KEATS, JOHN | Endymion: A poetic Romance. London: Taylor and Hessey, 1818

KEATS, JOHN

Endymion: A poetic Romance. London: Taylor and Hessey, 1818

8vo (8 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.; 224 x 140 mm). Half-title with imprint on verso "Printed by T. Miller, Noble street, Cheapside", one line erratum on p.[xi], 5 line errata slip tipped onto erratum leaf, 4pp. of advertisements dated May 1818; minor foxing, offsetting from bookplate onto half-title. Original drab boards with paper label to spine; joints weak, overall rubbed with some chips to spine, only fragment of original label remaining. Red morocco solander slipcase.

First edition, first issue, in original boards, the Adam - Benz copy

Written when Keats was just 21 years old, this epic poem was originally disparaged by critics such as John Gibson Lockhart and John Wilson Croker (who, incidentally, coined the phrase the "Cockney School of Poetry"), but as has unquestionably stood the test of time. Endymion contains some of the most exquisite verse Keats ever composed, not to mention once of the most enduring lines in all of English literature, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever...".

REFERENCES

Hayward 232; MacGillivray 2; Tinker 232

PROVENANCE

R. B. Adam (bookplate to front pastedown) — Doris L. Benz (her sale, Christie's New York, 16 November 1984, lot 191) — William Painter (booklabel to front pastedown)