Hudibras In three parts, Written in the time of the late wars: Corrected and amended with large annotations and a preface by Zachary Grey Complete in two volumes.

London: J. Bentham, 1744. Leather. Fair. 8" by 5". Hogarth. An eighteenth century edition of this famous satirical polemic. In gilt tooled speckled calf leather bindings. Illustrated with frontispiece to volume I and further plates after Hogarth with some folding. Hudibras is a mock heroic poem from the 17th century written by Samuel Butler. The work is a satirical polemic upon Roundheads, Puritans, Presbyterians and many of the other factions involved in the English Civil War. The work was written in three parts in 1663, 1664 and 1678 although an unauthorised edition came out in 1662. Published only four years after Charles II had been restored to the throne and the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell being completely over the poem found an appreciative audience. The satire is not balanced as Butler was fiercely royalist and only the parliamentarian side are singled out for ridicule. Butler also uses the work to parody some of the dreadful poetry of the time. In speckled calf bindings. There is some wear to the extremities including bumping to the corners and tops and tails of the spines. Minor rubbing to the spines. Front hinge to volume II and rear hinge of volume I have failed, with boards detached from textblocks. The front inner hinge has been strengthened with tape in volume I. The bindings are generally firm although the cords are exposed in a number of places. Internally the books have some spotting in places and the occasional handling mark. Internally the books have some spotting in places and the occasional handling mark. The tops of pages 27-116 in volume II are damaged with slight to heavy loss of the text. There is worming throughout volume I, mostly to the margins but affecting the text in some places. There is some occasional evidence of past worming in volume II. Fair