Hobbinol, Field Sports and the Bowling Green.
1813. London: William Bulmer and Co., 1813.
4to, 118 pp. 15 wood engravings by Charlton Nesbit and John Thurston printed on India paper; pages untrimmed. Original boards, printed paper label, a couple of chips along outer front hinge, and very light spotting. Paper spine label chipped with some loss. Overall a nice, internally bright example. Armorial bookplate of Joseph Leycester, Governor of Cork, on front pastedown.
§ First edition illustrated thus, India paper issue. William Somervile (1675-1742), English poet, eldest son of a country gentleman. He was educated at Winchester College and at New College, Oxford. After his father's death in 1705 he lived on his estate, devoting himself especially to field sports, which supplied the subjects of his best-known poems. Ackermann, in a Preface, states that the Bulmer edition of Somerville's The Chase was "among the finest specimens of British Typography". This volume was intended as a companion to that volume, as this grouping of poems around a sporting theme were included in early editions of The Chase. Item #103013
Price: $850.00