Copies of the Introduction to this exhibition and catalogues of previous exhibitions are available from the Rare Books Department

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Songs of innocence and of experience
by William Blake 

The history of English literature and the history of  'the Book' coincide in an exhibition such as this. The latter expression, the history of the book, denotes an area of academic study which may be new to some people. It is a sub-set of the discipline of bibliography, broadly construed, and in some ways it may be taken to indicate a niche that has been carved out to compensate for the increasingly booklessness of much contemporary academic work. It was not all that long ago when all university education was the history of the book.

There are both cultural and technological changes at work here. The sorts of social and perhaps psychic conditions under which reading used to thrive as a pastime, at all levels of society, seem now irrecoverable. Even in an area such as the study of literature, traditional processes such as wide reading have been replaced by electronic data-searching, and certainly the broad literary background which might have been expected of someone engaged in a study of English at university level a generation ago is now found very infrequently. Indeed, it is some years ago that I was told that it was possible to have completed a major in English at another of Melbourne's universities, without having had to read anything written before the Vietnam War.

In such an environment, books representing English literature to 1800 - a long time before the Vietnam War - may be seen as expensive but arcane cultural or anthropological artifacts, representing the habits and values of remote people, but of no more intrinsic interest. And it seems a pity for the study of them to be confined only to those rugged beings ("a mere antiquarian is a rugged being," observed Samuel Johnson) interested in type-setting, variant editions, binding and printing practices, etc.

In this context, it is tempting to mount an apologia for literature, reading and Anglo-Celtic culture (all things well worth doing). I would simply say that these are all things about the value of which we need to become more articulate.

A Rare Book collection is not a museum: books are 'interactive technologies.' Our collection is for reading. Yet it might be asked, why should a university library house original editions of classic texts, when there are cheap, portable, and carefully-edited Penguins available?

It is part of the research of every scholar engaged in literary study to seek out original and old editions, and in some cases to actually read them. The relationship between the 'text' and 'the book' is far from accidental. Relevant to the reading experience, and in some cases the writing experience, are considerations of, for instance, book format (a folio is a radically different object to a 12mo.) - and page layout; the publication and circulation of verse by pamphlet, how anonymity (actual or formal) qualifies the conditions of authorship, and how it alters the reader's relationship with the text; what is conveyed by superseded typographical conventions, such as over-elaborate capitalisation and italicisation; how periodical and part-publication governs the reading experience; the presence of engravings. All these are far from indifferent matters.

When I obtained a few of the original issues of Johnson's Rambler papers, published not as a multi-volume collection of hundreds of essays, but rather over a two-year period as a series of dignified six-page folio leaflets, one of my tutors remarked, "That's the only Rambler that Johnson knew he was writing." We may feel the same about, for instance, Pope's Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, as presented here, of which the original edition conveys to us something of the combination of elegance and controversy which was possible in the eighteenth century, but would be all but unimaginable today.

But it is possible also, particularly for hard-nosed scholars, anxious in these rationalistic times to be seen to approach their work with appropriate professionalism and detachment, to dismiss as mere romanticism the pleasures of poking around old books. Certainly, the books themselves convey to us visual and tactile experiences which contribute to a fuller appreciation of the aesthetic of past ages. Students are foolish not to avail themselves of such opportunities.

All pre-1800 material in the Monash Rare Books collection is designated as the "Swift Collection," being based on a large private collection of books relating to Jonathan Swift, which the University purchased in 1961 from Swift scholar and editor, David Woolley.

In a collection such as the Monash University Swift Collection, and in this exhibition and catalogue, we gain a vivid sense of the cultural context. Undergraduate consumers of pre-masticated scholarship increasingly have their research and wider reading handed to them in ever-thicker and more elaborate coursebooks. For them, texts, attribution, editions, and commentary are mere unexamined assumptions. Students of a few generations ago were likely to have imagined that the literary canon consisted of a few dozen writers who were born and died 'major authors.' The less naïve contemporary student, educated in an environment of bottomless (but nonetheless shallow) intellectual scepticism, is more likely to believe that the literary canons, as they are or have been 'constructed' on ideological lines, may be regarded as more or less arbitrary, and that there is nothing intrinsically 'major' about any writer.

The Monash Swift Collection challenges both of these contrary and uninformed perspectives. In addition to Chaucer and Shakespeare, Dryden, Swift and Pope, we see here the literary undergrowth, minor - or at least, forgotten - writers such as George Wither and Katharine Phillips, Mark Akenside or William Shenstone. Writers like these are not to be found in Penguin editions. We see if we read them that (as common sense should tell) their work is not rubbish, but also that the major figures have not been singled out by history entirely by a combination of prejudice and accident. There is no shame in being 'minor' when, say, Pope is major.

This exhibition also shows something of the complex and evolving relationship between reputation and genre. I wonder how often important prose stylists such as Browne and Burton are taught in literature courses now, or writers like Hobbes who have something to argue about? Essayists and writers of non-fictional prose have nowadays almost no literary reputation. In some times past, certainly in the eighteenth century, writers who had something to say or to teach or to argue were relished. Perhaps the fear expressed by the celebrity model, Elle McPherson, who famously rationalised the fact that she doesn't read, by telling a journalist, "I don't want to read anything I haven't written myself," is more widespread. We are a bit afraid that some of these old writers are going to tell us things we don't want to know.

The emphasis in Richard Overell's catalogue is on the writers as recognisable characters in a social setting, whose writings emerge from needs and preoccupations not dissimilar to our own. And so long as there are some people who can actually read pre-1800 literature with something like pleasure, this would seem to be a more sensible and persuasive approach to the subject of literature than the postmodern preoccupation with constructing the field as nothing more than an ideological playground.

Paul Tankard
Monash University

The intention of this exhibition is to give researchers an overview of the range of material in the field of pre-1800 English Literature available in the Monash University Library Rare Book Collection. The Monash Rare Book Collection began in 1962 when a collection of early editions of Jonathan Swift was purchased from the Swift scholar David Woolley. Since then we have substantially added to our holdings of Swift, including the purchase of several Swift manuscripts. Two exhibitions, one on Swift, the other on Swift and his circle have been mounted at Monash. The other major exhibition to include literature from the period was on the Restoration. Catalogues are available on request for these exhibitions. They include much more material on the late seventeenth, early eighteenth centuries than we have chosen to display in this survey exhibition.

Richard Overell,
Rare Books Librarian
Monash University Library

The Canterbury pilgrims setting out from the Tabard Inn (Item 3)

1. Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400.

The works of our ancient and learned English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, newly printed : To that which was done in the former impression, thus much is now added : 1. In the life of Chaucer many things inserted : 2. The whole works by old copies reformed : 3. Sentences and proverbes noted : 4. The signification of the old and obscure words prooved; also characters shewing from which tongue or dialect they are derived : 5. The Latin and French, not Englished by Chaucer, translated : 6. The treatise called Jacke Upland, against friars : and Chaucers A.B.C. called La Priere de Notre Dame, at this impression added. (London : Printed by Adam Islip, 1602)

2. Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400.

The works of our ancient and learned English poet, Geffrey Chavcer [i.e. Geoffrey Chaucer] : newly printed. (Londini : Impensis Geor. Bishop, 1602)

Both these volumes are of  Thomas Speght's edition of Chaucer, first published in 1598. These are essentially copies of the same publication, but with different title pages, and portraits. Adam Islip and George Bishop both published the edition of Chaucer in 1602, each having his own title-page printed.

It is interesting to note that even at this early date, Chaucer was considered an ancient author and that his English needed explication.

Chaucer's works circulated originally in manuscript and many examples survive. Caxton printed the Canterbury Tales in 1483 and Wynken de Worde in 1498. They also printed various of Chaucer's other works. Richard Pynson's edition of Chaucer's Works appeared in 1526, William Thynne's in 1532, John Stow's in 1561, and Speght's in 1598.

All were keen to establish the canon of Chaucer's works and referred to the extant manuscripts available to enable them to arrive at what they considered to be the correct readings.

One of the new works added by Speght in the 1602 edition was Jacke Upland. This was part of the Wyclifite controversy. It is a violent attack on the Friars, thought by Skeat to have been written in 1402 by an unknown author, not Chaucer. It was first printed about 1640. No manuscript copy has survived. Chaucers A.B.C here also added for the first time is a genuine work by Chaucer.

Speght's 1598 edition includes a life of Chaucer and many notes on the poems using information gathered by Stow, who was still alive and had continued to gather information on the poet. The 1602 revised edition includes many corrections from William Thynne's son Francis, whose manuscript Animadversions was circulated in late 1599, in response to the 1598 edition. This is particularly notable in the "Glossary" which is almost doubled in size.

3. Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400.

The works of Geoffrey Chaucer : compared with the former editions, and many valuable MSS ... / by John Urry. (London : printed for Bernard Lintot, 1721)

The next important edition of Chaucer, the first to be printed in Roman, not Gothic type, was Urry's in 1721. In it appeared for the first time, The Tale of Gamelyn, The Pardoner and the Tapster, an account of what happened after the pilgrims had reached Canterbury, and The Second Merchant's Tale, or Tale of Beryn. Although interesting in themselves, none of these "Tales" are in fact by Chaucer.

Urry was a friend of the antiquarian, Thomas Hearne, and was one of a number of scholars in the early eighteenth century who undertook research into Anglo-Saxon, and early English.

This edition includes an extensive "Glossary explaining the obsolete and difficult words in Chaucer." Urry had died while the work was being prepared for the press and the "Life" and the "Glossary" were completed by other scholars.

4. Brathwait, Richard, 1588?-1673.

A comment upon the two tales of our ancient, renovvned, and ever living poet Sr. Jeffray Chaucer, Knight who, for his rich fancy, pregnant invention, and present composure, deserved the countenance of a prince, and his Laureat Honour : The Miller's tale and The wife of Bath. (London : Printed by W. Godbid, and are to be sold byRobert Crofts, 1665)

Richard Brathwait was a prolific poet and dramatist perhaps best-remembered for the comic verse travelogue, Drunken Barnaby's Four Journeys. He was one of the earliest to write critical commentary on the individual Canterbury Tales.

Characteristically Brathwait chose two of Chaucer's "broadest" tales upon which to comment.

5. Hoccleve, Thomas, 1370?-1450?

Poems / by Thomas Hoccleve, never before printed ; selected from a ms. in the possession of George Mason. With a preface, notes and glossary. (London : printed by C. Roworth for Leigh and Sotheby 1796)

Hoccleve was an important English poet in the period immediately after the death of Chaucer. The only poems of Hoccleve's printed before this publication were works, such as the "Letter of Cupid" which had been attributed to Chaucer. The manuscript from which these poems were published came from the library of Henry, Prince of Wales.

The introduction gathers much of the known biographical information of Hoccleve and deals with his versification. The book ends with an extensive glossary.

An important work printed here is "La Male Regle de T. Hoccleve" a long, autobiographical poem. It is a complaint by the author regretting twenty years of intemperance which has wrecked his health and his purse.

Reson me bad, and redde as for the beste
To ete and drynke in tyme attemprely;
But wilful yowthe nat obeie leste
Un to that reed, ne sette nat ther by:
I take have of hem bothe outrageously,
And out of tyme; nat two yeer or three,
But twenty wyntir past continuelly
Excess at borde hath leyd his knyf with me. (ll. 105-112, p. 34-35)

6. Sidney, Philip, 1554-1586.

Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia / moderniz'd by Mrs. Stanley. (London : [s.n.], 1725)

7. Spenser, Edmund, 1552?-1599

Spencer redivivus, containing the first book of the Fairy queen : his essential design preserv'd, but his obsolete language and manner of verse totally laid aside, deliver'd in heroick numbers / by a Person of Quality. (London : Printed for Thomas Chapman, 1687) Wing S4969.(Doubtfully attributed to the Honourable Edward Howard. - cf. Halkett & Laing.)

As can be seen by the inclusion of glossaries in the editions of Chaucer, readers of the 17^th and 18^th centuries did not necessarily feel comfortable with prose and verse from earlier periods. This led to a demand for "modernized" versions.

The "Person of Quality" who modernized the first book of the Fairy Queen wrote in his Preface,

There are few of our Nation that have heard the name of Spencer, but have granted him the repute of a famous Poet.

But I must take leave to affirm, that the esteem which is generally allow'd to his Poetical Abilities, has rather been from an implicite or receiv'd Concession, than a knowing Discernment paid to the Value of this Author: Whose Design in his Books of the Fairy Queen, howsoever admirable, is so far from being familiarly perceptible in the language he deliver'd it in, that his Stile seems no less unintelligible at this day, than the obsoletest of our English or Saxon Dialect.

Sir Philip Sidney's works, in particular the Arcadia, had gone through several editions in the seventeenth century, and another edition of the Works was being published in three volumes in 1724-25 when Mrs. Stanley's "moderniz'd" edition appeared. Sidney was seen as the Elizabethan poet of chivalry and courtly love.

8. Spenser, Edmund, 1552?-1599.

The works of Mr. Edmund Spenser in six volumes ; with a glossary explaining the old and obscure words / publish'd by Mr. Hughes. (London : Printed for Jacob Tonson at Shakespear's Head, over against Catherine-street in the Strand, 1715) 6 v.

9. Spenser, Edmund, 1552?-1599.

The Faerie queene / by Edmund Spenser ; with an exact collation of the two original editions published by himself at London in quarto, the former containing the first three books printed in 1590, and the latter the six books in 1596 ; to which are now added a new life of the author and also a glossary adorn'd with thiry-two copper-plates from the original drawings of the late W. Kent. (London : Printed for J. Brindley in New Bond-Street and S. Wright, Clerk of his Majesty's works, at Hampton-Court, 1751) 3 v.

10. Spenser, Edmund, 1552?-1599.

Spenser's Faerie queene. A new edition / with a glossary and notes explanatory and critical by John Upton. (London : Printed for J. and R. Tonson in the Strand, 1758) 2 v.

11. Jortin, John, 1698-1770.

Remarks on Spenser's poems. (London : Printed for John Whiston at Mr. Boyle's head, in Fleetstreet, 1734)

12. Croxall, Samuel, d. 1752.

An original canto of Spencer [sic] : design'd as part of his Fairy queen, but never printed / Now made publick by Nestor Ironside, Esq. 2nd ed. (London : printed for James Roberts, 1714.)

There had been two editions of Spenser in the seventeenth-century, in 1611 and 1679, but the 18th century saw a renewed interest in the poet. Notable editions were published by John Hughes and John Upton, and a sumptuous three volume quarto edition of The Faerie Queen was published in 1751, with illustrations. The supposed discovery of lost quartos of Spenser was even used as the vehicle of political satire; Samuel Croxall's work was an attack on the Earl of Oxford's government.

Volume One of the 1751 edition of The Faerie Queen, is open at the engraving of the Red Cross Knight slaying Error.

13.  Beard, Thomas, d. 1632.

The theatre of Gods iudge-ments : wherein is represented the admirable justice of God against all notorious sinners ... / collected out of sacred, ecclesiasticall, and profane histories ... by Tho. Beard. Rev. and augm., now thirdly printed and encreased (London : Printed by Adam Islip for Michael Sparke, 1631)

Thomas Beard's Theatre of God's Judgments, first published 1597, is famous for including a vivid account of the death of Christopher Marlowe. Marlowe died on 30^th May 1593 in a tavern brawl at Deptford. Beard was a Puritan divine and wrote his book with the purpose of setting out in detail the gruesome deaths awaiting atheists. Here is account of Marlowe's end:

14. Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.

The works of Shakespeare in seven volumes / collated with the oldest copies, and corrected with notes explanatory and critical by Mr. Theobald. (London : Printed for A. Bettesworth and C. Hitch, J. Tonson, F. Clay, W. Feales, and R. Wellington, 1733) 7 v.

15. Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.

The plays of William Shakespeare in ten volumes. With the corrections and illustrations of various commentators / to which are added notes by Samuel Johnson and George Steevens. 3rd ed., rev. and augm. / by the editor of Dodsley's collection of old plays [i.e., Isaac Reed] (London : Printed for C. Bathurst, J. Rivington and Sons [and 28 others], 1785) 10 v.

16. Malone, Edmond, 1741-1812.

An inquiry into the authenticity of certain miscellaneous papers and legal instruments, published Dec. 24, MDCCXCV and attributed to Shakspeare, Queen Elizabeth, and Henry, Earl of Southampton : ... in a letter addressed to the Right Hon. James, Earl of Charlemont / by Edmond Malone. (London : Printed by H. Baldwin, for T. Cadell, jun. and W. Davies ..., 1796)

17. Chalmers, George, 1742-1825.

An apology for the believers in the Shakspeare-papers, which were exhibited in Norfolk-street / [by George Chalmers] (London : printed for Thomas Egerton, 1797)

18. Chalmers, George, 1742-1825.

A supplemental apology for the believers in the Shakspeare-papers : being a reply to Mr. Malone's answer, which was early announced, but never published : with a dedication to George Steevens... and postscript to T.J. Mathias... / By George Chalmers... (London : printed for Thomas Egerton, 1799)

The earliest editions of Shakespeare we have are from the eighteenth-century, when editors such as Theobald made the first attempts to use the principles of textual editing to work on the Shakespeare canon.

We also have material relating to the various controversies surrounding Shakespeare, e.g., the Ireland forgeries, and, in the nineteenth-century, the Collier forgeries and the Shakespeare/Bacon authorship controversy.

From his own time onwards Shakespeare has always been accorded the paramount place among English dramatists. During the Restoration his plays were usually performed in adaptations prepared by the popular playwrights of the day such as Dryden. There was for example a version of Lear with a happy ending by Nahum Tate, which held the stage for a hundred years. They were successful with the public and sometimes they were also artistic successes. John Crowne's versions of Shakespeare's Henry VI plays were certainly cases of "Shakespeare improv'd", particularly Crowne's The Misery of Civil War (1680).

We have these two editions open at perhaps one of the most powerful passages in Shakespeare, Macbeth's "Tomorrow and tomorrow" speech,

To morrow, and to morrow and to morrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,

To the last syllable of recorded time;

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death. Out, out brief candle!

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor Player,

That struts and frets his hour upon the Stage,

And then is heard no more! It is a Tale,

Told by an ideot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing! (V, i)

19. Jonson, Ben, 1573?-1637.

The works of Ben. Jonson / collated with all the former editions and corrected with notes critical and explanatory by Peter Whalley. (London : Printed for D. Midwinter ; W. Innys and J. Richardson ; J. Knapton ; T. Wotton ; C. Hitch and L. Hawes ; J. Walthoe ; D. Browne ; J. and R. Tonson ; C. Bathurst ; J. Hodges ; J. Ward ; M. and T. Longman ;W. Johnston ; and P. Davey and B. Law, 1756) 7 v.

Ben Jonson's Works went through three editions in the seventeenth century, and three in the eighteenth century, 1715, 1756, and the Bell's edition of 1777.

Whalley, the editor of the 1756 edition, was a school-master and clergyman who produced various works of scholarship including An Enquiry into the Learning of Shakespeare (1748). He fell into financial difficulties and lived for some months concealed in a friend's house. He was discovered and fled to Flanders where he died shortly afterwards.

He was working on a second edition when he died. This edition is important for the annotations, the "Life" and the illustrations. Whalley tells us in his Preface that he has used the 1616 folio edition as the copy text, and the earliest editions of the works originally printed after Jonson's death.

20. May, Thomas, 1595-1650.

The heire : a comedie. As it was acted by the Company of the Revels. 1620. / Written by T.M. The second impression. (London : Printed by Augustine Mathewes, for Thomas Iones, and are to be sold at his shop in S. Dunstans Church-yard in Fleetstreet, 1633)

This is the earliest seventeenth century play quarto we hold. The Heire was produced in 1620 and published in 1622. Ours is the 2^nd edition, published in 1633. May was an unsuccessful playwright, but when Ben Jonson died he hoped to be appointed Poet Laureate. He was, however, passed over for Davenant. Contemporaries attributed May's adoption of the Parliamentary side during the Civil War to this disappointment.

He was most closely identified with the free-thinking, free-living elements of republicanism. "He became", says Anthony Wood, "a debauchee ... entertained ill principles as to religion, spoke often very slightly of the holy Trinity, and kept beastly and atheistical company."

He died in his sleep after drinking. His night cap was tied under his chin and according to Aubrey, May, "being fatt, suffocated." However, he lives on for us in Marvell's poem, "Tom May's death". It begins:-

As one put drunk into the packet boat

Tom May was hurried hence and did not know't".

21. Herbert of Cherbury, Edward Herbert, 1583-1648.

The life of Edward Lord Herbert of Cherbury / written by himself. [edited by Horace Walpole] (London : Printed for J. Dodsley, 1770)

Lord Herbert of Cherbury was a diplomat who served as Ambassador to France from 1619 to 1624. He was a friend of Ben Jonson, Donne, Selden and Carew. While in Paris he wrote and had published a philosophical treatise, De Veritate.

Herbert was strikingly handsome and spent much time involved in amours and in duelling. The portrait seen here, engraved for the frontispiece of his autobiography, shows him reclining after a duel.

He wrote metaphysical poems in the "rugged" style of Donne; Ben Jonson was impressed by their "obscureness". He was the elder brother of the poet George Herbert.

22. Herbert, George, 1593-1633.

The temple : Sacred poems and private ejaculations / by Mr. George Herbert, 9th ed. (London : Printed by J. M. for Philemon Stephens, 1667)

George Herbert was a clergyman who wrote metaphysical verse on religious subjects. He is perhaps best-remembered for his "shape-poems", such as "Easter wings".

23. Wither, George, 1588-1667.

Abuses stript and whipt, or, Satirical essayes / by George Wyther. (London : Printed by T.S. for Francis Burton, 1614)

Wither first made his reputation as a lyric poet and a writer of graceful occasional verse, but with the publication of his satires in 1613, seen here in the edition of 1614, he fell foul of the authorities and was imprisoned in Marshalsea. Although he was only in prison for a few months, he wrote some pastoral verse there which is considered to be among his best work.

Abuses stript and whipt has a dedication unusual in times when the dedication to a powerful patron was so important for the success of a book. It is mischievously headed, "To him-selfe, G. W. wisheth all happinesse."

He continued to write satirical and political verse and prose, and was imprisoned several times throughout his life.

He also lived through two serious outbreaks of the plague in London, and wrote about both.

24. Suckling, John, 1609-1642.

Fragmenta aurea : a collection of all the incomparable peeces written by Sir John Suckling, and published by a friend to perpetuate his memory, printed by his owne copies. (London : Printed for Humphrey Moseley ..., 1648)

Sir John Suckling was prominent at the court of Charles I. During the Civil War he led a contingent of Cavaliers, but was forced to flee to Paris in 1641. According to Aubrey, he committed suicide there in 1642 rather than face poverty.

His poems include "A Session of the Poets" which devotes stanzas to various of his contemporaries such as Ben Jonson and Will Davenant. The verses on Davenant refer to his nose being affected by Syphilis,

Will Davenant asham'd of a foolish mischance
That he had got lately travelling in France,
Modestly hoped the handsomnesse of's Muse
Might any deformity about him excuse.

And surely the Company would have been content,
If they could have found any Precedent;
But in all their Records either in Verse or Prose,
There was not one Laureat without a nose. (p. 8)

This posthumous collection also includes Suckling's plays: Aglaura, notable for having two Fifth Acts, one tragic, the other comic (the King had disliked the unhappy ending); The Goblins, which features a band of Robin Hood style outlaws who rob the rich while disguised as goblins; and Brennerolt, which satirises the Scots under the guise of "Lithuanians".

Suckling is also credited with the invention of the card-game, cribbage.

25. Burton, Robert, 1577-1640.

The anatomy of melancholy : what it is, with all the kinds, causes, symptomes, prognostickes, & seuerall cures of it, in three partitions, with their severall sections, members, & subsections, philosophically, medicinally, historically opened & cut up / by Democritus Junior ; with a satyricall preface conducing to the following discourse. The eighth edition / corrected and augmented by the author. (London : Printed for Peter Parker ..., 1676)

Robert Burton was an Oxford clergyman. He published the first edition of his major work, The Anatomy of Melancholy in 1621. Although Burton's primary intention was to analyse the nature and causes of melancholy, "an inbred malady in every one of us", the work is most notable for the author's digressions into a great variety of subjects, and for the vast wealth of miscellaneous information it contains.

The allegorical frontispiece first appeared in the 3^rd edition (1628). The panel showing "Democritus junior" is a portrait of the author.

The Preface, "Democritus Junior to the reader" includes an apologia for writing yet another book. Burton acknowledges that many other "excellent physicians have written just volumes and elaborate tracts of this subject", and warns the reader that there is "No news here; that which I have is stolen from others". He then proceeds to an elaborate discourse on the Biblical text, "there is no end of writing of books", ending with a series of observations,

As apothecaries we make new mixtures every day, pour out of one vessel into another; and as those old Romans robbed all the cities of the world, to set out their bad-sited Rome, we skim off the cream of other men's wits, pick the choice flowers of their tiled gardens to set out our own sterile plots. -They lard their lean books with the fat of others' works . . . . A fault that every writer finds, as I do now, and yet faulty themselves, . . . they pilfer out of old writers to stuff up their new comments, scrape Ennius dung-hills, and out of Democritus' pit, as I have done. By which it comes to pass, that not only libraries and shops are full of our putrid papers, but every close-stool and jakes, . . . ., they serve to put under pies, to lap spice in and keep roast-meat from burning. (p. 4)

26. A Deep sigh breath'd through the lodgings at White-hall deploring the absence of the covrt and the miseries of the pallace. (London : Printed for N. V. and J. B., 1642)

 

This pamphlet by an anonymous Royalist deplores the absence of the King and his courtiers and all the trappings of the court. It consists of a supposed walk through the deserted palace of Whitehall, inspecting the now disused rooms. We are taken to the place where the plays were performed,

In the Cockpit and Revelling Roomes, where at a Play or masque the darkest night was converted to the brightest Day that ever shin'd, by the luster of Torches, the sparkling of rich Jewells, and the variety of those incomparable and excellent Faces, from whence the other derived their brightnesse, where beauty sat, inthron'd in so full glory, that had not Phaeton fir'd the World, there had wanted a Comparative whereunto to paralell the refulgencie of their bright-shining splendor, Now you may goe in without a Ticket or the danger of a broken-pate, you may enter at the Kings side, walke round about the Theaters, view the Pullies, the engines, conveyuances, or contrivances of every several Scene, And not an Usher o'th Revells, or Engineere to envy or finde fault with your discovery, although they receives no gratuitie for the sight of them. (p. [4])

This description gives us an idea of the equipment used to stage plays at the time and we also gain an insight into the social scene we would have experienced attending one of the plays there.

27. Donne, John, 1572-1631.

Poems on several occasions / written by the reverend John Donne ... With elegies on the author's death. To this edition is added, some account of the life of the author. (London : Printed for J. Tonson, and sold by W. Taylor 1719)

During his lifetime most of Donne's publications were religious works and sermons. He was however, well-known in court and literary circles as a poet, his works being circulated in manuscript. A collection of his verse appeared posthumously in 1633.

He is generally considered the best of the "metaphysical" poets, able to combine wit and originality of image, with profundity. His early love poetry was mainly written in the 1590s when he was a courtier, before his marriage in 1601. His second great out-pouring of verse, his religious works, date from around 1615 and later.

According to Lowndes in his Bibliographer's manual, this edition of Donnes's poems is important for the inclusion of "To his mistress going to bed", which Lowndes points out was "omitted in most other editions"; it first appeared, printed after the "Elegies", in the 1669 edition. The poet describes his mistress undressing for bed,

        License my roaving hands, and let them go
Before, behind, between, above, below,
O my America! My Newfoundland!
My kingdom's safest when one man man'd.
My myne of precious stones: My Emperie,
How I am blest in thus discovering thee!
To enter in these bonds is to be free;
Then where my hand is set, my seal shall be. (p. 90)

28. Cowley, Abraham, 1618-1667.

The works : of Mr. Abraham Cowley: consisting of those which were formerly printed, and those which he design'd for the press. Now published out of the author's original copies. With the Cutter of Coleman-Street. To which are added, some verses by the author, never before printed. Ninth edition. (London : printed for Henry Herringman; and are to be sold by Jacob Tonson, and Thomas Bennet, 1700) 3 pts.in 1 v.

Abraham Cowley was a precocious poet, publishing his first volume of verse, Poetical Blossomes in 1633 when only fifteen. It went through three editions in the next five years. While at University he continued to publish poetry and also wrote plays. He fought on the Royalist side during the Civil War and followed the Queen to France in 1646. He served as a diplomatic agent for the exiled court. Another volume of his verse, The Mistress, appeared in 1647 and become the most popular book of love poems of the day. In 1656 he returned to England as a Royalist spy but was arrested. He was released on bail and published Poems, his most important collection of poetry, in 1656. He studied medicine, became a doctor and published a long Latin poem on "simples" derived from plants.

In 1660 he wrote a poem on the Restoration, and another attacking Cromwell. Cowley also wrote plays. One of them, The Guardian, written and first produced in 1641, and published in 1650, he now revised. It was successfully produced in 1661 as The Cutter of Coleman Street, and was published in its new form in 1663. This remains his best-known work.

It was in the "Life of Cowley" that Samuel Johnson first used the term "metaphysical" to refer to the style of poetry favoured by mid-seventeenth century poets. According to Johnson, "The metaphysical poets were men of learning and to shew their learning was their whole endeavour."

29. Marvell, Andrew, 1621-1678.

The rehearsal transpros'd, or, Animadversions upon a late book, intituled, A preface shewing what grounds there are of fears and jealousies of popery. (London : Printed by A. B. for the assigns of John Calvin and Theodore Beza, 1672)

30. Marvell, Andrew, 1621-1678.

The works of Andrew Marvell Esq. (London : Printed for E. Curll, 1726) 2 v. bound in 1

Andrew Marvell is now considered to be second only to Donne as a metaphysical poet, but very little of his poetry was published in his lifetime. Although he was favoured by Charles II, Marvell was an old Commonwealth man, having been Milton's Secretary. He was known to his contemporaries as the member of Parliament for Hull and as the author of controversial tracts. The Rehearsal Transpros'd is the most famous of these. It is a response to one of Bishop Parker's works.

Parker asserted the need for religious uniformity. His idea for,

the most effectual cure of all our present distempers would be an Act of Parliament to abridge Preachers the use of fulsome and lushious Metaphors - For were men obliged to speak Sense as well as Truth all the swelling Mysteries of Fanaticism would immediately sink into flat and empty Nonsense.

Both Parker and Marvell were masters of "fulsome and lushious Metaphors", and wanted only to "abridge" the use of such flourishes by their opponents. Marvell's primary target was Parker's "Preface" to a book by Bishop Bramhall. Marvell takes Parker to task for the heroic light in which he casts Bramhall,

By the language he [i.e. Bishop Parker] seems to transcribe out of the Grand Cyrus and Cassandra, but the exploits to have borrowed out of the Knight of the Sun, and King Arthur. For in a luscious and effeminate Stile he gives him such a Termagant Character, as must either fright or turn the stomach of any Reader. (p. 20)

Marvell's Miscellaneous Poems appeared in 1681. Many of Marvell's poems appeared in the various Poems on Affairs of State volumes in the 1680s. However many other poems, e.g. some of the "Advice to a painter" series, appeared as Marvell's but were by other, less well-known names. The question of attribution was from the beginning a vexed one. Curll's edition (item 29) has a Preface in which he tries to solve the attribution problems caused by earlier editions. He also includes a Life of the poet.

31. Philips, Katherine, 1631-1664.

Poems / by the incomparable Mrs. K.P. (London : Printed by J.G. for Rich. Marriott, at his shop under S. Dunstans Church in Fleet-street, 1664)

32. Philips, Katherine, 1631-1664.

Poems by the most deservedly admired Mrs. Katherine Philips, the matchless Orinda : to which is added Monsieur Corneille's Pompey & Horace, tragedies, with several other translations out of French. (London : Printed by J.M. for H. Herringman, at the sign of the Blew Anchor in the Lower Walk of the New Exchange, 1667)

Katherine Philips was the centre of a literary salon in London during the Commonwealth period. The members were distinguished by various fanciful names. The name she chose for herself was "Orinda". They circulated their verses among themselves. A collection of Orinda's poems in manuscript came into the possession of the publisher Richard Marriott, and he produced them as a book in 1664. Although under the copyright laws of the time, there was nothing illegal in this, Orinda was so annoyed that she demanded it be withdrawn from sale. She was able to bring influence to bear to have this done. Consequently the 1664 edition, here displayed, is the rarest of her books.

Shortly after Mrs. Philips died suddenly of small-pox. Her works were collected and published in 1667, under the supervision of Sir Charles Cotterel, in a handsome volume complete with an engraved portrait frontispiece. The Preface to this memorial edition includes a tortuous metaphysical comparison between the printer of the unauthorised edition and the smallpox that caused the poet's death.

But the small Pox, that malicious disease (as knowing how little she would have been concern'd for her handsomeness, when at the best) was not satisfied to be as injurious a Printer of her face, as the other had been of her Poems, but treated her with a more fatal cruelty than the stationer had them: for though he, to her most sensible affliction, surreptitiously possess'd himself of a false copy and sent those children into the World, so martyred, that they were more unlike themselves than she could have been made had she escaped; that murtherous Tyrant, with greater barbarity seiz'd, unexpectedly upon her, the true Original, and to the much juster affliction of all the world, violently tore her out of it, and hurried her untimely to her Grave, upon the 22 of June 1664, she being then but 31 years of age.

33. Butler, Samuel, 1612-1680.

Hudibras, in three parts : written in the time of the late wars : corrected and amended / With large annotations, and a preface, by Zachary Grey. 3rd ed. (London : printed for C. Bathurst, W. Strahan, B. White, T. Davies, W. Johnston, L. Hawes and co. T. Longman, T. Becket, E. Johnson, C. Corbett, T. Caslon, E. and C. Dilly, T. Lowndes, T. Cadell, W. Nichol,B. Tovey, S. Bladon, and R. Baldwin, 1772. 2 v.

Samuel Butler was the son of a farmer, who received some education and found work as an attendant to the Countess of Kent. There he met John Selden who took an interest in the young man's talents. He seems to have served as attendant or secretary to a succession of families, some of them Puritan, and to have written a long satirical poem about their hypocrisies. After the Restoration this was published, the first part appearing in 1663, the second in 1664, and the third in 1678. It suited the temper of the times and was one of the most popular poems of the age. It was a particular favourite of Charles II.

It remained in print, and in the eighteenth century its popularity was increased by the addition of a series of illustrations by Hogarth, seen in the edition on display.

34. Milton, John, 1608-1674.

Paradise lost : a poem in twelve books / the author : John Milton. 3rd ed. (London : Printed by S. Simmons, 1678)

Milton was undoubtedly the greatest English poet of the seventeenth century. His most famous work, Paradise Lost, first appeared in ten books in 1667. In 1674 a new edition appeared with the text in twelve books, books VII and X being divided, and new lines included to smooth the changes.

Milton's contemporary reputation rested mainly on his polemical works written in defence of the Commonwealth. Many, particularly after the Restoration despised him as a Puritan. William Winstanley's opinion in his Lives of the Most Famous English Poets (1687) may stand as typical,

John Milton was one, whose natural parts might deservedly give him a place amongst the principal of our English Poets, having written two Heroick Poems and a Tragedy; namely, Paradice Lost, Paradice Regain'd and Sampson Agonista; But his fame has gone out like a Candle in a Snuff, and his Memory will always stink, which might have ever lived in honourable Repute, had he not been a notorious Traytor, and most impiously and villanously bely'd that blessed King Charles the First. (p. 195)

Notwithstanding this point of view, Milton's works, especially Paradise Lost soon became highly regarded. From the third edition, 1678, onwards, editors began to annotate the work, and an illustrated edition appeared in 1688. Contemporaries such as Marvell and Dryden, and later writers such as Addison all drew attention to the qualities of Milton's works. This edition includes a commendatory poem by Marvell; this first appeared in the second edition of 1674.

Among the many effective passages in Milton's epic poem here is a description of the vision given to Adam of the fate of the Garden of Eden. After the Fall, and the banishment of Adam and Eve, Paradise will be swept away in the Deluge.

Then shall this Mount
Of Paradise by might of waves be mov'd
Out of his place, pusht by the horned floud,
With all his verdure spoild, and trees adrift
Down the greatest River to the opening Gulf,
And there take root, an Island salt and bare,
The haunt of Seales and Orcs, and Sea-mews clang. (Bk. XI, p. 308)
This image helps bring home the impact of the poem's title.

35. Hobbes, Thomas, 1588-1679.

Leviathan, or, The matter, form, and power of a common-wealth ecclesiastical and civil. / By Thomas Hobbes, (London : Printed for Andrew Crooke, 1651 [i.e. 1680?])

Thomas Hobbes was a philosopher, born in Malmesbury and educated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford. He was a friend of Bacon and travelled on the continent where he met Galileo and Descartes. A rationalist, Hobbes considered man and nature as objects of inquiry. To him the basis of all knowledge was sensation caused by motions of matter as perceived by man's senses. He believed society could be rationally analysed as a "mechanism".

His Leviathan was first published in 1651. The term is meant to signify the one man or "assembly of men" in whom the people have vested the sovereign power, called the "commonwealth". The allegorical frontispiece shows this; the person with the crown, the sword, and the sceptre is made up of many smaller people. The Royalists took this to be a justification of the power of Cromwell, and the work in general was felt to favour Republicanism.

Hobbes believed that man is essentially selfish but is capable of entering into a social contract to safeguard his existence.

In chapter 13 , part one, he wrote "Of the Naturall Condition of Mankind, as concerning their Felicity and Misery". He described human life outside the social contract,

Hereby it is manifest, that during the time men live without a common Power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called Warre; and such a warre as is of every man against every man. (p. 62)

It is this state of anarchy which Hobbes described in his most memorable quote,

no Arts; no Letters; no Society; and what is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; And the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. (p. 62)

He was popularly seen as an atheist and the Restoration courtiers adopted what they took to be Hobbesian ideas, on sin for example, where he says, "The desires, and the passions of men are in themselves no sin." (bk. 1, ch. 13)

When he died in 1679, one of the broadsides sold in the streets began, "Is atheist Hobbes then dead?" It summed-up his death with the line, "Here matter lies - and there's an end of Hobbes."

This edition although printed with the date of 1651 on the title-page seems, from the watermark in the paper, to have appeared in 1680. This would doubtless have been a politically inspired reprint meant to provide a philosophical justification for the forces gathering against the King during the Exclusion crisis.

36. Browne, Thomas, 1605-1682.

The works of the learned Sr Thomas Brown, Kt., Doctor of Physick, late of Norwich : containing I. Enquiries into vulgar and common errors, II. Religio medici : with annotations and observations upon it, III. Hydriotaphia; or, Urn-burial : together with The garden of Cyrus, IV. Certain miscellany tracts : with alphabetical tables. (London : Printed for Tho. Basset, Ric. Chiswell, Tho. Sawbridge, Charles Mearn, and Charles Brome, 1686)

Sir Thomas Browne was a Norwich doctor who published three books in his lifetime Religio Medici (1642), Pseudodoxia Epidemica, or, Enquiries into Very many received Tenets, and commonly presumed truths (1646), and Hydriotaphia, Urne-Buriall, or, A Discourse of the Sepulchrall Urnes lately found in Norfolk; and The Garden of Cyrus, or the Quincunciall Lozenge, or Net-Work Plantations of the Ancients (1658).

He was essentially an essayist, and is now read for his fine prose style and for the wealth of miscellaneous information found in his works. Although doctors were proverbially atheists, Religio Medici sets forth Browne's religious faith. In addition we are treated to chapters on a variety of loosely connected topics such as witchcraft, and the flames of Hell.

His belief in witches led to him testifying in a case in 1664 where his statements helped convict two women, Amy Dunn, and Rose Cullender, of witchcraft.

Browne differs from Burton in that the earlier writer tended to base all his statements on the authorities of the ancients. Browne does this also, but not to such a marked extent. When he proceeds down the track of his own reasoning the results can sometimes be unexpected. In this passage for example, he is putting forward the ideas of various authorities on the existence and generation of the soul, when he veers into remarks on bestiality and the intelligence of supposed offspring of such unnatural couplings,

. . . either opinion will consist well enough with religion: yet I should rather incline to this, did not one objection haunt me, not wrung from speculations and subtilities but from common sense and observation; not pickt from the Leaves of any Author, but bred amongst the Weeds and Tares of my own Brain; And this is a conclusion from the equivocal and monstrous productions in the copulation of a Man with a Beast: for if the Soul of man be not transmitted, and transfused in the seed of the parents, why are not those productions meerly Beasts, but have also an impression and tincture of reason in as high a measure, as it can evidence it self in those improper Organs? (Religio Medici, Pt. 1, Sect. 36, p. 20)

37. Bunyan, John, 1628-1688.

The pilgrim's progress from this world to that which is to come. The second part, delivered under the similitude of a dream : wherein is set forth the manner of the setting out of Christian's wife and children, their dangerous journey and safe arrival at the desired country / by John Bunyan. The eleventh edition, with the addition of five cuts. (London : Printed for M. Beddington ..., 1719)

Probably the single most popular book of the late-seventeenth century was The Pilgrim's Progress. It first appeared in 1678, and was followed by numerous editions, but all early editions are now extremely rare. Copies were read avidly and passed from hand to hand, often by people who were pious, but usually not owners of substantial libraries.

Bunyan was a tinsmith who learned to read and write at the village school. He served in the Parliamentary army during the civil war and became a Non-Conformist. He began to write religious works in the 1650s, but after the Restoration was imprisoned for twelve years for preaching without a licence. However while in jail he wrote the first of his well-known books, Grace abounding to the chief of sinners (1666) He was imprisoned again in the 1670s and wrote his most famous book, Pilgrim's Progress.

It is an allegorical work in which the hero, Christian, travels through the Slough of Despond, the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and Vanity Fair and arrives at the Celestial City. Part II, on display here, traces the journey of his wife Christiana and their children, who journey on a similar pilgrimage accompanied by Great Heart. They overcome the Giant Despair and eventually arrive at their heavenly destination.

38. D'Avenant, William, 1606-1668.

The works of Sir William D'Avenant : consisting of those which were formerly printed and those which he design'd for the press now published out of the authors originall copies. (London : Printed by T.N. for Henry Herringman, 1673)

Sir William Davenant was a playwright whose reputation was established in Charles I's time. He was apparently Shakespeare's godson, and there was a rumour that Shakespeare was in fact his father. He was made Poet Laureate in 1638, and was knighted for his services to the King during the Civil Wars.

In 1650 Davenant was captured by the Commonwealth forces and imprisoned in the Tower. He was released in 1654 at the request of Milton. Although the theatre was banned under Cromwell, Davenant was able to revive it to some degree and in 1656 produced the first English opera, a work he had himself composed, The Siege of Rhodes.

After the Restoration he and Killigrew were given the royal patents to establish acting companies. Davenant set up the Duke of York's Company and built a new theatre, in Lincoln's Inn Fields.

The portrait frontispiece shows Davenant's unfortunate affliction; his nose affected by syphilis. This was exploited by rival poets in their satires against him (see item 24).

39. Restoration Plays

In 1993 Monash Library purchased from the London antiquarian book dealer, Christopher Edwards, nine volumes of Restoration plays, consisting of sixty-eight plays in contemporary bindings, put together by a collector of the period, Henry Benson, of Dodworth, Northamptonshire. The dramatists represented include the major names such as Dryden and Lee, and also many of the less well-known figures such as the women writers, Aphra Behn, Susannah Centlivre, and Mary Pix.

We also have extensive holdings of individual plays as the study of this period has long been a Monash University specialization.

40. A Collection of poems on affairs of state : viz. Advice to a painter, Hodge's Vision, Britain and Raleigh, Statue at Stocks-M--, Young statesman, To the K--, Nostradamus Prophecy, Sir Edmondbury Godfrey's Ghost, On the King's voyage to Chattam, Poems on Oliver, by Mr. Driden, Mr. Sprat, and Mr. Waller / by A-- M--l Esq; and other eminent wits. Most whereof never before printed. (London : Printed in the Year, 1689)

 

The seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries saw the flowering of political verse satire. Many of these poems were circulated in manuscript, often anonymously, and much research has gone into the attribution of the poems to particular authors. For example, the A- - M-on the title page is meant to signify Andrew Marvell. The "Advice to a painter" poem is here attributed to him, but is thought to have been written by Henry Savile. Often enough such manuscript collections would come into the hands of a printer who would bring out an edition.

This collection is the first to use the phrase, later applied generically to them all, Poems on affairs of state.

41. Dryden, John, 1631-1700.

Absalom and Achitophel : a poem. (London : Printed for J.T. and are to be sold by W. Davis, 1681)

This was the most successful political poem of the restoration period. It was written at the height of the Exclusion Crisis, and was meant to influence the public on the side of the King, against Shaftesbury who was trying to have James, the Duke of York (later James II) excluded from the succession in favour of Monmouth, Charles's illegitimate son. All the major figures in the crisis feature under Old Testament names.

Appropriately, the copy on display is bound in a contemporary collection of political pamphlets, and has a manuscript key to the identity of the characters. We find for example that George Villiers, the second Duke of Buckingham, is Zimri. Buckingham is famous in literary circles as the author of The Rehearsal (1672), a play which was a satire on Dryden. He was also prominent in the politics of the period. Here is Dryden's description of him,

Some of their Chiefs were Princes of the Land:
In the first Rank of these did Zimri stand:
A man so various, that he seem'd to be
Not one, but all Mankind's Epitome.
Stiff in Opinions, always in the wrong;
Was everything by starts, and nothing long:
But, in the course of one revolving Moon,
Was Chymist, Fidler, States-Man, and Buffoon:
Then all for Women, Painting, Rhiming, Drinking;
Besides ten thousand freaks that dy'd in thinking.
Blest Madman, who coud every hour employ,
With something new to wish, or to enjoy!
Rayling and praising were his usual Theams;
And both (to shew his Judgment) in Extreams:
So over Violent, or over Civil,
That every man, with him, was God or Devil.
In squandring Wealth was his peculiar Art:
Nothing went unrewarded, but Desert.
Begger'd by Fools, whom still he found too late:
He had his Jest, and they had his Estate.(p. 17-18)

42. Rochester, John Wilmot, Earl of, 1647-1680.

Poems, (&c.) on several occasions : with Valentinian, a tragedy / written by the Right Honourable John late Earl of Rochester. (London : printed for Jacob Tonson ..., 1696)

43. Burnet, Gilbert, 1643-1715.

Some passages of the life and death of the Right Honourable John Earl of Rochester, who died the 26th of July, 1680 / written by his own direction on his death-bed by Gilbert Burnet. (London : printed for Richard Chiswel, 1680)

44. Parsons, Robert, 1647-1714.

A sermon preached at the funeral of the Right Honourable John Earl of Rochester : who died at Woodstock-Park, July 26, 1680, and was buried at Spilsbury in Oxfordshire, August 9 / by Thomas [i.e. Robert] Parsons. 13th ed. (London : Printed for Thomas Astley ..., 1728)

Rochester is the pattern of the Restoration poet, a libertine, a courtier, a dilettante, yet able to produce highly polished verse, often of an explicitly amorous nature.

He sometimes gives his poems a curious twist. In "A song of a young lady to her ancient lover", instead of the expected cynical and exploitative attitude we would find say in a Restoration comedy, this young lady's approach is rather tender. Here is the final stanza:

Thy Nobler Part, which but to name,
In our Sex wou'd be counted shame,
By Ages frozen grasp possest,
From their Ice shall be releast:
And, sooth'd by my reviving Hand,
In former Warmth and Vigour stand.
All a Lover's Wish can reach,
For thy Joy my Love shall teach:
And for thy Pleasure shall improve
All that art can add to Love.
Yet still I love thee without Art,
Ancient Person of my Heart. (p. 30)

He is also famous for his death-bed repentance made to Bishop Burnet. The funeral sermon was preached by his chaplain, Robert Parsons. The edition of the sermon on display has, on the title-page, a paragraph concerning his reputation,

All the leud and profane Poems and Libels of the late Lord Rochester having been (contrary to his dying Request, and in defiance of Religion, Government and common Decency) publish'd to the World, and (for the easier and surer propagation of Vice) in Penny-Books, and cry'd about the Streets of this City, without any Offence taken at them; 'tis humbly hop'd that this short Discourse, which gives a true Account of the Death and Repentance of that Noble Lord, may likewise (for the Sake of his Name) find a favourable Reception among some Persons.

45. D'Urfey, Thomas, 1653-1723.

The Wedding, or the farmer's holliday : a new song the words made to a pleasant tune / by Mr. D'urfey. ([London, c.1710])

46. [Price, Laurence]

A New game at cards. ([London, c.1710])

Broadside poems and songs were a feature of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

The two examples on display show songs with music. D'Urfey's is a pastoral piece, while the "New game at cards" is political. It celebrates the Restoration, "But now more happy times we have/ The King hath overcome the Knave."

47. The Athenian gazette, or, Casuistical mercury. (London : Printed for John Dunton, 1691-97)

 

The Athenian gazette was edited by John Dunton, a bookseller and publisher. It was a kind of Notes and Queries, consisting mainly of essays on various subjects supposedly written in response to queries sent in by readers. It included Swift's first publication, his "Ode to the Athenian Society", which appeared in "Preface to the fifth supplement", February 1691/2. It was this poem which is said to have prompted Dryden's remark to Swift that he would never be a poet.

Both The Athenian Gazette, and The Examiner below, are bound from the original part issues.

48. The Tatler / by Isaac Bickerstaff. (London : 1709-1711) London : Printed by Charles Lillie and John Morphew, 1711-1713. 4 v.

49. The Spectator. (London, England : 1711-1712; 1714) London : Printed for S. Buckley; and J. Tonson, 1712. 4 v.

 

The eighteenth century saw the rise of the periodical essayist. The Tatler appeared three times per week, and The Spectator appeared daily. The articles dealt with current topics such as the fashions and manners of society, usually in a more or less light-hearted manner. Addison and Steele were the writers behind these two papers, the most popular in the early part of the century. The Tatler and The Spectator are seen as key works in the development of English style.

50. The Examiner, or, Remarks upon papers and occurrences (London : Printed for J. Morphew, 1710-1716)

 

The Examiner was a more political paper, having been started by the Tory politician, Bolingbroke. It was conducted by Swift until June 1711. Its opponents in controversy were Steele's Guardian and a paper Addison started in direct opposition, The Whig Examiner.

51. Addison, Joseph, 1672-1719.

Cato : a tragedy : As it is acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane, by Her Majesty's servants / By Mr. Addison. (London : printed for J. Tonson ..., 1713)

52. Steele, Richard, 1672-1729.

The dramatic works of Sir Richard Steele, Knt. : ... To which is prefixed an account of his life and writings. (London : Printed for J. and R. Tonson, S. Crowder, T. Caslon, T. Lownds, H. Woodgate, and S. Brookes, 1761)

Addison and Steele were noted in their time for more than their skills as essayists and editors. Both were successful poets and playwrights.

Addison's Cato is set in Rome in 46 BC. It deals with the historic battle between the Republican, Marcus Porcius Cato and Caesar. It was interpreted by both the Whigs and the Tories as political and ran for twenty performances in London in  April and May 1713. It was then performed at Oxford. The play was revived over the next three seasons. Its performances provoked a pamphlet war, but the party lines were blurred; the Examiner, a Tory paper for example, praised it.

Although Addison had, according to Lady Montagu, added pro-Whig passages before the play's production, he went to some trouble to avoid factional conflict. He engaged Pope to write the prologue partly because he had friends on both the Tory and Whig sides, and then asked Pope to show the manuscript of the play "to Lord Bolingbroke and Lord Oxford [the Tory politicians in power] and to assure them that he never in the least designed it as a party play." (Spence, Anecdotes, Sect. 153, and see Swift's Journal to Stella, 21 March 1713, letter 62)

Steele wrote most of his plays early in his career. The most successful was The Funeral, or Grief-a-la-mode (1701). This involved the main character pretending to die, to expose the real feelings of his wife towards him. It was seen as a play about virtue, somewhat of a departure from the typical Restoration comedy.

His last play, another comedy, The Conscious Lovers (1722) is usually considered his best. The plot revolves around the undesirability of arranged marriages, and includes an attack on duelling.

53. Pope, Alexander, 1688-1744.

"The Rape of the Lock", in, Miscellaneous poems and translations / by several hands. (London : printed for Bernard Lintott..., 1712, [1714])

[Composite copy, containing parts of the 1st ed. (1712) and of the 2nd ed. (1714), with both t.p.'s among the preliminaries, together with 2 half-titles. Second ed. publisher statement: Printed for Bernard Lintott ... and William Lewis Contains Pope's "Rape of the lock", and other poems by Pope, Gay, Prior, Fenton, Dryden, Betterton, etc.; probably edited by Pope. Publisher's advertisements: 3rd unpaginated sequence. Pope's "Rape of the lock" has special title-page, dated 1712.]

Pope was the major poet of the early eighteenth century and "The Rape of the Lock" is his best-loved poem. Here it is seen in its original state, before the addition of the machinery of the sylphs and the Rosicrucian imagery. Addison had advised Pope against any alteration, "for the poem in its original state was a delicious little thing." (see Sherburn, The early career of Alexander Pope, (p. 122)

However, if Pope had heeded Addison's advice we would have not have such a "delicious" passage as this which appeared in the first separate edition of 1714,

After the villainous Baron has cut the lock of hair from Belinda's head, Belinda, beside herself with rage, takes to her bed and suffers nightmarish visions,

Unnumber'd Throngs on ev'ry side are seen,
Of Bodies chang'd to various Forms by Spleen,
Here living Tea-pots stand, one Arm held out,
One bent; the Handle this, and that the Spout:
A Pipkin there, like Homer's Tripod walks;
Here sighs a Jar, and there a Goose-pye talks;
Men prove with Child, as pow'rful Fancy works,
And maids turn'd Bottels, call aloud for Corks. (Canto IV)

54. Pope, Alexander, 1688-1744.

The Dunciad : With notes variorum, and the prologomena of Scriblerus. 2nd ed., with some additional notes. (London : printed for Lawton Gilliver, 1729)

Pope's Dunciad is an onslaught against all the writers who had attacked him during his career. It first appeared in 1728 and in 1729 the second, "variorum" edition appeared, with extensive footnotes by Pope himself. The Shakespearean editor, Theobald, was the main target because he had criticised Pope's edition of Shakespeare, but Pope's victims were drawn from all areas of contemporary literature. His aim was to attack dullness and the dunces who wrote dull works.

The Goddess Dullness is surveying her followers,
In each she marks her image full expresst,
But chief, in Tibbald's monster-breeding breast;
Sees Gods with Daemons in strange league ingage,
And earth, and heav'n, and hell her battles wage.
She ey'd the bard, where supperless he sate,
And pin'd, unconscious of his rising fate;
Studious he sate, with all his books around,
Sinking from thought to thought, a vast profound!
Plung'd for his sense, but found no bottom there;
He writ, and flounder'd on, in mere despair.
He roll'd his eyes that witness'd huge dismay,
Where yet unpawn'd, much learned lumber lay: (Bk. I, ll. 105-116, p. 65-70)

Pope continued to revise and expand the poem. In the final edition of 1743 Colley Cibber replaces Theobald as the primary villain.

55. Pope, Alexander, 1688-1744.

The first satire of the second book of Horace, imitated in a dialogue between Alexander Pope... on the one part, and his learned council on the other. 1st ed. (London : Printed by L.G., and sold by A. Dodd, E. Nutt, and by the booksellers of London and Westminster, 1733)

56. Montagu, Mary Wortley, 1689-1762.

Verses address'd to the imitator of the first satire of the second book of Horace / by a lady. (London : Printed for A. Dodd, [1733])

57. Pope, Alexander, 1688-1744.

An epistle from Mr. Pope, to Dr. Arbuthnot. (London : Printed by J. Wright for Lawton Gilliver 1734)

These poems form an acrimonious exchange between Pope and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Lady Mary was once one of Pope's closest friends. But in 1722 they became violent enemies. The cause has long been a matter of speculation. It is said that Pope declared his love for her and she could not suppress her laughter. Another story centres on Pope lending her some bed-sheets which were returned unwashed. In any event she became the target of many satirical thrusts in his poems of the 1720s and 1730s.

In Pope's adaptation of The first satire of the second book of Horace, he refers to her as "furious Sappho" and warns that her victims will either be "P-x'd by her Love, or libell'd by her Hate", (p. 13)

In her reply Lady Mary attacks Pope's physical deformity. He was four feet six inches tall, thin, and hunch-backed. She also compares him unfavorably to his model Horace.

Satire shou'd, like a polish'd razor keen,
Wound with a Touch, that's scarcely felt or seen.
Thine is an Oyster-Knife that hacks and hews;
The Rage, but not the Talent to Abuse;
And is in Hate, what Love is in the Stews. (p. 4)

In his reply, the famous Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, Pope assumes that Lady Montagu had assistance from Lord Hervey in writing her Verses. The Epistle is similar to the Dunciad and includes widespread attacks on such former friends as Addison, but Pope does not forget to attack Hervey. He is there in the character of "Paris", changed in later editions to "Sporus".

Let Paris tremble - "What? that Thing of silk,
"Paris, that mere white Curd of Ass's milk?
"Satire or Shame alas! Can Paris feel?
"Who breaks a Butterfly upon a Wheel?"
Yet let me flap this Bug with gilded wings,
This painted Child of Dirt that stinks and stings;
Whose Buzz the Witty and the fair annoys,
Yet Wit ne'er tastes, and Beauty ne'er enjoys,
So well-bred Spaniels civilly delight
In mumbling of the Game they dare not bite.
Eternal Smiles his Emptiness betray,
As shallow streams run dimpling all the way.
Whether in florid Impotence he speaks,
And, as the Prompter breathes, the Puppet squeaks;
Or at the Ear of Eve, familiar Toad,
Half froth, half Venom, spits himself abroad,
In Puns, or Politicks, or Tales, or Lyes,
Or Spite, or Smut, or Rymes, or Blasphemies.
Did ever Smock-face act so vile a Part?
A trifling Head, and a corrupted Heart!
Eve's Tempter thus the Rabbins have exprest,
A Cherub's face, a Reptile all the rest;
Beauty that shocks you, Parts that none will trust,
Wit that can creep, and Pride that licks the dust. (p. 15-16)

58. Montagu, Mary Wortley, Lady, 1689-1762.

Six town eclogues : with some other poems / by the Rt. Hon. L. M. W. M. (London : Printed for M. Cooper in Pater-noster-Row, 1747)

Many of these poems were published by Curll in an unauthorised edition in 1716, under the title, Court Poems. It was this publication which led Pope to administer an emetic to the offending publisher. At that time, Pope and Lady Montagu were still close friends.

The edition on display is the authorised one. The poems are typical of their period, and show us a poet able to mix caution with frankness. Here is a part of "The Lover: a ballad. To Mr. C-------."

At length by so much importunity press'd,
Take, C----, at once, the Inside of my breast;
This stupid indiff'rence so often you blame,
Is not owing to nature, to fear, or to shame.
I am not as cold as a virgin in lead,
Nor is Sunday's sermon so strong in my head.
I know but too well how Time flies along,
That we live but few years, and yet fewer are young. (p. 44)

The poet then explains the need for discretion in public, leading to the scene where the poet and her lover can finally be alone,

But when the long hours of public are past,
And we meet with Champagne and a Chicken at last,
May ev'ry fond pleasure that moment endear;
Be banish'd afar both discretion and fear!
Forgetting or scorning the airs of the crowd,
He may cease to be formal, and I to be proud,
Till lost in the joy, we confess that we live,
And he may be rude, and yet I may forgive. (p. 46)

Lady Montagu was the wife of the ambassador to Constantinople, and is best known for her letters from abroad. These contain her account of life in Turkey and later, in the Balkans and Italy.

59. Manley, Mary de la Rivière, 1663-1724.

The power of love: in seven novels. Viz. I. The fair hypocrite. II. The physician's stratagem. III. The wife's resentment. IV, V. The husband's resentment, in two examples. VI. The happy fugitives. VII. The perjur'd beauty, / By Mrs. Manley. (London, Printed for C. Davis, 1741)

Mrs. Manley was one of the first women to earn her living by her pen. She wrote political pamphlets, sometimes with the assistance of Swift, and satirical novels, which featured real people under false names. The New Atalantis (1709) is the most famous of these. She succeeded Swift as editor of The Examiner. The collection of novellas on display first appeared in 1720.

60. Defoe, Daniel, 1661?-1731.

The life and strange surprizing adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, mariner : who lived eight and twenty years all alone in an un-inhabited island on the coast of America ... With an account how he was at last as strangely deliver'd by pyrates / written by himself. The third edition. (London : Printed for W. Taylor ..., 1719)

Defoe, Daniel, 1661?-1731.

The farther adventures of Robinson Crusoe : being the second and last part of his life, and of the strange surprizing accounts of his travels round three parts of the globe / Written by himself : To which is added a map of the world, in which is delineated the voyages of Robinson Crusoe. (London : printed for W. Taylor, 1719)

Defoe, Daniel, 1661?-1731.

Serious reflections during the life and surprising adventures of Robinson Crusoe, with his vision of the angelick world. / Written by himself. (London : Printed for W. Taylor ..., 1720)

Daniel Defoe was the man of letters par excellence. He wrote vast numbers of political pamphlets, as well as writing novels and poems. His most famous work was Robinson Crusoe. Here we see this immensely popular work with its two seldom-read sequels. In Part II, Crusoe and Friday return to the island, and Part III, is really a series of essays in which Crusoe gives his ideas on such matters as the reality of the spirit world, ending with a vision of Heaven.

Defoe wrote "memoirs" for a variety of people, and this work of fiction is written as if it is a genuine memoir. The idea is based on the adventures of Alexander Selkirk who was marooned on the island of Juan Fernandez from 1702 to 1709.

61. Swift, Jonathan, 1667-1745.

Travels into several remote nations of the world. In four parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, first a surgeon, and then a captain of several ships. (London, B. Motte, 1726) 2 v. First ed. Teerink 289. The "A edition (1st 8vo ed.), publ. 28 Oct. 1726."--Teerink, 2nd ed., p. 192.

Travels into several remote nations of the world: Vol. III. (London : [s.n.], 1727)

Written anonymously. "Claiming to be a genuine continuation of the original ... The major part of the book is a freely plagiarized abridgment of an English version of The history of the Sevarites or Sevarambi ... by one Captain Siden by Denis Vairasse" --Jeanne K. Welcher Gulliveriana VIII : an annotated list of Gulliveriana, 1721-1800, p. 88.

Swift was like Defoe inasmuch as he wrote a great deal of political prose, and was famous as a pampheteer long before he wrote his most famous work. Swift's novel, Gullivers travels, like Robinson Crusoe, assumes a degree of verisimiltude. It pretends to be a travel account by a ship's surgeon returned from voyages in remote areas of the globe. His account of Lilliput, the land of the little people, and Brobdingnag the land of the giants, was not inherently impossible to the people of the time. The publisher added a portrait of Gulliver and maps showing the locations of these lands in the blank spaces left on the world's surface in Moll's World Map of 1716.

Gulliver's travels was a commercial success, going into three editions in three months before the end of 1726. Unlike Defoe however, Swift refused to write a sequel. Nothing daunted, one of the booksellers paid for a spurious volume three to be produced, anonymously. This is mainly a translation, from the French, of an imaginary voyage, the History of the Severambians.

62. Haywood, Eliza, 1693?-1756.

The female spectator. (London : Printed and published by T. Gardner ..., 1745 [i.e. 1747]) 4 v.

Eliza Haywood, like Mrs. Manley lived by her pen. She too wrote novels of social satire which ridiculed her contemporaries under assumed names. This caused Pope to attack her in The Dunciad, but she is perhaps best-remembered as the editor of The female spectator. This is generally acknowledged to have been the first woman's periodical produced by a woman. It appeared in twenty-four monthly parts from 1744 to 1746, and was then collected in four volumes, appearing in seven editions by 1771.

As well as essays on the cost of cosmetics, the fashion for masquerades, tennis and cricket, topics covered included the impossibility of man ever inventing a flying machine.

All that can justly be objected against any arguments made use of to prove the reasonableness of a belief in a plurality of worlds is, that to us, that live in this, it is no manner of concern, since there is not a possibility of travelling to them, or of ever becoming acquainted with the inhabitants.

I have indeed, heard some people foolish enough to maintain, that there would come a time in which the ingenuity of man will invent machines to carry him through the air, with the same ease as we now cross the seas; which, they cry, seemed doubtless as impracticable at first as this does at present.

But those, who talk in this manner, affect to forget who was the first navigator; that God himself directed Noah how to build the ark which was to save the remnant of creation, and also how to steer it, so as not to be swallowed up by those waters, which laid waste everything beside. It cannot, nor ought not, to be denied that the same almighty power could, if he pleased, instruct us in the art of flying through the air by some vehicle proper for our conveyance. But then we are to consider that he never works by supernatural means, but when some extraordinary exigence requires it, and without some cause, therefore, at least adequate to that of the deluge, we are not to expect such miracles. (vol. IV, p. 52-53)

In 1746 Mrs. Haywood brought out another magazine, The Parrot, a weekly which lasted for only nine issues (2 Aug. to 4 Oct.).

63. Gay, John, 1685-1732.

Trivia, or, The art of walking the streets of London / by Mr. Gay. The second edition. (London : Printed for Bernard Lintot ... , [c1716])

64. Gay, John, 1685-1732.

The Beggar's opera / written by Mr. Gay ; to which is prefixed the overture in score : the musick to each song. (London : Printed for W. Strahan [and 6 others], 1771)

Gay was a friend of Pope and Swift. His Trivia is a poem describing the sights of London as seen by a poet out walking. It is a work in the anti-heroic mould dwelling much on the seediness of the capital and describing the smells in lurid detail. Here is his description of the area around Fleet-ditch,

                                Here Steams ascend
That, in mix'd Fumes, the wrinkled Nose offend.
Where Chandlers Cauldrons boil; where fishy Prey
Hide the wet Stall, long absent from the Sea;
And where the Cleaver chops the Heifer's Spoil,
And where huge Hogsheads sweat with trainy Oil,
Thy breathing Nostril hold. (Bk. II, p. 29)

His greatest success was The Beggar's Opera. The characters are criminals and semi-criminals. Peachum, is an informer and a receiver of stolen goods, MacHeath is a highwayman, with whom Polly, Peachum's daughter falls in love. Many of the songs from the opera became popular. They are printed with the text in the first edition and in the edition on display. In the twentieth-century, Bertholt Brecht and Kurt Weill's Threepenny opera was based on Gay's play.

Monash holds first editions of both of these works, but we have chosen to display these particular editions because they include illustrations. The title-page vignette in the 2^nd edition of Trivia is particularly charming showing a contemporary scene of London.

65. Prior, Matthew, 1664-1721.

Poems on several occasions. (London : printed for Jacob Tonson, and John Barber, 1718)

Matthew Prior was a diplomat in Holland and France, involved in the negotiations for the Treaty of Ryswick (1697) and the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). However, after the death of Queen Anne, he was recalled and impeached by the new Whig government. He was imprisoned until 1717.On his release his friends arranged publication of a folio edition of his works to provide him with some capital.

Prior was an eighteenth-century poet with a feel for the light, lyrical verse of the seventeenth-century, but he also wrote long, philosophical poems on man's place in the universe. Here is one of his short lyrical pieces. It is in the anti-romantic vein of Swift's realistic poems on women. It describes a woman whose false eyebrows, made of mouse-skin, have been stolen by her pet cat.

Helen was just slipped into bed:
Her eyebrows on the toilet lay:
Away the kitten with them fled,
As fees belonging to her prey.

For this misfortune careless Jane,
Assure your self, was loudly rated:
And madam getting up again,
With her own hand the mouse-trap baited.

On little things, as sages write,
Depends our human joy, or sorrow:
If we don't catch a mouse tonight,
Alas! No eyebrows for tomorrow.

66. Thomson, James, 1700-1748.

The seasons / By Mr. Thomson. (London : [s.n.], 1730)

James Thomson came to London from Scotland in 1725. He found work as a tutor, and from 1726 to 1730 published the separate poems which make up The Seasons, "Autumn" appearing first in this subscribers' collected edition. He continued to write verse, but also began to write plays. His best-known work, the song, "Rule Britannia" first appeared in The Masque of Alfred (1740).

67. Akenside, Mark, 1721-1770.

The poems of Mark Akenside, M.D. (London : Printed by W. Bowyer and J. Nichols: and sold by J. Dodsley ... , 1772)

Mark Akenside established a reputation for himself as a poet while still a teenager, having had several of his poems accepted by the Gentleman's Magazine. He began to write "The Pleasures of the Imagination", the poem for which he is best-remembered, while only seventeen. He trained as a surgeon and in 1743 came to London from Newcastle. He offered the manuscript of "The Pleasures of the Imagination" to Dodsley for £120. Dodsley showed the poem to Pope who was impressed and recommended publication. It appeared in January 1744.

The poem was a success, although it appeared anonymously and an imposter claimed public credit. The second edition appeared later in the same year under Akenside's name. He then went to the Continent to study medicine and returned to England to work as a physician. He became very successful in the field of medicine but continued to publish poetry. This was the first collected edition of his works.

68. Richardson, Samuel, 1689-1761.

One hundred and seventy-three letters written for particular friends : on the most important occasions / by the late Mr. Richardson, directing not only the requisite stile and forms to be observed in writing familiar letters, but how to think and act justly and prudently in the common concerns of human life. 7th ed. (London : printed for C. Hitch and L. Hawes, H. Woodfall, J. Buckland, J. Rivington, S. Crowder and Co., T. Longman, T. Pote and W. Richardson, [1764?])

Samuel Richardson was by trade a printer. In 1739 two of his bookseller colleagues, Rivington and Osborne, recommended that he prepare for publication "a volume of familiar letters as patterns for illiterate country writers" (DNB) This was published in 1741 as Letters written to and for particular friends. It led Richardson to write his first novel, Pamela, in epistolary style. Two volumes appeared in 1741 and a further two volumes in 1742.

The volume of model letters was often reprinted. On display is the 7^th edition which appeared soon after the author's death.

It includes letters on a variety of subjects, e.g., "To a young Man too soon keeping a Horse", "From a Son reduced by his own Extravagance, requesting his Father's Advice, on his Intention to turn Player" [i.e. to become an Actor], "The Father's Answer, setting forth the Inconveniencies and Disgrace attending the Profession of a Player."

69. Richardson, Samuel, 1689-1761.

The history of Sir Charles Grandison : in a series of letters published from the originals / by the editor of Pamela and Clarissa ; in seven volumes. (London : printed for S. Richardson; and sold by C. Hitch and L. Hawes ..., by J. and J. Rivington ..., by Andrew Millar ..., by R. and J. Dodsley ..., and by J. Leake at Bath, 1754) 7 v.

Richardson's novels were extremely popular. Pamela was followed in 1747-8 by Clarissa Harlowe, and in 1753-54 by The history of Sir Charles Grandison. Like all his novels, Sir Charles Grandison was written as a series of letters. It is the story of Harriet Byron, a young girl who refuses the suit of a rich admirer who then has her kidnapped from a masquerade. She is rescued by Sir Charles Grandison with whom she falls in love. However, Sir Charles has an attachment to a noble, Italian, Catholic woman. After a visit to Italy where the Catholic lady is suffering from a brain fever, Sir Charles finally secures his release and marries Harriet.

70. Fielding, Henry, 1707-1754.

Amelia / by Henry Fielding (London : Printed for A.Millar, 1752) 4 v.

Henry Fielding first made his name as a dramatist, but in 1737 one of his plays incurred the wrath of the government. This led to Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister, introducing a bill making a license from the Lord Chamberlain necessary for all dramatic performances. As a result of this Fielding abandoned the stage.

In 1741, after observing Richardson's success with Pamela, he wrote Shamela partly as a parody and partly in reply. In 1742 he brought out Joseph Andrews. This was popular and in 1749 his magnum opus, Tom Jones, appeared. Amelia, his last novel appeared in 1752.

Though usually considered the least successful of Fielding's novels, it is interesting for the detailed descriptions of life in debtor's prison. The plot centres on the misadventures of a young couple who marry for love and as a consequence suffer dreadful poverty before the discovery of a forged will brings about a happy ending.

71. Smollett, Tobias, 1721-1771.

The adventures of Roderick Random. 2nd ed. (London : Printed for J. Osborn, 1748) 2 v.

Smollett was a Scotsman who became a ship's surgeon and sailed to the West Indies. In 1744 he returned to London and set up practice there. He began to write satirical verse and to frequent the taverns where he mixed with a circle of fellow Scots. Once Richardson and Fielding began to make names for themselves, more writers turned to the novel. Smollett favoured the picaresque style of the French novelist, Le Sage, and in 1748 published his first novel, Roderick Random.

The novel is notable partly for the detailed descriptions of the brutality of life on board ship.

72. Sterne, Laurence, 1713-1768.

The life and opinions of Tristram Shandy, gentleman... 2nd ed. London :

Printed for R. and J. Dodsley, 1760-67. 9 v.
Mixed set: vol.1 is 2nd ed., vol.2 is 5th ed., vols 3-9 are 1st ed. Vols 5-9 have imprint: "Printed for T. Becket and P.A. Dehondt". Vols 5,7,9 have signature of the author.

Tristram Shandy is undoubtedly the most modern novel of the eighteenth century. It includes symbolic features such as a page entirely black, another entirely blank and another which is marbled. Volumes 1 and 2 appeared in 1760, published in York by the author using borrowed money. They created a great deal of interest locally and in London. Garrick and Horace Walpole were among the earliest admirers, and Sterne and his novel became the sensation of the day. Dodsley then reprinted the first and second volumes and published the remainder over the next seven years. Certain volumes usually contain the signature of the author. This was done to assure readers of the genuineness of the volumes being purchased. Because of the novel's continuing popularity, piracies and spurious continuations were peddled to take advantage of public demand during the time between publication of the individual volumes.

The observation is often made that, although the title of the book is The life and opinions of Tristram Shandy, the hero is not born until Book IV. However he is conceived in Chapter one of Book I. Among the many amusing and realistic scenes in the novel, here is Sterne's account of the moment of conception of Tristram Shandy at the end of chapter one. The hero's mother and father have been making love, and at the crucial moment a distracting exchange takes place,

Pray, my dear, quoth my mother, have you not forgot to wind up the clock?
Good G--! Cried my father, making an exclamation, but taking care to moderate his voice at the same time, --- Did ever woman, since the creation of the world, interrupt a man with such a silly question? (vol. I, p. 3-4)

One of the points Sterne is making is that this "unseasonable question" had a very deleterious effect on the character of Tristram Shandy,

because it scattered and dispersed the animal spirits, whose business it was to have escorted and gone hand-in-hand with the HOMUNCULUS, and conducted him safe to the place destined for his reception. (p. 4)

73. Hall-Stevenson, John, 1718-1785.

Crazy tales. (London : Printed in the year, 1762)

John Hall-Stevenson was a friend of Sterne from their days together at Cambridge. Stevenson lived in Skelton Castle in Cleveland, Yorkshire and there entertained a circle of friends who would gather several times a year to carouse and to write obscene doggerel. The castle, familiarly-named, "Crazy Castle", can be seen in the frontispiece to the item on display.

In 1760 he published two lyric epistles congratulating Sterne on the reception of Tristram Shandy in London. Crazy Tales was his most popular work. It consists of a series of tales in verse, on the Chaucerian model, supposedly told by each of his friends during one of the gatherings he hosted at the Castle. The tale told by the character representing Sterne is, "My cousin's tale of a cock and a bull."

Hall-Stevenson appears in Tristram Shandy and Sentimental Journey as Eugenius. In 1769, after Sterne's death he published a continuation of A Sentimental Journey, with a biographical preface on his friend.

74. Johnson, Samuel, 1709-1784.

The Prince of Abissinia : a tale. [Rasselas] In two volumes. The third edition. (London : printed for R. and J. Dodsley ..., and W. Johnston ..., 1760) 2 v.

75. Hawkins, John, 1719-1789.

The life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. / by Sir John Hawkins, Knt. (London : Printed for J. Buckland, J. Rivington and Sons, T. Payne and Sons, L. Davis, B. White and Son [and 35 others in London], 1787)

76. Boswell, James, 1740-1795.

The life of Samuel Johnson, L.L.D. : comprehending an account of his studies and numerous works in chronological order, a series of his epistolary correspondence and conversations with many eminent persons, and various original pieces of his composition, never before published ... In two volumes / by James Boswell, Esq. (London : printed by Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, 1791) 2 v.

Samuel Johnson is the best-known eighteenth century author, largely as a result of James Boswell's Life of Johnson (1794). This book is fairly regarded as the first modern biography. Its chief innovation is that Boswell provides a detailed portrait of Johnson, replete with anecdotes and conversations, based on the virtually contemporaneous record of Boswell's journals. For generations, quoting Dr. Johnson has actually meant quoting Boswell, and it is on the basis of this kind of semi-popular reputation that there are societies dedicated to Johnson all over the world. The Monash copy of the Life is the first edition.

It often forgotten that there were two other book-length biographies of Johnson before Boswell's appeared. That of Johnson's lifelong friend, Sir John Hawkins, is a major work, by a man who knew Johnson far longer than Boswell did, but whose work Boswell's soon eclipsed. Hawkins' book has not been reprinted in its entirety since the eighteenth century.

However, Johnson's own work, which established his magisterial reputation in his own time, has long been a major area of academic inquiry, particularly in the United States. His short novel or 'oriental tale', Rasselas (1759), is probably the best of these for the modern general reader. As J.D. Fleeman's recent bibliography shows, the book has been printed in well over 700 editions since its first publication.

77. Knight, Ellis Cornelia, 1757-1837.

Dinarbas : a tale, being a continuation of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia. (London : Printed for C. Dilly ..., 1790)

So popular was Rasselas that a continuation was called for. This was provided by Ellis Cornelia Knight, a young author who knew Johnson and his circle through Sir Joshua Reynolds. Miss Knight translated Johnson's "Ode on Skye" from Latin into English, later printed in an edition of Boswell's Tour of the Hebrides.

78. Gray, Thomas, 1716-1771.

Designs by Mr. R. Bentley, for six poems / by Mr. T. Gray. (London: Printed for R. Dodsley ..., 1753)

Gray is best-known as the author of the "Elegy in a Country Churchyard" (1750). Although that is one of the poems published by Dodsley in this folio edition illustrated with Richard Bentley's engravings, the poem on display is "Ode on the death of a favourite cat, drowned in a tub of gold fishes" (1747). This is Gray's most amusing work. It tells of the death of Horace Walpole's cat Selima.

Twas on a lofty vase's side,
Where China's gayest art had dy'd
              The Azure flowers, that blow;
Demurest of the tabby kind,
The pensive Selima reclin'd,
              Gazed on the lake below.

Her conscious tail her joy declar'd;
The fair round face, the snowy beard,
              The velvet of her paws,
Her coat, that with the tortoise vies,
Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes,
              She saw; and purr'd applause.

Still had she gaz'd: but midst the tide
Two angel forms were seen to glide,
              The genii of the stream:
Their scaly armour's Tyrian hue

Thro' richest purple to the view
              Betray'd a golden gleam.

The hapless Nymph with wonder saw:
A whisker first and then a claw,
              With many an ardent wish,
She stretch'd in vain to reach the prize.
What female heart can gold despise?
              What cat's averse to fish?

Presumptuous Maid! With looks intent
Again she stretch'd, again she bent,
              Nor knew the gulf between.
(malignant Fate sat by, and smil'd)
The slipp'ry verge her feet beguil'd,
              She tumbled headlong in.

Eight times emerging from the flood
She mew'd to ev'ry watry God,
              Some speedy aid to send.
No Dolphin came, no Nereid stirr'd:
Nor cruel Tom, nor Susan heard.
              A Fav'rite has no friend!

From hence, ye Beauties, undeceiv'd,
Know, one false step is ne'er retriev'd,
              And be with caution bold.
Not all that tempts your wand'ring eyes
And heedless hearts, is lawful prize;
              Nor all, that glisters, gold. (p. 5-7)

79. Eighteenth-century plays

As well as numerous individual titles in our collection, we also have a series of seventeen uniformly-bound volumes of plays from the library of Sir James Colquhoun of Luss, containing eighty-five plays. These include works by such dramatists as Samuel Foote, Arthiur Murphy, David Garrick, George Colman, Isaac Bickerstaffe, Lady Wallace, Sophia Lee, and many others.

80. Coventry, Francis, d. 1759.

The history of Pompey the Little, or, The life and adventures of a lap-dog. 2nd ed. (London : Printed for M. Cooper, 1751)

The central character in this novel, Pompey, is a lap-dog. Francis Coventry uses this as a means of satirising the follies and fashions of the day. It first appeared in 1751 and achieved instant popularity, Lady Montagu preferring it to Smollett's Peregrine Pickle. Part of its notoriety rests on the fact that many of the society women of the day appear as characters under fanciful names.

81. Shenstone, William, 1714-1763.

The works in verse and prose of William Shenstone, Esq. : most of which were never before printed (London : Printed for R. and J. Dodsley ..., 1764) 2 v.

William Shenstone lived for much of his life on his country estate, Leasowes. His greatest interest was in beautifying the grounds. He holds an important place in the history of English landscape gardening. The beauty of the gardens at Leasowes was remarked upon by Johnson, Horace Walpole and Gray. Volume Two of his Works includes a description of Leasowes in prose and verse, and a map of the grounds.

Among his poems perhaps the most interesting is the satire, "The Progress of taste, or the fate of delicacy". Shenstone described this as "a poem on the temper and studies of the author; and how great a misfortune it is, for a man of small estate to have much taste." His collection of prose, "Essays on men, manners, and things", which forms vol. 2 of his Works, includes his observations on such topics as "Publications" and "The test of popular opinion" as well as essays on politics, gardening, dress and ghosts.

In 1769 a third volume of Shenstone's Works appeared consisting of his letters.

82. Macpherson, James, 1736-1796.

Fingal, an ancient epic poem, in six books : together with several other poems composed by Ossian the son of Fingal / translated from the Galic language by James Macpherson (London : Printed for T. Becket and P.A. De Hondt ..., 1762)

Macpherson, James, 1736-1796.

Temora, an ancient epic poem, in eight books : together with several other poems composed by Ossian, the Son of Fingal / translated from the Galic language, by James Macpherson ... (London : Printed for T. Becket and P.A. De Hondt ..., 1763)

James Macpherson was a Scotsman who made a study of Gaelic poetry. In 1760 he published Fragments of ancient poetry collected in the Highlands of Scotland, and translated from the Gaelic or Erse language. This book included an introduction by Hugh Blair, in which he praises them as genuine examples of early Scottish verse, and a preface by Macpherson which refers to the existence of a longer poem which he will try to collect entire.

In 1762 Fingal appeared, to be followed in 1763 by Temora. Both of these epics, and the accompanying poems were supposed to have been the work of an ancient Gaelic poet, Ossian. Macpherson claimed to have translated them. They were enormously popular, both in Britain and abroad. Goethe felt they were Homeric in their power.

Certainly they are impressive in their epic sweep and imagery, but there were those from the beginning who doubted they were authentic. Samuel Johnson was one of the most outspoken of these. He called upon Macpherson to produce the originals, which he was unable to do. Instead, Macpherson threatened Johnson with violence if he did not apologise in print. Johnson replied with a scornful letter, and provided. himself with an oaken stick "of a tremendous size."

After his death, the Highland Society of Scotland appointed a committee to investigate the authenticity of the Ossian poems. They concluded that Macpherson had used as models various poems still extant in Highlands oral tradition but had written much of the poetry himself in the style of the earlier works.

Their importance lies partly in their influence on the later Romantic poets who valued them for their powerful imagery, especially in the descriptions of rugged scenery.

83. [Bound volume of eighteenth-century erotica with spine title: Merryland Miscellany]

Stretzer, Thomas, d. 1738.

A new description of Merryland : containing a topographical, geographical, and natural history of that country. The seventh edition. (Bath [actually London] : printed and sold by J. Leake there and by E. Curll ..., 1741)

Stretzer, Thomas, d. 1738.

Merryland displayed, or, plagiarism, ignorance and impudence detected : being observations upon a pamphlet intituled A new description of Merryland. The second edition. (Bath [i.e. London] : Printed for the author and sold by J. Leake and the booksellers of London and Westminster, 1741)

Cotton, Charles, 1630-1687.

The potent ally, or succours from Merryland : with three essays in praise of the cloathing of that country ; and the story of Pandora's box. To which is added Erotopolis : the present state of Bettyland ... The second edition. (Paris [i.e. London] : Printed by direction of the author and sold by the booksellers of London and Westminster, 1741)

84. The Gentleman's bottle companion : containing a collection of curious, uncommon, and humorous songs, most of which are originals. (London : [s. n.], 1768)

85. Wynne, John Huddlestone, 1743-1788.

The prostitute : a poem / the author, J.H. Wynne. (London : printed for J. Wheble, 1771)

86. Perry, James, 1756-1821.

The electrical eel, or, Gymnotus electricus / inscribed to the honourable members of the R***l S*****y, by Adam Strong. (London : Printed for J. Bew, 1777)

87. Perry, James, 1756-1821.

An epistle from Mademoiselle D'Eon to the Right Honorable L--d M------d, C--f J-----e of the C---t of K--g's B---h : on his determination in regard to her sex. (London : printed for M. Smith, 1778)

This small clutch of titles represent the undercurrent of erotic literature available in the eighteenth century. The "Merryland" works are bound together. They are "waggish" rather than directly erotic. "Of the situation of Bettyland" begins, "The Country of Bettyland is a Continent adjoining the Isle of Man, having the Island of Man wholly under its jurisdiction."

The Gentleman's bottle companion was published anonymously and was doubtless meant to be sold surreptitiously. The songs it contains are quite obscene even by today's standards. Part of the significance of this collection lies in the fact that it is perhaps the first book to print the slang term for the female genitalia.

Perry's Epistle from Mademoiselle D'Eon concerns the Chevalier D'Eon (1728-1810), a notorious cross-dresser. He was employed as a spy by the French King Louis XV, in which role he lived in Russia, Austria, and London. After the French Revolution he stayed on in London, working as a fencing master. There was much speculation as to his real sex. Books were made and bets were taken. He spent most of the latter part of his life dressed as a woman. This he claimed was a condition imposed upon him by Louis XVI. After his death a post-mortem satisfied the popular curiosity. The Chevalier was indeed a man.

88. Chatterton, Thomas, 1752-1770.

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, 1777)

89. Chatterton, Thomas, 1752-1770.

Poems, supposed to have been written at Bristol by Thomas Rowley, and others, in the fifteenth century. 3rd ed. To which is added an appendix, containing some observations upon the language of these poems; tending to prove, that they were written, not by any ancient author, but entirely by Thomas Chatterton. (London : Printed for T. Payne and son, 1778)

Thomas Chatterton began writing poetry when he was ten. He had strong antiquarian leanings, influenced by examples of old documents belonging to his father, a writing-master. Chatterton was brought up in Bristol, where he was apprenticed to an attorney. He began to have verses published in journals, and circulated examples of writings he had done in an archaic style on old parchments. These he claimed were by Thomas Rowley, supposedly a fifteenth-century Bristol monk. He sent examples to the publisher James Dodsley and to Horace Walpole. In 1770 he came to London from his native Bristol and succeeded in having his burlesque opera The Revenge produced. However after the death of a prospective patron Chatterton was plunged into despair and, on the night of 24^th August, 1770, poisoned himself with arsenic in his Holborn garret.

The Rowley poems were published to popular acclaim, although Thomas Tyrwhitt, the editor of the work exposed them as forgeries in the 3^rd edition (1778). Nevertheless, Chatterton's skills as a poet were acknowledged. The Romantic poets in particular sang Chatterton's praises. This was in part due to the pathos of his early death. Wordsworth's lines in "Resolution and Independence" helped immortalise the legend,

I thought of Chatterton, the marvelous boy,
The sleepless soul who perished in his pride;
...
We poets in our youth begin in gladness;
But thereof come in the end despondency and madness.

90. Mackenzie, Henry, 1745-1831.

The man of feeling. New ed. (London : Printed for A. Strahan; and T. Cadell, 1794)

The Man of Feeling (1771) was Henry Mackenzie's first novel. It was a success, tapping into the then popular vein of the "sentimental" hero. The novel is framed in the convention of the author finding a manuscript,

When I returned to town, I had leisure to peruse the acquisition I had made: I found it a bundle of little episodes, put together without art, and of no importance on the whole, with something of nature, and little else in them. I was a good deal affected with some very trifling passages in it; and had the name of Marmontel, or a Richardson, been on the title-page --- 'tis odds that I should have wept: But

One is ashamed to be pleased with the works of one knows not whom. (p. viii)

Mackenzie was a Scotsman. He wrote other novels and a play, and edited the periodicals, The Mirror (1770) and The Lounger (1785-86). He was Chairman of the Committee set up to investigate Macpherson's Ossian poems.

91. Burney, Fanny, 1752-1840.

Camilla, or, A picture of youth / by the author of Evelina and Cecilia. In five volumes. (London : Printed for T. Payne, ...; and T. Cadell jun. and W. Davies, 1796) 5 v.

Fanny Burney achieved success with her first novel, Evelina, or The History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World (1778) Written when she was only 26, it concerns the development of a young girl entering society, her hesitations, mistakes and eventual triumph. In 1782 she published Cecilia, or Memoirs of an Heiress, (5 vols.) and in 1796, Camilla: or a Picture of Youth.

After the success of Evelina she was taken up by Mrs. Thrale and Dr. Johnson, and has recorded in her journals many interesting observations of that circle. From 1786 to 1791 she was "second keeper of the robes" for Queen Charlotte. Although this was an unhappy time, once again, her journal entries from the period are revealing of life at the court of George III.

Her novels are seen as precursors to those of Jane Austen. Camilla is concerned with the marriage prospects of Camilla and her sisters, the daughters of a country parson. It includes many acutely observed comic characters and has some similarities to Pride and Prejudice.

92. Moore, John, 1729-1802.

Zeluco : various views of human nature, taken from life and manners, foreign and domestic : in two volumes. 3rd ed. (London : Printed for A. Strahan, and T. Cadell ..., 1790) 2 v.

John Moore was a doctor who travelled abroad in the 1770s and again to France in 1792. His accounts of his journeys are important, partly for the light they throw on the political events of the time. He wrote three novels, the first of which was Zeluco (1786) It sold very well and established his reputation. It is partly written to cater for the taste for "gothic" villains popular at the time and later satirised by Jane Austen in Northanger Abbey.

Zeluco is the spoiled son of a noble Sicilian family. In chapter one, "Strong indications of a vicious disposition", we are introduced to him squeezing his pet sparrow to death. As a man, we are told he excels in a vein of "blasphemous irony". He has a slave beaten to death on his plantations in the West Indies and indulges in various discreditable love affairs. Finally, he dies in a duel.

93. Cowley, Hannah, 1743-1809.

The poetry of Anna Matilda : containing A tale for jealousy, The funeral, her correspondence with Della Crusca, and several other poetical pieces to which are added Recollections printed from an original manuscript written by General Sir William Waller. (London : Printed by John Bell, 1788)

94. Gifford, William, 1756-1826.

The Baviad, and Maeviad / by William Gifford, Esq. A new ed. rev. (London : printed for J. Wright, 1797)

The Della Cruscans were a coterie of English writers living in Florence in the 1780s and 1790s. They included Mrs. Piozzi (the former Hester Thrale), Robert Merry and Hannah Cowley. They met and exchanged manuscripts of their verses. These were published in anthologies such as The poetry of the world, (1788) and The British album (1790).

On display is a volume of verse by Mrs. Cowley, who wrote under the name, "Anna Matilda", and an edition of The Baviad, and Maeviad, Gifford's satires on the Della Cruscans. Bavius and Maevius were two poets attacked by Virgil in his third Eclogue, but whose works have not survived. Their names have come to symbolise bad poets.

95. Darwin, Erasmus, 1731-1802.

The botanic garden : a poem, in two parts ... : with philosophical notes. 3rd ed. (London : Printed for J. Johnson, 1795)

Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather of Charles Darwin, was a physician and amateur botanist. The Botanic Garden consists of two parts; "The Loves of the Plants", Part Two, appeared first, in 1789; and Part One, "The Economy of Vegetation" appeared in 1791.

It is written in heroic couplets, and was popular in its day with such contemporaries as Horace Walpole and William Cowper, but Darwin's attempt to impart the Linnaean system of botany in heroic couplets is now seldom read.

In Zoonomia: or, The laws of organic life, another of his didactic works, published in 1794-6, he expounds a theory of evolution later taken up by his grandson.

Some of the plates in The Botanic Garden are by William Blake.

96. Burges, James Bland, 1752-1824.

The birth and triumph of love : a poem / by Sir James Bland Burges. (London: Printed by C. Roworth, for T. Egerton... ; and sold by him and P.W. Tomkins..., 1796)

Sir James Bland Burges was a politician noted among other things as having consistently supported Wilberforce in his anti-slavery campaign. After he retired in 1795 he devoted himself to literary pursuits. The birth and triumph of love was his first work. It is now most prized for the fine series of engravings of Cupid, by P. W. Tomkins, with which it is illustrated. He continued to publish volumes of verse; and wrote eight plays, two of which, Riches, and Tricks upon travellers, were produced on stage.

97. Blair, Robert, 1699-1746.

The grave, a poem / by Robert Blair ; illustrated by twelve etchings executed from original designs by William Blake. (London : Printed by T. Bensley for ... R. H. Cromek, 1808)

The significance of this edition of Blair's poem lies in Blake's illustrations.

Robert Blair was a Scottish clergyman. The Grave was his best-known work. First published in 1743 it celebrated death, the solitude of the grave and the passion of bereavement. It includes a melodramatic passage on suicide which seems to indicate that it was thought at the time to be a peculiarly British sin.

The poem chimed with the popular taste of the period and was an instant success. Young's Night Thoughts, an edition of which Blake also illustrated, (see item 99), was a similar poem which appeared at the same time 1742-45.

William Blake is well-known now as a poet and visionary, but, his contemporary reputation was as a book illustrator and engraver.

98. Blake, William, 1757-1827.

William Blake's designs for Edward Young's Night thoughts / edited with commentary by John E. Grant, Edward J. Rose, Michael J. Tolley ; co-ordinating editor, David V. Erdman. A complete ed. (Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1980) 2 v.

Edward Young first came to notice as a dramatist, having two plays produced at Drury Lane, Busiris in 1719, and The Revenge in 1721. He then published from 1725 to 1728, The Universal Passion, a series of satires on the love of fame. These were well-received and favourably compared to Pope. However his own lasting fame depends on his long poem, The Complaint, or Night Thoughts on life, death and immortality. It appeared as nine books from 1742-1745, and consists mainly of the poet arguing with a non-believer about the necessity for faith as well as virtue. The final book contains a vision of Judgment Day.

Blake executed 537 watercolour paintings for Night Thoughts between 1795-97. In 1797 an edition of the poem appeared with Blake's illustrations, but this included only a selection of the illustrations. Many were published in the Oxford 1980 edition for the first time.

99. Blake, William, 1757-1827.

The works of William Blake, poetic, symbolic, and critical / edited with lithographs of the illustrated "Prophetic books," and a memoir and interpretation by Edwin John Ellis and William Butler Yeats. (London : Bernard Quaritch, 1893) 3 v.

100. Blake, William, 1757-1827.

Poetical sketches. By W. B. [London : N. Douglas, 1926] Facsimile of London, 1783 edition.

101. Blake, William, 1757-1827.

Songs of innocence and of experience / by William Blake. (Liverpool : Henry Young & Sons, 1923)

102. Blake, William, 1757-1827.

Songs of innocence and of experience / by William Blake. (Manchester : Manchester Etching Workshop, 1983)

103. Blake, William, 1757-1827.

Vala, or, The four Zoas / William Blake ; a facsimile of the manuscript, a transcript of the poem and a study of its growth and significance by G.E. Bentley, Jr. (Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1963)

104. Selection of Trianon Press facsimiles of Blake's books.

As already noted, Blake was trained as an artist and engraver, but he quickly showed a talent for verse, and published Poetical Sketches in 1783. This was a traditional, printed book, but in 1789 there appeared Songs of Innocence, the first of the books written, illustrated, engraved, and hand-coloured by Blake. This became the pattern for all future publications of his own works. Also in 1789 appeared The Book of Thel, the first of Blake's "prophetic" books. Blake devised his own mythology to symbolise the contrast between the restrictive moral code, often represented by Urizen, and the liberating rebel, Orc. A series of long poems and prose works followed, many of which are filled with opaque symbolism and the conflict between the power of evil in society and the spirit of love in the individual.

Another collection of short verse appeared in 1794, The Songs of Experience. This included some of his most successful poems, such as "Tyger, Tyger", and "The Poison Tree".

By 1800 most of Blake's major works had appeared, usually in very small hand-produced editions. There were however further books published, his final publication being The Ghost of Abel (1822). Notable among his prophetic books from the early nineteenth century is Milton, in which Blake imagines the great poet returning and entering into his own consciousness for the purpose of setting right some misinterpretations of Paradise Lost.

At Monash University we hold a good collection of facsimiles of Blake's books, particularly those published from the 1950s to the present by Trianon Press. To properly appreciate Blake's works it is essential to read them in the form in which Blake himself published them, as a mixture of art and text.

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