Books

London: Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly, 1791. First Edition. First Edition. 4to. Two volumes. Contemporary attractive speckled calf, spine in 6 compartments with 5 raised bands gilt, red and black leather lettering-pieces gilt (re-backed preserving original boards. FIRST EDITION, second issue of the most celebrated biography in the English language, with ìgiveî on p.135 of Vol. I, the initial blank in vol. II, and all 7 cancels. Engraved portrait frontispiece of Johnson by James Heath after Sir Joshua Reynolds, 2 engraved plates of facsimiles by H. Shepherd. (Vol. I title-page reinforced at gutter, some light soiling, a few tiny mostly marginal wormholes, marginal tear with loss not affecting text to [X3] in vol. II.), joints cracking, some light chipping); brown cloth slipcase. A splendid copy of a significant book.

James Boswell's 'The Life of Samuel Johnson' is regarded as one of the greatest biographies written in the English language. It provides an in-depth and vivid recounting of the life of Samuel Johnson, a writer and critic who was a towering figure in 18th-century British literature.