THE BEGINNING OF THE ROMANTIC MOVEMENT IN ENGLISH LITERATURE: VERY RARE AND IMPORTANT 1798 FIRST EDITION OF WORDSWORTH AND COLERIDGE’S REVOLUTIONARY LYRICAL BALLADS

[WORDSWORTH, William and COLERIDGE, Samuel Taylor]. Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems. London: for J. & A. Arch, 1798. Small octavo, early 20th-century full dark green morocco, elaborately gilt-decorated spine, raised bands, all edges gilt.

“Very rare” first edition of this touchstone of English Romanticism, one of 500 copies printed, with first appearances of Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey” and Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” Handsomely bound in full morocco-gilt by Cecil & Larkins.

"The acquaintance [of Wordsworth] with Coleridge marks an epoch in both lives… The most remarkable incident of this time was the walk of 13 November 1797, when the two poets proposed to compose a joint ballad to be sold for £5 to pay for their tour… This led to talk of a joint publication to which Coleridge should contribute poems showing the dramatic truth of supernatural incidents, while Wordsworth should try to give the charm of novelty to 'things of every day.' The result was the publication of the Lyrical Ballads" (DNB). In their preliminary "Advertisement," the poets state that their verses are intended as a deliberate experiment in style and subject matter, rejecting the classical principles that poetry should only address elevated subjects and should be composed in a highly crafted formal style. Instead they chose to elevate the lives of ordinary men and women, and to write in the language of ordinary people. Amazingly, this first edition was such a financial disaster that Longman, upon purchasing the printer's rights from Joseph Cottle, valued it at "nothing" and sent it back to Wordsworth for revision. Lyrical Ballads is now generally considered to have marked the beginning of the Romantic Movement in English literature. This is the second state, as virtually always (the press was stopped after only a few copies of the first state were printed), with the eight-page cancel of Coleridge's "Nightingale," replacing his "Lewti" (pages [63]-[70]), thereby creating a double page numbering of 69-70. Bound with errata but without leaf of advertisement. Wise 4. Broughton 6 ("Very rare"). Owen, xvii. Rothschild 2604. Bookplates.

Joints expertly repaired. Light spotting to first few and last few leaves, including title page; small paper repair to lower margin of last leaf of text. Beautiful in full morocco-gilt.