Books

London: Henry Baldwin, 1793. First edition. Near Fine. First issue with “gve” for "give" in the uncorrected state (line 10 on p. 135 in Volume I) and all of the errata uncorrected. Two quarto volumes (10 3/4 x 8 7/16 inches; 274 x 216 mm.). vii, [1, blank], [ix-xii], [16, “Table of Contents” and “Corrections and Additions”], 516; [2], 588 [i.e. 586] pp. Engraved frontispiece by James Heath from a portrait of Johnson by Sir Joshua Reynolds in Volume I, two engraved facsimile plates in Volume II. ("Round Robin…" facing p. 92 and "Fac Similes of Dr. Johnson's hand writing" facing p. 588). Together with [at the end of volume II]: BOSWELL, James. The Principal Corrections and Additions to the first edition of Mr. Boswell's Life of Dr. Johnson. London: Printed by Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly, 1793. [Title, verso blank], 42 pp. Bound by Rivière & Son ca. 1910 in full mottled calf, covers with triple gilt rules. Spines with five raised bands, decoratively tooled in…

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.