The Kentish Cricketers, Bath, Coffee, Longitude and Navigation etc.

[Burnby, John.] The Kentish Cricketers: a Poem...being a reply to a late publication of a parody on the Ballad of Chevy Chace; intituled, Surry Triumphant: or, the Kentish Men's Defeat. Canterbury: T. Smith and Son, 1773, VERY RARE, ESTC RECORDING ONLY THREE COPIES, with half-title [Allen 5; Padwick 2061]--[Hippesley, R.] Bath and it’s environs, a descriptive poem, In three cantos. Wherein The Reality, Life, and great Qualities of it’s first Founder Bladud are displayed...Bath: R. Cruttwell for J. Almon, engraved frontispiece portrait by Baron after Hoare--Bishop, R. The east India navigator’s daily assistant; with the new method of computing the longitude... R. Hilton, for the author, tables, one folding engraved plate, RARE (only five copies recorded by ESTC, no recent auction records)--Ellis, John. An Historical Account of Coffee...for Edward and Charles Dilly, 1774, folding engraved plate of Coffea Arabica [Kress 11132; Hunt 638; Sabin 22317]; and 5 other verse works, including satires, and other works (e.g. John Lawson's Synopsis of all the Data for the Construction of Triangles... Rochester, 1773, A Plan for Preserving the Maritime Power and Commerce of the Nation, in time of war...1773, The Question concerning Literary Property, 1773, Reflections on the Law of Arrests in Civil Actions, [1774], A Treatise upon Fines, 1773); 4to, some works with manuscript ex-libris "Bibliotheca Edinensis" on title pages, late eighteenth- or early nineteenth-century quarter calf, binding rather worn, joints partially cracked (1)

The Forbes Baronetcy was created in 1626 for Sir William Forbes (d. circa 1650) by James VI in the Barontage of Nova Scotia. The majority of the works offered here were acquired by the sixth Baronet, also William (1739-1806), who added Pitsligo to his title in 1781. He was an eminent Scottish banker and benefactor, good friend of James Boswell and Samuel Johnson (see lots 45-46), and finally succeeded in recovering the Pitsligo estates forfeited after the Jacobite rebellion of 1745. His son William, the seventh baronet, beat Sir Walter Scott to the hand of the renowned beauty Williamina Belsches Stuart (1776-1810), and it was with their marriage that the family moved to her family seat, Fettercairn House in Kincardineshire, Aberdeenshire.

One of the sixth baronet’s acquisitions for his library at Pitsligo were numerous highly important miscellanies and tract volumes, many of which were purchased as a set from Edinburgh bookseller Elphinstone Balfour in October 1786. These were subsequently supplemented by further contemporary tracts and other works from the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century. Most of these miscellanies bear a nineteenth century Forbes family bookplate.

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."

The Kentish Cricketers is a spirited reply to John Duncombe's Surry Triumphant again published in the same year, and employs the metre of "Chevy Chace" to describe both the first match at Bishopsbourne Paddock (the seat of Sir Horatio Mann) in July 1773 (played for the enormous wager of £2000), and won easily by Surrey led by the famous Edward 'Lumpy' Stevens (aided by the weather), and the return match at the Vine, won by Kent. The introductory stanzas markedly contrast the vices of the town with the rural innocence of cricket, and the poem is a wonderful celebration of the game. Only four institutional copies of this rare poem are recorded, a further copy located in the M.C.C. library as well as the three noted by ESTC (National Library of Scotland, St. Andrews University and the British Library).

The last work in the volume is an important early treatise on coffee, written by John Ellis to encourage the growth of coffee in the West Indies for home consumption and exportation. There are no auction records since the war for Bishop's East India navigator’s daily assistant; with the new method of computing the longitude.

In Times like these, when COMMERCE weeps,
And ENGLISH CREDIT soundly sleeps;
When candid Merchants, bent to thrive,
Keep FLATTERY and FRAUD alive...

My Muse, descriptive, bends her Way,
The Game of CRICKET, to display,
And place the Laurel, where 'tis due,
Tho' simple PARODIES ensue...