[Rarebooks] fa: JOSEPH ADDISON & RICHARD STEELE - THE SPECTATOR - 8 vols. 1767

[ArCh]

Auction ending Sunday, November 21. Images and more details can be found at the URL below or by searching for the seller name arch_in_la. 

https://tinyurl.com/266djh8u

Thanks,
Ardwight Chamberlain
Ann Arbor, MI, USA


[Joseph Addison, Richard Steele, etc.:] The Spectator. London: Printed for J. and R. Tonson in the Strand, 1767. Eight volumes (complete), small 8vo, in early/period calf; each volume with engraved title-page and frontispiece. ESTC T97952.

A complete set. Bindings worn and rubbed, lacking several spine labels, some spines cracked or cracking, one board detached, two vols. with tape repairs; browning/offsetting to and from the frontispieces, toning to the contents with occasional small spots and touches of soiling. Bookplates of Frances Olive Anderson.

"It is impossible to overestimate the impact of The Spectator on early eighteenth century England. It had lightness and grace, and yet it was a mentor. It portrayed a middle way between Puritan asceticism and Restoration rowdiness. It reconciles wit and virtue... in a style unsurpassed for ease, simplicity, and clarity" (Kunitz & Haycraft).