by (BRAYLEY, E.W.)
(BRAYLEY, E.W.) COWPER, ILLUSTRATED BY A SERIES OF VIEWS, IN, OR NEAR, THE P OF WESTON-UNDERWOOD, BUCKS, ACCOMPANIED WITH DESCRIPTIONS. London: J. Swan & pub. by Vernor & Hood, 1803. Large 8vo. Contemporary roan. pages, engraved title leaf and 12 plates. First edition. Scarce first edition with only four U.S. copies listed on OCLC. "The poetry William Cowper expressed a deep sympathy with nature and love for simple rura landscape. Like the writing of Gilpin, it influenced the popular romantic ta for natural scenery at the close of the eighteenth century. Nearly all his important poems were written while living in Weston and nearby Olney in Buckinghamshire. Various images and scenes from his poetry can be traced to surrounding countryside and, in particular, to the park and grounds of Weston-Underwood, the country home of his friend John Throckmorton, which lay adjacent to his own. The "description of Weston Park" presented in this volu is similar in character to the familiar house guides of the eighteenth centur but written specifically to reflect the interests of the would-be pilgrim mov to visit the haunts and retrace the melancholy steps of the great poet. The evocative plates which illustrate the text were drawn and engraved by James Storer and John Greig. They include such scenes as the peasant's nest, the rustic bridge, the temple in the wilderness, the shrubbery, etc. Listed in J Harris A Country House Index, (1979). This copy has a three page manuscript poem, "To Mary," in which Cowper expresses his deep feelings for Mary Unwin - bound in between pages 16 and 17. Hinges expertly mended. Nineteenth centur engraved bookplate "Rev. Geo Innes, Colege, Warwick," and modern booklabel. Very good.
(Inventory #: 39896)