The Messiah: Attempted from the German of Mr Klopstock by Joseph Collyer.
7518. Boston: Published by John West and Co., No.75, Cornhill, 1811.
2 vol., bound in sixes, 299; 272 pp. Contemporary sheep, backstrips ruled in gilt with red title and volume number labels, blue sprinkled edges, bookplates of the Theological Institute of Andover and their discard stamps in each vol., shelf label on backstrip of vol. 1. Sheep worn, upper hinges cracking, pages expectably browned. A good copy.
§ Later American translation of Klopstock’s epic on man’s redemption, first published between 1748 and 1773, initially in the German weekly Bremer Beiträge. The first ten cantos generated some excitement but interest waned over the many years it took the concluding cantos to appear. This translation was first published in 1763 (the third volume appearing in 1772). The translation was begun by Mary Collyer (c.1716-1762), previously acclaimed for her translation of the Salomon Gessner's Death of Abel, but she died before she could complete it. The work was finished by her husband: “As none could be better acquainted with her style than myself, I was encouraged to prosecute what she had begun”. Item #105651
Price: $95.00