearing the coat of arms of the original owner, or with bookplates incorporating the owner’s arms.
Association Copy copy that belonged to someone connected with the author or the contents of a book.
Boards Hard front and rear covers of a bound book which are covered in cloth, leather or paper. “Original boards” refers to cardboard-like front and back boards, from about 1700 to 1840, used as temporary protection for books before their purchasers would have them bound. Of particular value to collectors as evidence of a very early form of the book.
Book-Plate Label, generally affixed to the front pastedown, identifying a book’s owner.
Broadside Sheet printed on one side, typically for public display, usually larger than folio size (a folio being a broadside-size sheet printed on both sides and folded once, to make four pages).
Calf Binding material made from cowhide—versatile, durable, usually tan or brown in color, of smooth texture with no or little apparent grain. Readily marbled (“tree calf”), mottled, diced, colored, polished, tooled in gilt or blind, even scented (known as “russia”). Reverse calf, with a distinctive suede-like texture, is occasionally used.
Chromolithograph Lithograph printed in colors, typically three or more.
Collation Process by which the contents of a book are inspected for completeness, checking against internal evidence, the table of contents and/or plate list, and reference works. Also a shorthand bibliographical description of a book’s composition by its leaves and signatures, rather than its pages. A-C, for example, would indicate a quarto volume composed of three signatures or gatherings of eight pages each for a total of 24 pages.
Colophon Printed note at the end of a text containing information about the printing of the book.
Doublure Pastedowns made not of paper but of leather, for decorative purposes.
Duodecimo (12MO) Smaller than an octavo, typically less than six inches tall; smaller formats, such as 24mo and 32mo, are uncommon.
Edition Print-run from a single setting of type without substantial change. Depending on demand, any number of printings can be made from a setting of type For example, a first printing might consist of 1000 copies, followed by a second printing of 2500 copies; in which case the book would have a first edition, first printing of 1000 copies, and a first edition, second printing of 2500 copies.
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Half Title Leaf preceding the title page that bears the book’s title, originally used to identify the unbound text block. The book’s binder would often remove and discard the half title at the time of binding. Remaining half-titles are therefore of interest to collectors.
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Incunable From the cradle of printing, i.e., any book printed before 1501.
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Japanese Vellum Expensive handmade paper often used in deluxe editions.
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Morocco Binding material made from goatskin—versatile, durable, with a distinctive pebbled texture and visible grain. Readily stretched (“straight-grain”), crushed (flattened smooth), tooled in gilt or blind, inlaid with leathers of different colors. So-called because much of the raw material originally came from the tanneries of North Africa (other types of goatskin bindings denoting regions of origin include levant, turkey, niger).
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Wood-Engraving Engraving made with the graver or burin on the cross-section of a piece of boxwood; the harder wood and finer tools allow for more delicate, finely detailed images, while the block can still be set in the page alongside text and printed on the same stock as the text. While much older, wood engravings enjoyed an important renaissance in the late eighteenth century through Thomas Bewick and continued in popularity thorugh the nineteenth century.
Wormhole Tiny pinhole-sized trails left by bookworms as they eat through a text block. Much more common in older books printed on handmade papers with a high rag content than in books printed on manufactured papers made from wood pulp with a higher acidic content.
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