Coleridge, Samuel Taylor

8vo, FIRST EDITION, LARGE PAPER COPY, half title, errata leaf, full olive morocco by Tout, gilt dentelles, top edge gilt, original spine label preserved at end, hinges a little worn, a few leaves loose, some offsetting to endpapers; [with] a letter from bookseller William George's Sons to Harry Buxton Forman discussing the large paper issue, with Forman's draft response in pencil on the verso, 2 pages, 4to, Bristol, 28 January 1904, loosely inserted

J.C. Cooke [?], faded ownership inscription on half title; Harry Buxton Forman (1842-1917), bookplate and inscription stating that it was purchased in October 1891; his sale, Anderson Galleries, New York, 26 April 1920, lot 207 [part of]; John Whipple Frothingham, bookplate

see Wise 45

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where 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."

THE VERY RARE LARGE PAPER ISSUE, THOUGHT TO BE ONE OF ONLY 25 COPIES PRINTED.

Coleridge initially conceived of Sibylline Leaves as the second part to a two volume work with his Biographia Literaria. Journalist and occasional publisher John Matthew Gutch commissioned the printing – "from motives of friendship" and at his own expense - from Bristol based printed John Evans. However, on receiving Coleridge’s draft, Gutch decided that there was sufficient manuscript for the Biographica alone to be split into two volumes, a miscalculation which did not become apparent until the final chapter was coming off the press. Almost two years after he had supplied his finished text, Coleridge was suddenly required to provide significantly more material, and relations between the two school friends soured.

Coleridge approached his London publisher, Gale and Fenner, who after three months of contentious negotiation eventually agreed to purchase the sheets already printed (with those for Sibylline Leaves still bearing the register "Vol. II" in several places), and publish the two works separately with newly printed preliminaries bearing their own imprint. Gutch prepared an account of the expenses he had already incurred, which included the purchase of the paper for 750 copies of each work plus 25 on "royal" paper, of which the present copy is an example.

A large paper copy of Sibylline Leaves from Gutch’s own collection was included in the sale of his library in 1853 (sold in these rooms, 17 March 1853, lot 483).

The interesting letter which accompanies this work is testament to the rarity of the large paper issue. Presumably having acquired a copy, bookseller William George’s Sons write to Forman for advice, having found no mention of the large paper variant in neither existing bibliographies of Coleridge. The collation of the preliminaries, which seems to have been a matter of some bibliographical confusion, is clarified in Forman’s draft response in reference to his own copy, complete with the half-title and therefore a complete gathering of eight leaves before the text proper.