THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE, OF YORK, MARINER: Who Lived Eight and Twenty Years Alone in an Uninhabited Island, on the Coast of America, Near the Mouth of the Great River Oroonoque. With an Account of His Travels Round Three Part of the Globe. Written by Himself.

London: Printed for John Stockdale, Piccadilly, 1790 and 1804. 2 volumes. Rare Large Paper Copy of this Very Early Set with Stothard’s engravings. The engraved title-pages are dated 1804, but the engraved illustrations are dated 1790. Very probably then, this is an early setting with a newly dated title-page. With 19 engraved illustrations including a finely engraved vignette title-page to each volume, an engraved portrait of Defoe by Medland and 16 other beautifully engraved full page plates by Stothard. Two plates included here as additions are not called for in the collation and appear to have been printed first by Stockdale in 1791. One of the two is a full page plate of Robinson Crusoe in his famous handmade attire, the other of the dedication monument erected by the Duke and Duchess of Queensbury. Large 8vo, in handsome bindings of three-quarter antique rose calf over marbled paper covered boards, the spines adorned with central gilt tooling within compartments separated by triple gilt ruled bands, two compartments with contrasting black and olive morocco lettering pieces gilt. [xvi], 405; v, 456 pp. A handsome set, very well preserved and in very pleasing condition with no repair or sophistication whatsoever. A HANDSOME SET IN VERY PLEASING CONDITION. “Defoe...disclosed a genius for devising a tale of adventure...(the influence of which has) not yet dissipated, for much of science fiction is basically Crusoe’s island changed to a planet.
At least equally relevant...is the figure of the lonely human being subduing the pitiless forces of nature; going back to nature, indeed, and portraying the ‘noble savage’ in a way that made the book required reading for Rousseau’s Emile.
ROBINSON CRUSOE has long since been more widely read...in versions...for young people...(there is) the footprint in the sand, Man Friday, the threatening savages, and the endless ingenuity and contrivance that make the hero’s island life tolerable.” PMM
“It breathes throughout a spirit of piety and benevolence; it sets in a very striking light the importance of the mechanic arts...it fixes in the mind a lively idea of the horrors of solitude, and, consequently, of the sweets of social life, and of the blessings we derive from conversation and mutual aid; and it shows how by labouring with one’ s own hands, one may secure independence...” Beattie
Stothard’s engravings are probably the most famous ever included in any edition of ROBINSON CRUSOE.