The Deserted Village, A Poem
London: Printed for W. Griffin, at Garrick's Head, in Catharine street, Strand, MDCCLXX [1770]. First Edition. Morocco. First Issue (with erroneous catchword "Careless" for "Thus" on p. 9) of one of the most influential poems of the eighteenth century, condemning the enclosure of land into vast landscaped estates. 4to: vii,[1]-23[1]pp, with half-title (bulked at end with 22 blank leaves). Title page with engraved vignette by Isaac Taylor, "The Sad Historian on the Pensive Plain." With the half title stating, "Price 2s." Dedicated to Sir Joshua Reynolds, president of the Royal Academy. Beautifully bound in full red recent morocco, spine with four raised bands ruled in gilt, black morocco lettering piece gilt, end papers and blanks (including 22 leaves at end to add bulk) renewed. Very minor light scratches to boards, else the handsome binding is tight and square. Half title soiled and toned, with tiny closed tear to center, very occasional faint spotting, final leaf with old neat patch repair to verso and tiny hole obliterating page number, else contents clean and bright. Rothschild 1032. Hayward 184 (for one of the duodecimos once thought to be privately printed trial issues, but which Todd ["The private issues of The deserted village," Studies in Bibliography, 6:25-44 1954] has now identified as unauthorized later printings). Sterling 405 (Exhibition in the Yale University Library of the Works of Oliver Goldsmith in Connection with the Bicentenary of His Birth). Tinker 1122. Courtney (Johnson), p. 113 ("The last four lines in Goldsmith's Deserted Village were by Johnson."). Temple Scott, pp. 238-252 (A "poem without which we should be poor indeed. . . . Such a demand for a poem [citing four authorized edition published within the first 30 days of first publication] passed all anticipations; it was never heard of in those days."). Near Fine+. Item #BB1384
In 1768, Goldsmith moved to a cottage at Edgeware, then out into the countryside far from London. He worked on The Deserted Village for about two years before its publication, but had been collecting materials on country visits for some years before that. "It was his most researched, most careful and most openly didactic poem." (Literary Encyclopedia) It was finally published in May, 1770, as a quarto pamphlet, with five more quarto editions following that same year. Nearly all first reviews were favorable. "Despite widespread resistance to its mourning the disruptive effects of enclosure [laws], The Deserted Village none the less gave fresh expression to the traditional form of elegy. Early readers admired the nostalgic descriptions of a vanished village life, with its vivid portraits of the preacher, the blacksmith, the schoolmaster, and the widow." (ODNB) It may not be the greatest of the English elegies, "but in its successful adjustment of serious Tory thought with gracious charm and in its successful redefinition of the pastoral elegy in terms of contemporary experience, Goldsmith's excellent and indispensable poetry may be said to deserve our admiration as well as our affection." (Miner, "The Making of The Deserted Village,' Huntington Library Quarterly Vol. 22, No. 2, p.141). "The scale of rural depopulation gave rise to grave debates in Parliament, . . . but concern for the rural poor was rarely expressed by the literary class. Goldsmith’s poem stands as a rare exception." (Literary Encyclopedia) N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed.
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