THE POETICAL FRAGMENTS OF RICHARD BAXTER
London: William Pickering, 1821. Half Leather. Good binding. Item #7758
Small 12mo. [2], vi, 182, [2 (ads)] pp. [frontis lacking]. Backed in contemporary calf with corners and marbled paper over boards; all edges marbled. Leather has separated at the joints, but the hinges remain fairly stable considering how light the covers are; black morocco title label on the spine is largely perished with just a fragment remaining; textblock is solid and contents are clean.
"Traditionally Pickering's first real book, and once thought by Keynes to be the first book issued in cloth. In his second edition Keynes recognized the error and promoted Burnet's Live of Sir Matthew Hale and the Early of Rockester to the position of honour. Burnet's work is in fact advertised at the end of this edition, along with the Diamond Classics which were also begun in 1820. . . . Pickering's edition of Baxter is nonetheless significant as one of his earliest books, indicating the path his publishing career was to take: elegant reprints of antiquarian English literature, particularly of the seventeenth century, promoting among the book-buying public an appreciation of one of the great periods of English prose and poetry" Porter 52. Keynes p. 51; Checklist 1821.1.
Price: $100.00