[Rarebooks] fa: JOHN OGILVIE - PROVIDENCE: AN ALLEGORICAL POEM 1764 + PARADISE: A POEM 1769

[Ardwight Chamberlain]

Listed now, auction ending Sunday, June 21. More details and images can be found at the URL below or by searching for the seller name arch_in_la.

http://tinyurl.com/pfnb3b6

Thanks,
Ardwight Chamberlain
L.A.

John Ogilvie: Providence. An Allegorical Poem. In Three Books. London: Printed for G. Burnet, at Bishop Burnet’s Head, in the Strand, MDCCLXIV [1764]. FIRST EDITION; 4to (23 cm) bound in later half calf and marbled boards, spine ruled and lettered in gilt; page edges dyed red; xii, [3], 63, [3], 73-131, [3], 131-192 pp. (erratic pagination as issued); engraved title vignette and three copper-engraved plates (complete). ESTC T46056.

John Ogilvie (1733-1813), a Scottish divine, poet and hymnist, wrote a number of poems on religious themes, the present work being foremost among them. This, as Ogilvie states in his introduction, is an attempt to present not a "philosophical dissertation," but a "moral work… enlivened with those graces which contribute to amuse the imagination…So much stronger is the impulse which leads us to search for Pleasure, than that which prompts us to desire Instruction." "Among Ogilvie's larger works, that of Providence is, perhaps, entitled to the first place… There are, in this poem, several passages of great poetical beauty, which, if they formed parts of a more popular work, would often be quoted as evidences of the first school" (Robertson, Lives of Scottish Poets). "Ogilvie was one of a contemporary group of Scottish literary clergy. He frequently appeared in the literary circles of London and Edinburgh, and was a fellow of the Edinburgh Royal Society. It was to Ogilvie, while dining with Boswell in London, that Johnson remarked, 'Let me tell you, the noblest prospect which a Scotchman ever sees is the high road which leads him to England'" (DNB).
With four superb engravings designed and etched by A. Walker. Binding with some modest rubbing, wear to the edges; mild even toning to to the leaves, offsetting from the plates, else very clean and fresh. A handsome copy of a handsome production. Front paste-down with the small engraved booklabel of Samuel Lovegrove.

[John Ogilvie:] Paradise: A Poem. London: Printed for George Pearch, No 12, Cheapside, MDCCLXIX [1769]. FIRST EDITION; 4to (23 cm) in modern plain boards; [2] + 26 pp.; with the half-title page, engraved title vignette (by Isaac Taylor). ESTC T43618.
Ogilvie (1733-1813) was a Scottish divine, poet and hymnist. While many of his poems were on religious themes (The Day of Judgment, 1753, Providence: An Allegorical Poem 1767, etc.), the present work is on a less exalted plane. Here he extolls the beauties of the English garden, and apparently one English garden in particular, since he states in his prefatory "advertisement" that the work was "undertaken at the desire of the Gentleman who raised the elegant Villa whose various scenery it is intended to describe." "Ogilvie was one of a contemporary group of Scottish literary clergy. He frequently appeared in the literary circles of London and Edinburgh, and was a fellow of the Edinburgh Royal Society. It was to Ogilvie, while dining with Boswell in London, that Johnson remarked, 'Let me tell you, the noblest prospect which a Scotchman ever sees is the high road which leads him to England'" (DNB).
Small chip to the fore-edge of the half-title and light stain to the verso; two very small ink stains on the last page; light toning to the leaves, otherwise very clean and crisp, firmly bound in a fresh if somewhat utilitarian modern binding. An uncommon title: ESTC locates copies in only 3 libraries in the UK, 3 in the U.S.