James Thomson — The Seasons

Edinburgh, J. Robertson; A. Kincaid; J. Bell, 1768. Leather. An illustrated eighteenth century edition of James Thomson's most popular poetical work. 'The Seasons' is James Thomson's best known poem.The work is a series of four poems, each focusing 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 copywriting.Illustrated with a frontispiece, and four plates.ESTC citation number T101639.Collated, complete. In a full calf binding. Externally, front hinge is weak, may fail despite careful handling. Light marks to the boards and spine. Small chip to the spine label. Minor bumping to the extremities. Very small amount of loss to the head of the spine. A little light rubbing to the boards and spine. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are lightly age-toned and clean with only the occasional spot. Good . Ill.: Not Stated. Good .