Books

A smart five volume set of Thomas Tyrwhitt's edition of Geoffrey Chaucer's middle English Canterbury Tales. A smart nineteenth century edition of Chaucer's magnum opus, a collection of twenty-four stories running over seventeen-thousand lines.Complete in five volumes.Illustrated with a frontispiece and one further plate to volume I. Collated, complete.Retaining the original half titles.First Pickering printing of Tyrwhitt's ground breaking edition of 1775-1758, which was the first serious attempt to restore the genuine text of Chaucer's work. This is also viewed as Pickering's first major work as publisher according to bibliographer Geoffrey Keynes. In half morocco bindings, with marbled paper covered bards. Significant rubbing to back strips and board perimeters. Volume I, II, IV and V front hinges strained, but firmly held. Internally, firmly bound. Spotting to plates and pages facing them. Pages otherwise generally bright and clean, with only the odd area of concentrated spotting. Very Good.

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400.