Christopher Smart; J. B. Broadbent — A Song to David

London, The Rampant Lions Press, 1960. First edition. Vellum. A lovely, first limited edition of this poem of ecstatic devotion, A Song to David is Christopher Smart"s lyrical masterpiece. In the publisher's original quarter paper vellum with patterned parchment boards. Complete with the publisher's original unclipped dust wrapper. This copy is a first, limited edition of this work, being copy number one hundred and twenty eight of six hundred copies. Illustrated with a blue and black frontispiece illustration by Lynton Lamb. This is a majestic 1763 poem by Christopher Smart, long misunderstood by contemporaries as the work of a "madman", this is a devotional masterpiece, likely composed during his confinement in London asylums, exalts King David before culminating in a fervent embrace of Christ. In the publisher's original quarter paper vellum with patterned parchment boards. Externally, lovely. The slightest rubbing to extremities. Spine slightly age toned. One or two slight handling marks to rear endpapers. Dust wrapper smart. Slightly faded to perimeters with offsetting. Rubbing and bumping to extremities resulting in the off chip and closed tear. One or two slight handling marks to wraps. Internally, firmly bound. Pages bright and clean. Very Good Indeed . Ill.: Lynton Harold Lamb. Very Good Indeed/Very Good.