FAIR CONDITION

 

This sale is for an early NINETEENTH CENTURY leather and hardback edition containing “The Odes of Anacreon,” “The Epigrams of Anacreon,” translated from the Greek into English “The Life of Sappho,” “The Works of Sappho,” translated from the Greek into English, “The Lives of Bion & Moschus,” “The Idylliums of Bion,” translated from the Greek into English, “The Idylliums of Moschus,” and “The Loves of Hero and Leander,” translated from the Greek of Musaeus into English.

 

It was published in or before circa 1832 (date of inscription).

 

The book is missing the title page and the xi page first section, The Life of Anacreon, and the last three pages of the index, but I have established that this is a scarce 328 page work:

 

The Works of Anacreon, Sappho Bion, Moschus and Musaeus” translated from the original Greek into English, by Francis Fawkes, M.A.

 

The text pages match an edition published in MDDCLXXXIX [1789] second edition printed for J. Walker, J. Wallis, and J. Binns, of Leeds (this may be a later edition but is of the late Georgian era.

 

Francis Fawkes (1721–1777) was an English poet and translator.

 

Anacreon (c. 582 – c. 485 BC) was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and hymns.

 

Sappho was an ancient Greek lyric poet born on the island of Lesbos sometime between 630 BC and 612 BC and it is said that she died around 570 BC.  The bulk of her poetry, which was well-known and greatly admired throughout antiquity, has been lost, but her immense reputation has endured. 

 

Little is known of the Greek poets Bion of Smyrna who flourished around 100 BC, and Moschus born at Syracuse who flourished about 150 BC.

 

Hero and Leander is the Greek myth relating the story of Hero , a priestess of Aphrodite who dwelt in a tower in Sestos  (today's Dardanelles), and Leander (, a young man from Abydos on the opposite side of the strait. Leander fell in love with Hero and would swim every night across the Hellespont to be with her. Hero would light a lamp at the top of her tower to guide his way.

 

The section The Odes of Anacreon, which makes up about half of the book, includes 70 odes.

 

The book measures 7 inches x 4.25 inches and has 322 pages (which are gilt edged to the top rims). 

 

The book is in very good internally neat condition for its age, save a couple of pages in the life of Sappo section have a small closed tear to the side rim.  The hardback cover has a missing backstrip (leather outer spine) and the leather corners are scuffed, with a previous owner’s inscriptions at the front (including a signature dated 1832), and no  other ink or pencil markings in the book. The binding is good save the missing pages mentioned above (it has been rebound with the missing pages, but not recently).  There is no dust-jacket.

 

A good reading copy of this wonderful early NINETEENTH CENTURY edition.

 

COMBINED POSTAGE - ALL BIDDERS: We offer 30% off the total postage & packing (‘shipping’) cost for 2 or more items – Please wait for a combined invoice.

 

Please click on “View Sellers Other Items” towards the top right hand side of this page for other vintage editions. 

 

Buyer to pay postage & packing

For UK Postage: 2nd Class/Parcels = £2.95;

or 1st Class = £3.70

 

European Union Postage: = 6.45 GB Pounds

 

Rest of the World Postage: Air Mail (Anywhere in the World) = 7.95 GB Pounds

 

Surface Mail (Anywhere in the World) = 7.50 GB Pounds

 

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Goods will be WELL PACKAGED by Unwins Books and dispatched once payment has cleared.

 

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