Full fine tooled pebbled calf, raised bands, gilt decorated compartments, outer gilt rules, elaborate inner dentelles, marbled e
1808 · Edinburgh
by Scott, Walter, Sir
Edinburgh: Printed by J. Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh; and William Miller, and John Murray, London, 1808. First edition, first impression. Full fine tooled pebbled calf, raised bands, gilt decorated compartments, outer gilt rules, elaborate inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, sewn-in bookmark. Front board very tender but threads still holding, joints rubbed, some minor rubbing along top edges and a few bands, otherwise a crisp, tight copy, gilt glowing, with some faint scattered foxing. A beautiful production.. [10], 377, [1], cxxvi pp. 4to (26 cm). Second state of the first impression with cancels on three leaves (c1, B1, X3). One of 2000 copies issued. The poem concerns Lord Marmion who is after a favorite of Henry VIII, the wealthy heiress, Clara de Clare. He implicates her fiance, Sir Ralph De Wilton, in a treasonable plot, but eventually De Wilton has Marmion unmasked just as the battle of Flodden Field (one of the greatest disasters in Scottish history [1513]) begins. Marmion is killed in the battle while De Wilton regains his honor, estates, and Clara. The book was a tremendous success, despite its exceedingly high price, with at least three editions issued the same year. NCBEL III, 370. Ruff 59 (see pp.49-53). (Inventory #: 26728)