1757 Rare Book - FABLES in Verse by John Gay for the Prince William Augustus. Illustrated.
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(Description)
Author: Gay, John.
Title: Fables by the Late Mr. Gay.
Language: Text in English.
Publisher: London, Printed for C. Hitch and L. Hawes, J. and R. Tonson, etc., 1757. Complete 2 volumes bound in one.
Size: 8.5 " X 5.5 ".
Pages: 334 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good full calf leather binding (hinges worn but still tight, small 2" crack on front lower hinge repaired by a previous owner, overall slightly scuff and worn - as shown) under a removable protective mylar cover.Rare in a nice contemporary calf binding!
Content: Very good content (bright, tight, and clean, rare light foxing, name of a previous owner on the second blank page - as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with the frontispiece and the wonderful engraved pictorial headpiece to each fable.
Estimate : (USD 350 - USD 600)
The book: Rare and attractive 18th-century edition of John Gay Fables. First published in 1727 the first volume contains an assortment of fables that were dedicated to Prince William Augustus (later Duke of Cumberland), the third son of King George II. Written in verse with rhyming couplets and purportedly drawing inspiration from classical works, the moralizing tales were originally composed to educate and amuse the six-year-old prince. Each was preceded by detailed copper engravings created by William Kent, John Wootton, and Hubert-François Gravelot (aka Hubert-François Bourguignon), to capture the spirit of the allegories. A particular favorite in the library is “The Elephant and the Bookseller” (Fable X). An elephant is to be found browsing in a bookshop, taking books from the shelves and reading the many and varied works that are available – from Greek literature to Natural History. However, the wise and knowing elephant dismisses the written works of man as inaccurate...
The author: John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peachum, became household names. In 1727 he wrote for six-year-old Prince William, later the Duke of Cumberland, Fifty-one Fables in Verse, for which he naturally hoped to gain some preferment, although he has much to say in them of the servility of courtiers and the vanity of court honors. He was offered the situation of gentleman-usher to the Princess Louisa, who was also still a child. He refused this offer, which all his friends seem to have regarded as an indignity. He had never rendered any special services to the court.