1847 Rare Victorian Book - The POEMS of OSSIAN by James Macpherson & dissertation of the Era.
(description)
Author : Macpherson, James.
Title : The Poems of Ossian translated by James Macpherson, Esq. with Dissertations on the Era and Poems of Ossian; and Dr. Blair's Critical Dissertation.
Language : Text in English
Publisher : London, H. G. Bohn, 1847.
Size : 6 " X 4 "
Pages : 428 pages
Binding : Attractive and very good full cloth binding (hinges fine) under a protective mylar cover.
Content : Very good content (bright and tight, rare foxing and staining).
Illustration : Including a nice frontis and illustrated title page.
Estimate : (USD 100 - USD 150)
The book : Rare and attractive edition of the Poems of Ossian - Ossian is the narrator and purported author of a cycle of epic poems published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson from 1760. Macpherson claimed to have collected word-of-mouth material in Gaelic, said to be from ancient sources, and that the work was his translation of that material. Ossian is based on Oisín, son of Finn or Fionn mac Cumhaill, anglicised to Finn McCool, a legendary bard who is a character in Irish mythology. Contemporary critics were divided in their view of the work's authenticity, but the consensus since is that Macpherson framed the poems himself, based on old folk tales he had collected.
The work was internationally popular, translated into all the literary languages of Europe and was highly influential both in the development of the Romantic movement and the Gaelic revival.
The author : James Macpherson (Gaelic: Seumas MacMhuirich or Seumas Mac a' Phearsain; 27 October 1736 – 17 February 1796) was a Scottish writer, poet, literary collector and politician, known as the "translator" of the Ossian cycle of epic poems. He was the first Scottish poet to gain an international reputation.