Miscellanies in Prose and Verse; By . . . The Supposed Author of the Poems Published Under the Names of Rowley, Canning, &c

London: Printed for Fielding and Walker, 1778, 1778. First edition. Warren 5; NCBEL II, 606. Prelims a little foxed; very good copy.. 8vo, recent tan quarter sheep period style, marbled paper boards, red morocco label, gilt decorations and lettering. Frontis and one plate. Half-title and leaf of publisher's ads present. 43 writings culled from Bristol and London newspapers, which constitute the first collection of Thomas Chatterton's "non-Rowlean" works. They were compiled by John Broughton of Bristol, who explains in the preface the rationale for the attributions to Chatterton. Modern research has shown that Broughton's reasoning is in part fallacious; but it has also shown that though they are not all by Chatterton, the majority of the pieces are in fact correctly attributed to him. See Donald S. Taylor, "The Authenticity of Chatterton's Miscellanies in Prose and Verse," PBSA, vol. 55, no 4 (1961). Broughton also makes inflammatory comments in the preface about Horace Walpole's rejection of the young Chatterton, implying that such treatment may have hastened the young poet's demise. (Inventory #: 21363)