[Tennyson, Alfred, Lord]

8vo (172 x 104mm.), FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE (with misprints "the" for "thee" on line 13, p.2 and "baseness" for "bareness" on line 3, p.198), half-title, 8pp. publisher's adverts dated February 1850 inserted at front, original purple cloth decorated in blind, collector's folding blue cloth box, spine somewhat faded

Edmund William Gosse (1849-1928), writer and critic, bookplate; his sale, Sotheby's London, 30 July 1928, lot 172

Hayward 246; Wise, Tennyson 37

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."

EDMUND GOSSE'S COPY OF TENNYSON'S ELEGY TO ARTHUR HALLAM, published the year Tennyson succeeded Wordsworth as Poet Laureate. Gosse and Tennyson had first met in the summer in 1871 whilst Gosse was working as a junior assistant at the British Museum.

Writing on Tennyson's 80th birthday, Gosse was unreserved in his praise of the poet: "He has written, on the whole, with more constant, unwearied, and wearying excellence than any of his contemporaries...he has expended the treasures of his native talent on broadening and deepening his own hold upon the English language, until that has become an instrument upon which he is able to play a greater variety of melodies to perfection than any other man."