This book is titled "The Lady Of the Lake: A Poem", written by Walter Scott, Esq., the very same person who is also called Sir Walter Scott in other auction lots. The book was published in New York by J. Eastburn in 1818, with horizontal gilt bands and gilt lettering on the spine, blindstamped calf covers, blank endpapers, a frontis drawn by Richard Westall and engraved by P. Maverick and Durand, then the title page, a page dedicated to John James, Marquis of Abercorn, the Contents page is inscribed "Sarah A Bergh" and lists the six cantos that start the book and the six chapters of Notes which go along with the cantos, followed by a poem called "The Field of Waterloo" and dedicated to the wife of the Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, a Conclusion with more Notes, for a total of 348 pages in the book. Richard Westall (1765 - 1836) was an English painter and illustrator of portraits, historical and literary events, best known for his portraits of Byron, and he was Queen Victoria's drawing master. A number of scenes in which he depicted events in the life of Horatio Nelson are hanging at the National Maritime Museum. Westall was a prolific illustrator of both fiction and poetry, including the works of Sir Walter Scott, Oliver Goldsmith, and Thomas Gray, and he illustrated different versions of the Bible. The book measures 5 1/2 x 3 1/8 in. wide, with a tight binding, rubbing and wear on the spine, light loss on the crown, dark edges on the right side of the covers, brown spots and dampstains on the endpapers and a few blank pages afterwards, including the frontispiece and title page, offset on the title page from the preceding frontis, and browning and brown spots on the text. The first American edition was published in 1810, so this is not a first edition, but an early one, and you can carry the book around in your pocket and just read it on a sunny day. #60 #1544