Poems
by William Cowper
- Used
- good
- Hardcover
- Condition
- good
- Seller
-
York, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
T H E P O E M S
OF
W I L L I A M C O W P E R
FOURTH EDITION
LONDON :
THOMAS ARNOLD
1844
DESCRIPTION
(ii) + x + 607 + (ii)
Book measures 190mm x 125mm approximately.
Nicely bound in half very dark blue calf over marbled boards. Spine with four wide gilt-ruled raised bands and blind-tooled motif to each compartment. Maroon title label. All page edges marbled. Tissue-guarded engraved frontispiece to title page verso plus other tissue-guarded engravings throughout. Colour tinted illustration to title page.
CONDITION
In overall good condition with binding holding firm and tight. Some surface scratches and marks to spine and boards with the occasional chip to edges, and minor bumping to corners. Internally, the pages are quite clean, with some light spotting and the odd blemish, more so to engraving pages and end-papers. Neat bookplate to front paste-down.
Overall, a very decent copy of Cowper's poems.
INTERESTING
William Cowper (1731 to 1800) was an English poet and hymnodist. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry. Samuel Taylor Coleridge called him "the best modern poet", whilst William Wordsworth particularly admired his poetry. Cowper suffered from depression and insanity throughout his life and devoted much of his writing to religious works and the anti-slavery movement.
After being institutionalised for insanity, Cowper found refuge in a fervent evangelical Christianity. He continued to suffer doubt and, after a dream in 1773, believed that he was doomed to eternal damnation. He recovered and wrote more religious hymns.
His religious sentiment and association with John Newton (who wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace") led to much of the poetry for which he is best remembered, and to the series of Olney Hymns. His poem "Light Shining out of Darkness" gave English the phrase: "God moves in a mysterious way/ His wonders to perform."
He also wrote a number of anti-slavery poems and his friendship with Newton, who was an avid anti-slavery campaigner, resulted in Cowper being asked to write in support of the Abolitionist campaign. He also wrote several other less well-known poems on slavery in the 1780s, many of which attacked the idea that slavery was economically viable.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Melmoth Books (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- MB0121
- Title
- Poems
- Author
- William Cowper
- Book Condition
- Used - good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- 4th fourth
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Thomas Arnold
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1844
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- poems poetry
Terms of Sale
Melmoth Books
About the Seller
Melmoth Books
About Melmoth Books
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Paste-down
- The paste-down is the portion of the endpaper that is glued to the inner boards of a hardback book. The paste-down forms an...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Verso
- The page bound on the left side of a book, opposite to the recto page.
- Bookplate
- Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
- Marbled boards
- ...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Raised Band(s)
- Raised bands refer to the ridges that protrude slightly from the spine on leather bound books. The bands are created in the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...