[Rarebooks] fa: SARAH FIELDING - THE LIVES OF CLEOPATRA AND OCTAVIA - First Edition 1757

[ArCh]

Listed now, auction ending Sunday, November 3. Images and more details can be found at the URL below or by searching for the seller name arch_in_la. 

http://tinyurl.com/yyx233jp

Thanks again,
Ardwight Chamberlain
Ann Arbor, MI, USA

[Sarah Fielding:] The Lives of Cleopatra and Octavia. By the Author of David Simple. London: Printed for the Author, and Sold by Andrew Millar, in the Strand; R. and J. Dodsley, in Pall-Mall; and J. Leake, at Bath, MDCCLVII [1757]. FIRST EDITION. Tall 4to (26.5 cm) in in early calf, rebacked in modern calf with gilt-lettered spine labels; marbled endpapers; [12] + 219 + [1] pp.; with a list of subscribers; woodcut head- and tail-pieces and initials. ESTC T140917.

A double biography of two formidable Roman-era women, written by Sarah Fielding (1710-1768), the sister of Henry Fielding. Left by her termagant grandmother without enough money for a dowry, or indeed to live on, Fielding turned to writing to support herself and enjoyed considerable success, especially with her first book, The Adventures of David Simple (1744). The subscribers include the Earl of Chesterfield, Fulke Greville, Richard "Beau" Nash, Samuel Richardson, and John Wilkes. Binding with some rubbing and scuffing, bumping and wear to the edges; contents with intermittent damp-stain to the margins, mostly light, more pronounced on the first and last few leaves; occasional scattered spots. Front paste-down with the armorial bookplate of Lt. Col. F. Babington Petle, Indian Staff Corps. Initial blank with the small penciled note, "Bought in Sydney, 1964."