Books

London: Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly, 1791. First edition. 2 volumes, quarto (293 x 229 mm) untrimmed, in the original boards. Rebacked with white parchment to style (likely mid 20th century). Protected by a deluxe pull-off case by Sangorski and Sutcliffe in full brown morocco. Small morocco bookplates (Herschel V. Jones) to front paste-down of each volume with corresponding offsetting to adjacent leaves. Bookplates of Claud Russell. First state with Vol 1 page 135 in uncorrected state. Canceled leaves Mm4 and Nn1 in Vol 1 and E3, Oo4, Qq3, Zz1 and Eee2 in Vol 2 as called for by Pottle. Complete with aquatint portrait frontispiece engraved by James Heath after Sir Joshua Reynolds, and 2 engraved facsimile plates by H. Shepherd, just lacking the blank leaf at the beginning of Vol 2. Small stain to the front board of Vol 1, small loss of paper to the front board of Vol 2. Internal contents generally in excellent condition, pages retaining their blue tint. An exceptional copy.…

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.