Books

Half titles, front. port, vol. I with Stothard engr. plate in two states; prelim & final blanks of each volume sl. foxed, the odd spot throughout. Sumptuously bound in contemp. crushed morocco, elaborately panelled in gilt, raised bands with gilt design; spines sl. faded, extremities a bit rubbed. An attractive set of one of the most important works in English literature. The work is elegantly printed for William Pickering, and is considered to be his 'first entirely characteristic production'. Each titlepage bears an armorial emblem, but the printing dates prior to Pickering's use of the Aldine anchor and dolphin device, which appeared in the second edition of 1830. The text was edited by Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt, 'the true restorer of Chaucer', whose glossary occupies the whole of the final volume, and his edition was first published in 1775.

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.