Goldsmith, Oliver.

12mo (163 x 93mm.), 2 volumes, first edition, contemporary calf, spines with raised bands lettered in gilt, each volume preserved in quarter morocco chemise and morocco-faced slipcase, some gatherings in volume 2 sprung proud, minor offsetting to endpapers and title-pages, volume 1 with neat repair to tear in middle of D3, lower corner of E1 repaired (not affecting text), tiny hole in margin of G7 affecting catchword and just touching a letter on the verso, otherwise a fine copy

Miss Caroline De Bedee, contemporary inscription to her on front endpaper of volume 2; Abel E. Berland, purchased from John Howell Books, San Francisco, 16 October 1962, catalogue description loosely inserted, the sale of his library at Christie's New York, Part I, 8 October 2001, lot 52

Grolier, English 53; Rothschild 1028; Scott, Goldsmith pp.173-75; Tinker 1110

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."

A beautiful copy of the author's great sentimental novel. This copy conforms to Scott's variant "A" (Rothchild's variant 1), apart from the catchword on p.39 of volume 2, which has been corrected here.

The manuscript of The Vicar of Wakefield had been sold four years previously to John Newbery for £60 by Samuel Johnson on Goldsmith's behalf, to prevent the author's arrest for debt. The reasons for the delay in publication have never been entirely clear. Second and third editions of the novel appeared in the same year of publication, three editions were produced in Ireland, and it was translated into French and German shortly afterwards. The immediate critical reception was mostly favourable, but it was not until Goldsmith's death, in 1774, that it began to attain its huge subsequent popularity as one of the most widely read, and most widely quoted, novels of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (96 editions had been printed by 1886).