The Observer: Being a Collection of Moral, Literary and Familiar Essays (Four Volumes, Complete)
by Cumberland, Richard
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good with no dust jacket
- Seller
-
Palatine, Illinois, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Dublin: P. Byrne, R. Marchbank, J. Moore, and W. Jones. Very Good with no dust jacket. 1791. First Edition Thus. First Printing. Leather. Contemporary full mottled leather, spines in seven compartments separated by gilt borders, one red and one black label in two compartments. This collection of essays and other writings of Richard Cumberland was first published in several volumes between 1785 and 1791. This four volume edition is the first complete edition published thereafter, in Dublin, later in 1791. Richard Cumberland (17321811) was an English dramatist and civil servant. In 1771 his hit play "The West Indian" was first staged. During the American War of Independence he acted as a secret negotiator with Spain in an effort to secure a peace agreement between the two nations. He also edited a short-lived critical journal called "The London Review" (1809). His plays are often remembered for their sympathetic depiction of colonial characters and others generally considered to be margins of society. Playwright and novelist Richard Cumberland is buried in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. His grave is next to that of actor John Henderson and near to the grave of his friend Dr Samuel Johnson. He was born on 19 February 1732 in Cambridge, a son of the Revd. Denison Cumberland and his wife Joanna (Bentley). His great grandfather was Richard Cumberland, bishop of Peterborough. He attended Westminster School and Trinity College Cambridge. The Earl of Halifax employed him as his private secretary. He started to write plays, and novels, prose work and poems followed. His well known plays are "The Critic" and "The School for Scandal." He died at Tunbridge Wells. The burial service was taken by his old friend William Vincent, Dean of Westminster. His son, his grandson, the Hon.and Revd. William Bentinck (son of Richard's daughter Elizabeth and Lord Edward Bentinck), and two nephews, Bentinck and Cumberland Hughes, were the chief mourners. At the close of the service the Dean gave an oration "Good People, the person you see now deposited is Richard Cumberland, an author of no small merit; his writings were chiefly for the stage, but of strict moral tendency; they were not without faults but they were not gross... his works will be held in the highest estimation as long as the English language shall be understood..." . Boards mildly bowed, contents unmarked, tight and clean. The books are seemingly unread. A handsome set. VERY GOOD. . 16mo 6" - 7" tall. 286; 312; 336; 271 pp .
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Details
- Bookseller
- Round Table Books, LLC (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 22099
- Title
- The Observer: Being a Collection of Moral, Literary and Familiar Essays (Four Volumes, Complete)
- Author
- Cumberland, Richard
- Format/Binding
- Leather
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good with no dust jacket
- Edition
- First Edition Thus. First Printing
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- P. Byrne, R. Marchbank, J. Moore, and W. Jones
- Place of Publication
- Dublin
- Date Published
- 1791
- Keywords
- Literature;, Plays, ESSAYS, Poetry
- Bookseller catalogs
- Theatre & Performing Arts;
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
Terms of Sale
Round Table Books, LLC
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED - Any book may be returned in the same condition within 30 days of receipt for a full refund.
About the Seller
Round Table Books, LLC
Biblio member since 2008
Palatine, Illinois
About Round Table Books, LLC
Round Table Books, LLC lists rare, beautiful and interesting books. All books are described accurately, packed carefully and shipped promptly. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED - Any book may be returned within 30 days of receipt for a full refund.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...