Poems, THIRD EDITION
London: T. N. Longman and O. Rees, 1803. Third Edition. 12mo, 6 1/4 x 4 inches (160 x 114 mm); pp. xii + 202. Bound in half tan calf with raised bands and gilt decorations, black leather title label with gilt lettering, marbled boards. Binding rubbed at corners and spine but tight; light soiling and foxing and some of the inside pages; old owner's signature on inside front cover.
[Wise 18; Shepherd-Prideaux pp. 31-34].
This volume was seen through the press by Charles Lamb. [Wise 18] [Shepherd-Prideaux pp.31-34] In his long discussion about the circumstances of this essentially unchanged 3rd edition of "the juvenile and abortive attempts of Coleridge's muse", Shepherd attributes it to the poet's "state of inertia, apathy, and supineness into which the use of the fatal drug he had resorted to had thrown him into." The copyrights of the 1796 edition had been disposed of by the publisher and there was a demand for a new edition. His good friend Charles Lamb made arrangements on behalf of Coleridge who was 'indisposed' but had no authority to change the selection of poems, thus this edition was born, which did not include masterpieces Coleridge had penned in the intervening years, such as "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" and "Christabel." According to Shepherd, had changes and additions been made to this edition, Coleridge would have avoided the scathing satire of Byron about the quality of his writing.
Condition: Very good.
Item number: 323
Price: $500.00
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