A Compliamentary Epistle of James Bruce, Esq., the Abyssinian Traveller Bound with The Rights of Kings; Odes to Mr. Paine and The Remonstrance
London, 1790, 1791, 1791 and 1791: Printed for G. Kearsley and for J. Evans. Quarto. Item #028344
Four books bound as one. A Complimentary Epistle: ii, 39, [1] pp. publisher's ads, 3rd edition. The Rights of Kings, [1] pp. to the reader, verso is the errata, 90pp. A new edition. "Odes to Mr. Paine:" 10pp. and "The Remonstrance", 63pp. (1)pp. publisher's ads and divisional half-title, 1st editions. "A Complimentary Epistle of James Bruce". There is no doubt that James Bruce (1730-1794) was a remarkable explorer though his writings on Abyssinia had come into question by Dr. Samuel Johnson as well as John Wolcott (using his familiar pseudonym, Peter Pindar). The illustrious dedicatory page quotes both Dr. Johnson and James Boswell, who Peter Pindar only quotes about his drinking bout while he insists that James Bruce is a history of "thundering diarrhea". Using verse, Wolcott continues his assault on Mr. Paine with "Pindar's Odes to Mr. Paine" Wolcot(Pindar) presents the Revolutionary hero as a manipulator of speech and confounder of reason. Though Wolcot (Pindar) satirized public figures indiscriminately, he was not alone in his attacks on Paine. Paine was a frequent target for writers and cartoonists who consider him a "symbol of the twin evils of republican ideology and rational religion". Bound in a contemporary 3/4 calf over marbled paper covered baordsred morocco spine label gilt, joints appear to have been repaired. A very good copy.
Price: $450.00