This five-volume set of poems is titled "Bell's Classical Arrangement Of Fugitive Poetry", printed by John Bell between 1790 and 1794. It was originally composed of eighteen volumes compiled between 1789 and 1797; the works were grouped by genre and theme, and this set is titled "Odes" on the spines. The books are 1/4 bound, with horizontal gilt bands and gilt lettering on terracotta spines, gilt dentelles with calf boards, marbled endpapers with the bookplate of Rosalie C. Chichester on the front paste-down, the title page has the monogram of John Bell and says the books were printed in London by John Bell, British Library, Strand, Bookseller to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, followed by one page of Contents and the text, they are numbered 1 through 5 on the spines and inside are numbered XII through XVI on the title pages. We don't know much more about John Bell, but Volume 1 is 175 pages long, including the Notes, Volume 2 is 176 pages long with the Notes and an illustrated frontispiece and a protective tissue guard, Volume 3 is 143 pages long with the illustrated frontispiece and tissue guard, Volume 4 is 167 pages with the frontispiece and tissue guard, and the last volume is 176 pages long. The books measure 6 1/2 x 4 in. wide, with tight bindings and clean pages, there are shadows on the marbled endpapers, the blank endpapers at the front and rear have light shadows around the margins, the three frontispieces have light browning around the edges, the books have light rubbing on the spines and at the tips, and a few of the tips are slightly curled in at the bottom. Vol. 3 has a small corner crease on one page in the rear, and we're not sure if they are first editions. WorldCat says the first edition was printed in 1789, but that might have been for the first volume, they don't say anything about the books being compiled between 1789 and 1797, and they don't distinguish between the sets or genres that were printed between 1790 and 1794, so these might be first editions, and this is an excellent reference work for anyone studying early English poetry. We found only one volume offered for sale online, and the rest are modern reprints. #68 #1699