James Thomson; Robert Heron — The Seasons

Perth, R. Morison Junior, 1793. Leather. A lovely edition of James Thomson's immensely influential poem that discusses the seasons, a beautiful poem, illustrated with seven detailed plates. Illustrated with a frontispiece, engraved title page, and seven plates. Collated, complete. Register runs as [3], a-f4, g2, A-Gg4, Hh5, A-K2. ESTC citation number T102386. With a life of the author, and a critical essay on the poem, written by Robert Heron. 'The Seasons' is James Thomson's best known poem. The work is a series of four poems, each focussing on one season of the year. 'The Seasons' is a long blank verse poem, and reflects on the landscape of the countryside. For the poem, Thomson borrowed Milton's Latin influence vocabulary and inverted word order. This was an immensely popular and influential work when it was published, inspiring the likes of Thomas Gainsborough and J. M. W. Turner. The work wasn't just influential in the literary world, but also in the legal world; there were disputes over the publishing rights for the poem, and it led to two important legal decisions, Millar v. Taylor and Donaldson v. Beckett, both landmarks in the history of copywritings. Bookplate to the front pastedown, 'Michael Jaffe&apos. Jaffe was a British art historian and curator, and was the director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge from 1973 to 1990. Prior owner's ink inscription to the head of leaf A1, 'Eleonora Dalrymple&apos. Eleonora was the daughter of Brig-Gen Thomas Fiaschi, and married Ernest William Dalrymple Tennant in 1912. In a full calf binding. Externally, generally smart. Some rubbing and marks to the boards and spine. Some loss to the front board. A little bumping to the head and tail of the spine and to the extremities. A small amount of loss to the head and tail of the spine. Small cracks to the head and tail of the joints. Hinges are starting but firm. Bookplate to the front pastedown. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are generally bright and clean, with only a couple of light marks and spots. Loss to the margin of leaf g1, not affecting text, and a small amount of loss to the following leaf, again not affecting text. Prior owner's ink inscription to the head of the leaf A1, 'Eleonora Dalrymple&apos. Good . Ill.: Not Stated. Good .