Lot 102
  • 102

Pope, Alexander.

Estimate
1,500 - 2,000 GBP
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • The Works. W. Bowyer for Bernard Lintot, 1717
4to, first edition, title in red and black, folding frontispiece portrait of Pope by G. Vertue, O2 inserted leaf as usual, title page with ornament of trumpets crossed through a lyre, engraved head-pieces and initials, contemporary red morocco gilt by  thomas elliot,  covers with gilt borders made up of two rolls (one repeated) and other tools, central ornaments composed of small tools around larger scroll design, spine in seven compartments, six tooled in gilt, the other with green morocco label, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, some slight foxing, very expertly rebacked preserving the original spine, some other slight wear and repairs to edges and corners

Provenance

William Congreve Russell, bookplate; Maggs catalogue 966, item 96; Maggs Catalogue 1075, Spring 1987, Bookbinding in the British Isles. Sixteenth to the Twentieth Century, Part I, item 135

Literature

Griffith 79-81; Rothschild 1585

Condition

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

first issue of the first collected edition of pope's works, in a handsome contemporary binding by elliott. This would appear to be one of the fine copies on thicker paper. It was published in quarto and folio simultaneously on 3 June 1717. In the second issue Tonson's name was added to the imprint.

As well as works previously published, the Works includes eleven pieces printed for the first time, including Eloisa to Abelard, Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady, and the epistles to Martha Blount.

Thomas Elliott  (d.1763) was one of the chief London binders of the early eighteenth century, and is now most often remembered as one of the main binders of the Harleian Library. He had been apprenticed to Robert Steel in 1703. For other similar examples of his bindings, see Oldham, Shrewsbury School Library Bindings, pp.112-116, Nixon, Five Centuries of Bookbindings, no.60, and Nixon, "Harleian Bindings" in Studies in the Book Trade, pp.153-194.