1783 - CHURCHILL - POETICAL WORKS - 3 VOL'S - BELL'S ED

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1783 - CHURCHILL - POETICAL WORKS - 3 VOL'S - BELL'S ED The Poetical Works of Charles Churchill ---------------- Charles Churchill ---------------- John Bell (Apollo Press), Edinburgh (Poets of Great Britain ), (1783), Second Edition --------------- Description: "In Three Volumes with the Life of the Author", three uniform volumes, brown mottled full leather bindings, gilt designs to the spine, red title labels with gilt lettering, marbled end pages, one or two internal inscriptions, illustrated frontispieces. General Remarks: this is a complete three volume set of Churchill’s "Works" in the Bell 's Edition of the "Poets of Great Britain". Bells "Poets" were produced over a number of years during the latter decades of the eighteenth century, and when eventually complete consisted of 109 volumes in total, made up of range of individual sets and books. This particular set is not recorded in the Integrated Catalogue of the British Library, and I have only been able to locate one copy elsewhere on the Internet. According to an Internet source, "John Bell (1745–1831) was an English publisher. The Dictionary of National Biography has Charles Knight calling Bell a "mischievous spirit, the very Puck (Shakespeare) of booksellers." His 109-volume, literature-for-the-masses Poets of Great Britain Complete from Chaucer to Churchill, which rivalled Samuel Johnson's Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1781), was published from 1777 to 1783. Each volume cost just six shillings, at a time when similar volumes usually cost multiple times that. The drawings and illustrations with which Bell adorned his publications influenced later publishers, as did his abandonment of the long s. Most notable, perhaps, was Bell 's joint-stock organization of his publishing company, which defied "the trade" – forty dominant publishing companies – in order to establish a monopoly on the best publications. In addition to the immense Poets of Great Britain , Bell also published similar volumes on Shakespeare and The British Theatre, as well as the Sunday newspaper Bell 's Weekly Messenger, women's magazine La Belle Assemblée, and other periodicals. He died in Fulham in 1831." According to the same Internet source, "Charles Churchill (February, 1731 - November 4, 1764), was an English poet and satirist." Size/Weight: Unpackaged Weight: combined weight 340g (approx 12oz). Size: small 24mo (each volume 13 x 8.25 cm (approx 5 x 3¼ inches)). Condition: Externally: rubbed and bumped (especially the spine), some staining and marks to the leather, some splitting to the spines, some damage to the title labels, slight damage to the ends of the spines, otherwise tightly bound. Internally: slight age browning, otherwise generally clean and tight throughout. Overall Condition: externally fair, internally good to very good. General Book(s) Condition Descriptions: Fine As new, without any faults or other defects. Near Fine There are one or two minor defects, but the general condition of the book appears as new. Very Good Showing some signs of wear through use, but complete and overall in very good condition. Good Average condition, showing signs of wear and tear through normal use, but the book is complete. Fair The book contents are generally complete, and there may be above average wear and tear. Poor Often referred to as a reading copy, but has significant wear and tear, and some contents may be missing. Note, please read the description for more detailed and specific information on the overall condition of the book(s); all descriptions take account of the age of the book. Postage and Packaging: All of our books are securely packaged and wrapped in bubble wrap for added protection. It is recommended that all books are insured and tracked (where this service is not offered... read more

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