Six Literature Books 1821 - 1932. The first book in this lot is titled “The Pleasures Of The Imagination And Other Poems”, written by Mark Akenside and published in New York by R. & W. A. Barrow and in Richmond, Virginia by W. A. Bartow in 1821. The book has brown leather boards with a gilt border surrounding inscribed lines and a diamond-shaped pattern on the covers, sea-green endpapers, an inscription that reads “Mrs. Harriet S. Bolles a Christmas present from Mr. Smith, Dec 25th 1827 …” on the front blank flyleaf, a frontis portrait of Mark Akenside, the title page, and 144 pages of text. Mark Akenside (1721 - 1770) was an English poet and physician who was born at Newcastle upon Tyne, all his family were English Dissenters or Separatists - Protestants who separated from the Church of England in the 17th and 18th centuries. He went to the University of Edinburgh to study theology and changed to medicine after a year at school. He was a deist who rejected divine revelation over empirical observation and rational thought to determine the existence of a Supreme Being as creator of the universe. During a visit to Morpeth in 1738, Akenside had the idea for his didactic poem, "The Pleasures of the Imagination", which was well received and later described as “of great beauty in its richness of description and language” and was subsequently translated into several foreign languages; he offered the work to Robert Dodsley for £120. Dodsley thought the price exorbitant, and only accepted the terms after submitting the manuscript to Alexander Pope, who assured him that this was "no everyday writer”. The book measures 5 3/4 x 3 3/8 in. wide, with a tight binding, rubbing on the spine and covers, wear on the heel, the gilt is rubbed and faded, with foxing throughout, two tips are slightly turned in, and there’s abrasions on the last paste-down and back cover. The second book is titled “The Life Sketches of Macaulay”, written by Charles Adams and published in New York by Harper & Brothers in 1880, and it is part of Harper’s Half-Hour series of books. The book has black letters on the spine, red and black lines and red lettering on the front cover, plain endpapers, four pages of ads for books in the Half-Hour Series by Harper, a frontis portrait of Macaulay, then the title page, a copyright date of 1880, which makes this a first edition (the dates on the title page and copyright page match and there is just a single date - no other printings), a facsimile page of Macaulay’s handwriting opposite the first page of text, 140 pages of text, and four pages of ads at the rear for books published by Harper (Macaulay, Motley, Samuel Johnson, and another by Macaulay). The book measures 4 3/4 x 3 1/4 in. wide and is in good condition. The binding is tight and the pages are clean, with faded letters on the spine and front cover, light rubbing at the top and bottom of the spine and at the tips, and scratches or rubbing on the covers, and overall in good condition. The third book in this lot is titled “The Dramatic Works of Richard Brinsley Sheridan. With A Short Account Of His Life,” it was written by G. G. S. and published in London by George Bell in 1891. Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816) was an Anglo-Irish playwright who owned the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane in London. His most well-known plays, “The Rivals”, “The Duenna”, “The School for Scandal”, and “A Trip to Scarborough”, are all featured in this book. The book has five raised bands, six gilt-ruled compartments with gilt lettering on a red label on the spine, an armorial crest in gilt on the front cover, marbled endpapers with a school award on the marbled flyleaf, a half title, a frontis portrait of Sheridan with a protective tissue guard, then the title page, a one-page Preface, two pages of Contents (vii - viii), 206 pages about the life of Sheridan, and the rest of the text runs to page 563. The book measures 7 1/8 x 4 3/4 in, wide and is in good condition, with a tight binding and clean pages and text. There’s wear at the heel and crown of the spine, rubbing along the edges of the spine, the edges of the boards, and at the tips, the gilt has faded, there are brown spots on the half-title, the frontis, and the title page, and the rest of the book is pretty clean. The next book is titled “Complete Works of Edmund Spenser”, written by R. Morris, with a Memoir by J. W. Hales, M.A. and published in London by Macmillan and Co. Limited and by the Macmillan Company in New York in 1897. The book has dark green boards with gilt lettering on the spine, a beautiful gilt image and facsimile signature of Spenser on the front cover, blank endpapers, the title page, a two-page Preface, two pages of Contents ((v - vi), a three-page Index to First Lines (vii - ix), forty-three pages about the life of Spenser (xiii - lv), 683 pages of text, followed by two Appendices that run to 710, a twenty-six page Glossary that goes from 711 to page 736, and a two-sided leaf for books published by the Macmillan Company. Edmund Spenser (1553 - 1599) was an English poet best known for "The Faerie Queene", an epic poem and wondrous allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen of the nascent Modern English verse - Modern English verse was just taking root - and he is considered one of the great poets in the English language; the complete “Fairie Queene” starts out the beginning of the text here, too. The book is 8vo. and measures 8 1/4 x 5 1/2 in. wide and is in good condition. The binding is tight and the pages and text are clean, with just a couple of brown spots on the endpapers in front and back, bumps and light wear on the heel and crown, faint rubbing at the tips, the front and rear paste-downs have a tear, and the front flyleaf has paper loss, and that’s it for a detailed book about the works of Edmund Spenser. The fifth book is a biography titled “Herman Melville”, written by Lewis Mumford and published in New York by the Literary Guild of America in 1929, with a copyright date of 1929, so this is a first edition by the Literary Guild. (The dates on the title page and copyright page match, with no other printings.) Melvin wrote “Moby Dick” and was one of the icons of the literary world in the mid 1800’s. The book is 3/4 bound, with five raised bands. gilt lettering on the spine, marbled endpapers, a frontis portrait of Melville, the title page, a two-page Preface, one page contents, a page about the zodiac, 368 pages of text, one page about books consulted by Mumford, an Index that ends on page 377, and the top edge is gilt. Lewis Mumford (1895 - 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, and literary critic who was born in Flushing, Queens, New York. He studied at City College of New York, but got ill and never graduated, so he joined the Navy in World War I and became associate editor of the Dial after he was discharged. In the 1920’s, he argued for more recognition for Melville, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Walt Whitman, and his Herman Melville, the book here, which combined an account of Melville's life with an interpretive discussion of his work, was an important part of the Melville revival. The book is 8vo. and measures 8 3/8 x 5 7/8 in. wide and is in good condition. The pages and text are clean, with rubbing on the edges of the spine and at the tips, and the front gutter is a bit loose, and an important book as a Melville biography. The last book in this lot is titled “The Old Road From Spain”, written by Constance Holme and published by the Oxford University Press in London in 1932. The first edition was published in 1916, and this is a first edition as an Oxford World Classic. The book is 3/4 bound, with five raised bands, gilt letters on a red label on the spine, marbled boards and marbled endpapers, the book was bound by James Macdonald and E. P. Dutton in New York City (in small stamped letters on the first blank endpaper), the owner’s name in pencil on a blank front endpaper, the half-title, a list of books published by the author on the frontis, then the title page, copyright page, a seven-page Preface dated 1932, 282 pages of text, a sixteen-page catalogue of World’s Classics books by the Oxford University Press, including an alphabetical list of authors at the end, and the top edge is gilt. Edith Constance Holme (1880 - 1955) was an English writer and playwright, born in Westmoreland, her novels are set in the countryside of Westmoreland, they explore the relationship between landowners, tenant farmers, and land agents, reminiscent of Oliver Goldsmith’s “The Deserted Village”, and she is unique among 20th century authors in that all of her novels and short stories were included in the Oxford World's Classics series. The book measures 6 x 3 7/8 in. wide and is in very good condition, with a tight binding and clean pages and text, with just a tad of rubbing on the spine and at the tips, and a rare title by Constance Holme. #238 #1690