THE PRINCE OF ABISSINIA. [RASSELAS].

[JOHNSON, SAMUEL].

(London: R. and J. Dodsley, and W. Johnston, 1759). 158 x 98 mm. (6 1/4 x 3 3/4"). Two volumes. FIRST EDITION.

Contemporary sprinkled calf, some very skillful repair to joints, newer (but extremely convincing) red morocco labels, raised bands, spine with gilt rules, edges sprinkled in red. Fleeman 59.4R/1; Courtney-Smith, p. 87; ESTC T139510. Upper corners and edges a bit rubbed, pastedowns and adjacent leaves with offsetting from turn-in glue, one closed tear with early repair (into text but not affecting legibility), other trivial defects, but still quite an excellent copy--very clean and fresh internally, and in a solid, pleasing binding.

This is an excellent copy of the first printing of the most thoroughly translated and disseminated work by Samuel Johnson during his lifetime. Johnson (1709-84) made his name through his dictionary and critical work; "Rasselas," which was written during the evenings of a single week to help pay for the funeral of the author's mother, stands apart as his only work of prose fiction. A generically elusive work (a narrative with the feel of an allegory, but actually mostly a series of dissertations with a thin story line), "Rasselas" accomplishes the impressive goal of being artistically successful, even uplifting, while demonstrating the somber truth that there is no genuine happiness in the world. It is the story of a fictional African prince, the eponymous Rasselas, who goes on a voyage of exploration with his sister and the poet/philosopher Imlac. The work is charming because its disquisitions and episodes are marked at once by wisdom, humanity, melancholy, and even glimmerings of humor. Our copy has the second volume with Fleeman's variant "a" for "contents" text, p. 161 with reading "indiscerptible," and erroneous chapter numbers in contents with a repeating "XXVIII." (ST20894)

Price: $3,750.00