The Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves. Cooke's Edition. Two Volumes in One. Embellished with Superb Engravings
by SMOLLETT (Tobias):
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
LONDON, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Printed for C. Cooke..., no date, [1793]. 2 volumes in 1. 12mo (in 6s), 140 x 80 mms., pp. 260 (pagination continuous through both volumes), engraved frontispiece (pulling loose at lower inner margin) to volume 1, 2 other engraved plates, dated 1793, by Hawkins after Corbould, contemporary calf, gilt spine, black leather label; text spotted and stained, front joint cracked and tender. A so-so copy. As I am accountable for a couple of commentaries on some of Smollett's novels, I am irresistibly reminded of the one-sentence notice of the 1762 first edition in book form in The Monthly Review: "Better than the common Novels, but unworthy the pen of Dr. Smollet [sic]." It received a longer review in The Critical Review, where the reviewer referred to it as an "ingenious little piece," comparing it to Cervantes' work. The characters of Sir Launcelot and Crabshaw were delightful, "Nor are [they] the only portraits on which this author hath lavished the powers of genius..., and some others, are truly characteristical, and demonstrative of the genuine humour, satirical talents, and benevolent heart of the writer." That Smollett was one of the editors of The Critical Review might have had something to do with this analysis.
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Details
- Bookseller
- John Price Antiquarian Books (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 8867
- Title
- The Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves. Cooke's Edition. Two Volumes in One. Embellished with Superb Engravings
- Author
- SMOLLETT (Tobias):
- Book Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- London: Printed for C. Cooke..., no date, [1793]
- Keywords
- fiction quixotic literature
- Bookseller catalogs
- fiction;
Terms of Sale
John Price Antiquarian Books
Payment by cheque, credit card, cash. New customers will be invoiced pro forma. Books may be returned within two weeks for any reason; refund within 1 month for any reason; negotiable after that, but no returns after one year.
About the Seller
John Price Antiquarian Books
Biblio member since 2006
LONDON
About John Price Antiquarian Books
I work from home, but I am happy to see customers at almost any time by appointment.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- 12mo
- A duodecimo is a book approximately 7 by 4.5 inches in size, or similar in size to a contemporary mass market paperback. Also...
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Cracked
- In reference to a hinge or a book's binding, means that the glue which holds the opposing leaves has allowed them to separate,...