1837 Thomson's Seasons & Castle of Indolence

Sir James Thomson's The Seasons and The Castle of Indolence, published together by W. S. Orr & Co. of London in 1837, with the engraved portrait title page dated 1839. Thomson's blank-verse meditation on the natural world was one of the bestselling English poems between 1730 and 1850, credited with carrying the sentiment of nature forward to Cowper, Gray, and the Romantics. This copy is bound in pebble-grain morocco-style leather with Gothic-revival gilt panel work on both covers, all edges gilt, and retains the original bookseller's ticket from Lacey of Bold Street, Liverpool, placing its first sale in a prosperous Victorian household.

[d]Author | James Thomson

[d]Title | The Seasons and The Castle of Indolence

[d]Publisher | W. S. Orr & Co., Amen Corner, Paternoster Row, London

[d]Date | 1837 (printed title page); 1839 (engraved portrait title page)

[d]Binding | Pebble-grain morocco-style leather, gilt-blocked Gothic-revival panel design, all edges gilt

[d]Illustrator | Engraved portrait frontispiece and one steel-engraved landscape plate

[d]Dimensions | 5 in H x 3.5 in W x 0.75 in D

[d]Language | English

[d]Origin | England

[d]Provenance | Original bookseller's ticket of Lacey, Repository of Arts & Juvenile Library, 100 Bold Street, Liverpool

[condition]

The binding is structurally intact with the gilt tooling on both covers crisp and bright. Age-appropriate wear at the corners and at the head and tail of the spine, with some softening and minor loss to the leather at these contact points. Boards are firm and the spine is sound. All page edges are gilt. The textblock and pages are clean overall with the typical age toning consistent with paper of this period. The original Lacey of Liverpool bookseller's ticket is present and intact on the front pastedown. Contains the engraved portrait title page dated 1839, the letterpress title page dated 1837, and one steel-engraved landscape plate captioned with a quotation from Thomson's "Summer."