John Moore collection

This collection has 7 books (14 vols.), dating from 1781 to 1800 including copies of his three novels, a travel book about Italy, and his reflections on the French Revolution.

7 Books (14 vols.):

• A View of Society and Manners in Italy: with Anecdotes Relating to Some Eminent Characters. London: Printed for W. Strahan; and T. Cadell, 1781. 2 vols. First edition. xv, 518 pp.; xii, 502 plus final blank, 16 (ads) pp. Full brown leather, labels on the spine in gilt, minor cracking at the spine. Very good. "One of the most sober and well balanced views of Italy published in the eighteenth century" (Pine-Coffin). Moore's description of Venice includes a lengthy digression on the rise and fall of that powerful city state. There is an amusing account of the visit the duke and he paid to the pope. "At Florence they often saw Prince Charles Edward Stuart and his still attractive spouse" (ODNB) - the duke being the Duke of Hamilton, whom Moore was accompanying on his Grand Tour as governor.

• Zeluco. Various Views of Human Nature Taken from Life and Manners, Foreign and Domestic. London: Printed for A. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1789. 2 vols. First edition. [iv], 482 [483 errata, 484 blank] pp.; [iv], 529 [530 blank, 531 errata, 532 blank] pp., including half-titles. Full brown leather, labels on the spine in gilt, some separation at the hinges but reinforced and repaired, corners bumped, some foxing, names of former owners on the endpapers and title page. Zeluco charts the career of a wicked Sicilian aristocrat who causes death and ruin to all those around him before finally meeting a horrible fate. But Zeluco is much more than an early Gothic novel featuring a monomaniacal tyrant. It is a rich panorama of life in the late eighteenth century, dealing with English and European manners and topics of the day, such as the abolition of slavery. When Zeluco first appeared, it was hailed as an instant classic, and Moore was ranked with Richardson, Smollett, and Fielding as one of the great novelists of the eighteenth century. ESTC T123769.

• Zeluco. Various Views of Human Nature, Taken from Life and Manners, Foreign and Domestic. Dublin. Printed for Messrs. L. White, P. Byrne, Grueber and M'Allister, and W. Jones, 1789. 2nd ed. 2 vols. 12mo. [2], 288; 312 pp. Contemporary half-calf, marbled paper boards, contrasting black calf lettering-pieces, gilt. Extremities heavily rubbed. Occasional light spotting. ESTC T123770.

• Zeluco. Various Views of Human Nature Taken from Life and Manners, Foreign and Domestic. Boston: Alexander Young, 1792. First American edition. 560 pp. Brown leather, scuffed, corners bumped, rebacked with dark brown leather. Leaves after p. 514 repaired with Japanese tissue, lacking the final leaf of text (pp. 559-560). Library label of Davidson College, former owner's name on endpaper. Evans 24555.

• A View of the Causes and Progress of the French Revolution. London: Printed for G. G. and J. Robinson, 1795. 2 vols. xi, [1], iv-v, [2], 2-449, [1] pp; viii, 505, [1] pp. The very scarce first edition of Moore's history of the French Revolution. Full brown tree calf leather, labels on the spine in gilt, hinges reinforced and repaired, corners bumped, some foxing, book label of former owner (Alexander Trotter, Dreghorn) on the front pastedown. ESTC T89488.

• Edward. Various Views of Human Nature, Taken from Life and Manners, Chiefly in England. London: Printed for A. Strahan, and T. Cadell jun., and W. Davies, 1796. The first edition of Moore's second novel. 2 vols. [4], 519, [1] pp; [4], 596, [4] pp. errata & ads, half titles. Leather binding scuffed somewhat, with paper labels on the spine, very good condition. Bookplate on the front pastedown of each volume. ESTC T114000.

• Mordaunt: Sketches of Life Characters and Manners in Various Countries Including the Memoirs of a French Lady of Quality. London: G.G. and J. Robinson; S. Hamilton, 1800. First edition. 3 vols. 8vo. Half brown calf, half marbled paper boards, spines gilt ruled in seven compartments, blue sprinkled edges, spines a little worn and lightly scuffed at the corners. [vi], ii, 403, [5] pp.; [vi], ii, 408, [4] pp.; [vi], ii, 460, [4] pp. Endpapers spotted; small perforation on front prelim of vol I; previous owner's armorial bookplate (Stewart) on the front paste-downs of each vol. Moore's final piece of fiction, an epistolary novel describing the adventures and travels of a rakish but likable man.

Collection on consignment with LDRB.