[Rarebooks] fs: No poet ever wrote a better book on privies than this

[Joslin Hall Rare Books]

Harington, John. THE METAMORPHOSIS OF AJAX.
A New Discourse of a Stale Subject by Sir John Harington.

London; Fanfrolico Press: 1927.
Printed for subscribers in an
edition of 450 numbered copies.

A reprinting of the 1596 edition of this satirical Elizabethan book about 
constructing sanitary plumbing, edited, and with a new introduction by, 
Peter Warlock and Jack Lindsay. Sir John Harington [1561-1612] was a figure 
at Court and Elizabeth's godson, a relationship that did not prevent his 
slipping in and out of favor. This satirical work about the construction of 
a revolutionary flushing privy contained a potshot at Leicester, which got 
him into temporary trouble, but also included some good, common sense 
sanitary design that was ignored by householders for another 200 years.

In fact, Harington is given credit by some historians as being the inventor 
of the flush toilet (more or less) and apparently actually built one of the 
contraptions he described in this book for the Queen. "Ajax" was a play on 
words, the Elizabethan slang for privy being a "jake". Harington was not a 
first-rank writer, but he was entertaining and had his moments. As Lindsay 
says of this work in his Preface-

     "It lacks the epic prodigality of Rabelais (but) it is more precise 
and neat as becomes a man who essays not to cleans the earth's bad morality 
with lyric laughter, but its bad smells with carefully devised carpentry. 
... Harrington is no great poet; but I defy any great poet to write a 
better book on privies than this".

That about says it all. Hardcover. 6.5"x10", xxix + 144 pages; portrait 
frontispiece and several line illustrations in the text; decorated covers. 
Some toning along the top margin of the cover, spine darkened, a little 
internal soil, but a nice copy. [05661] $200.00

Illustration-
<http://www.joslinhall.com/images03/th-05661.jpg>


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