Books

Complete suite of 22 proofs before titles, including 2 vignettes for the 1820 edition of Defoe's Life and adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Engraved by Charles Heath the elder (1785 - 1848) on India paper (mounted) after the original drawings by Thomas Stothard (1755 - 1834). Loose within folder consisting of drab boards, paper label and blue leather spine. 2 small holes to fore edge suggestive of ribbon ties. 'Drawn by T. Stothard R.A. Published Feby 1st. 1820. by Cadell & Davies Strand London. Engraved by E. Heath.' Sizes: Folder 31 x 46.5cm, prints 44 x 30cm, images 9.5 x12.5cm. Condition: Spine gone, boards discoloured and worn. Prints foxed, particularly the margins, less so within plate mark and only a few images being lightly affected. Creasing and wear to periphery of prints including a few small nicks & tears with larger creases, tears & watermarks to a few. Few small pieces missing from corners and fore-edges here & there. A very rare collection.

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, is one of the earliest and most influential novels in the history of English literature. It is a fictional autobiography of the title character, a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and mutineers before being rescued. The story is widely perceived as a comment on the British Imperialism of the age and the emerging ideology of the 'self-made man', and it reflects on the author's vast array of experiences.