Books

Shelley, Percy Bysshe (1792-1822). Queen Mab. London: W. Clark, 1821. 8vo. Several leaves watermarked "1820" or "A". (Contents washed.) Fine binding; Late 19th-century half calf gilt, spine in 6 compartments with raised bands, morocco lettering-pieces gilt in 2, others gilt tooled, edges gilt, stamp-signed by Morrell; housed in a beautiful folding case, gilt-stamped. Provenance: Conon Williams (armorial bookplate); Myers & Co. of London (booksellers' ticket).PIRATED FIRST EDITION (the first published), thin paper copy, issued without the dedication to Harriet *****. Queen Mab was first privately printed in 1813 and was relatively unknown until this pirated edition of 1821, printed by R. Clark, was published which precedes the first authorized edition that was composed of the remaining sheets from Clark's edition and issued with a new title-page by Carlile in 1822. When Shelley learned of Clark's unauthorized edition, he protested the piracy; Clark appeared before the Court of…

Queen Mab, A Philosophical Poem; With Notes, often referred to as Queen Mab, is the first large poetic work written by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822), the English Romantic poet. After substantial reworking, a portion of the text was later issued as The Daemon of the World.

The true first edition, of which were there were approx 250 copies made, was printed privately by the author in 1813.