[CHATTERTON, Thomas.] Poems, supposed to have been written at Bristol, by Thomas Rowley, and others, in the fifteenth century; the greatest part now first published from the most authentic copies, wit

£350 · Offered by Henry Sotheran Ltd

By the notorious Bristol poet and forger [CHATTERTON, Thomas.] Poems, supposed to have been written at Bristol, by Thomas Rowley, and others, in the fifteenth century; the greatest part now first published from the most authentic copies, with an engraved specimen of one of the MSS. To which are added, a preface, an introductory account of the several pieces, and a glossary. London: Printed for T. Payne and Son, at the Mews-Gate. 1777. 8vo. Modern half calf over marbled boards, flat spine ruled in compartments with blue morocco lettering pieces, all edges speckled red; pp. xxvii, [1 (blank)], 307, [1 (blank)], with engraved plate after the “original manuscript”; a very handsome copy with a gentle patina and slight, even fading to the spine, internally very fresh with very light toning, endpapers slightly protruding from the text block; occasional pencil annotations. First edition, with the second state of c4 (as usual), a cancel omitting the phrase “and were probably composed by him”. Thomas Chatterton (1752-1770) was an extraordinary literary prodigy, political writer, and forger who, despite his tragically short life, achieved great notoriety and exerted a lasting influence on the Romantic poets and artists. By the age of eleven he was already contributing to the Bristol Journal under the editorship of Felix Farley. He applied himself so assiduously to his studies that he soon began producing mature work which he claimed to be the recently discovered writings of an imaginary

• Binding: Hardcover

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