Description
Byron, Lord George Gordon. Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage: A Romaunt. London: Printed by Thomas Davison for John Murray, 1812. 3rd Edition. Red Cloth. Very Good. xii, 201pp. John Murray, 1812, London. This copy contains Cantos I & II with the facsimile of the Romaic Letter (bound onto the stub of excised leaf xiii/xiv with ix- xii correctly paginated; hence the 3rd edition). It also has the notes but not all after p.201 i.e. the 20 other poems & appendix. However, bound in, throughout the text are the 4 Childe Harold plates from the 21 illustrating Byron’s works executed by Richard Westall & engraved in 1819 by Charles Heath for John Murray. Also bound in are the verses which they illustrate neatly handwritten in a 19th century hand onto the rectos of 4 separate sheets of different but comparable stock. Each is headed “Childe Harold” & numbered, for its canto, 1 – 4 & paginated 5 – 8 as if at one time to include the plates?. Two evident erasures have been made on the title page (3rd edition is one?) also a bold indecipherable contemporary ownership signature. Ffep removed & occasional light foxing. Plain C19th maroon board binding rubbed at extremities with its hinges shaken & webbing showing at the gutters yet still holding. Bookplate of Anne Renier & F. G. Renier whose collection of children’s books was given to the V & A. Was it their assemblage? At any rate; a seemingly unique & quite intriguing one-off! Randolph p. 21