1825 Rare Book - The Scottish Gaelic POEMS of OSSIAN by James Macpherson.
(Description)
Author: Macpherson, James.
Title: The Poems of Ossian to which are prefixed a Preliminary Discourse & dissertations on the Aera & Poems of Ossian.
Language: Text in English.
Publisher: London, Printed for C. and J. Rivington and al., 1825.
Size: 5 " X 3 ".
Pages: 455 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good full morocco leather binding (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a removable protective mylar cover.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight, and clean, name of a previous owner on the first endpaper - as shown, rare light foxing and staining - as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with the beautiful frontispiece and the illustrated title page.
Estimate: (USD 300 - USD 400)
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.