THE ABBEY OF KILKHAMPTON; OR, MONUMENTAL RECORDS FOR THE YEAR 1980 [sic]...COMPILED WITH A VIEW TO ASCERTAIN, WITH PRECISION, THE MANNERS WHICH PREVAILED IN GREAT BRITAIN DURING THE LAST FIFTY YEARS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
1780 · London
by [Croft, Herbert]
London: Printed for G. Kearsly, 1780. [4],78pp. Quarto. Modern paper covered boards, printed paper label. Closed tear in gutter of titlepage repaired on verso. Titlepage a bit foxed, else quite clean internally. Occasional contemporary manuscript notes identifying the subjects. Very good. In a half morocco and cloth folding case, spine gilt. "The Third Edition, with considerable additions." This popular satirical work went through eight editions in 1780. The work has a futuristic conceit, as if a generation in 1980 was looking back at British society of the second half of the eighteenth century (the note To the Reader refers to the year 1783 as if it were already long past). Among the subjects of the satire are notables of English politics, literature, and society. This copy has several instances of manuscript notes in a contemporary hand identifying the otherwise anonymous subjects of the satire. ESTC locates only eight copies of this edition. ESTC N16064 (Inventory #: WRCAM44711)