The Poetical Works. by WORDSWORTH, William - 1896

London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1896. A particularly handsome set of Knight's revised edition of Wordsworth's poetry, expanded from "the first ever scholarly edition of the poetry", his 11-volume Works and Life of Wordsworth, published between 1882 and 1889. The attractive binding on this set was done by the Knickerbocker Press bindery, a branch of the publishers G. P. Putnam's Sons.
William Angus Knight (1836-1916) was professor of Moral Philosophy at St. Andrews and is now best remembered as Wordsworth's "first scholarly biographer" (ODNB). 8 volumes, octavo (176 x 120 mm). Contemporary dark brown half morocco by the Knickerbocker Press bindery for G. P. Putnam's Sons, raised bands to spines, lettered in gilt, red French marbled sides and endpapers, top edges gilt, others untrimmed, white silk bookmarkers. Engraved frontispieces with tissue guards and title page vignettes. This set is from the library of American mining magnate, poet, author, and book collector, Louis Vernon Ledoux (1880-1948), with his bookplate on the front pastedown of each volume. Contemporary tobacconist's sales slip loosely inserted into vol. II newspaper clipping in vol. III. Section of outer margin of pp. 135-6 of vol. 1 detached but retained, slightly affecting text. Spines uniformly a touch sunned, wear to paper at board edges, occasional foxing to outer leaves, else contents clean; a handsome set in very good condition indeed.