James Thomson — The Seasons

Edinburgh, A. Donaldson and J. Reid, 1761. Leather. The influential seasonal poem of James Thomson, an important literary volume complete with four plates. '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.Collated, complete.Bookplate of Edward Witts to the front paste down, bookplate of Edward Francis Witts to the rear paste down. In a full calf binding. Externally, generally smart. Light rubbing and marks to the boards and spine. Light bumping to the extremities. Small cracks to the head and tail of the front joint. Bookplate to the paste downs. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are bright and clean, with the occasional scattered spot. Very Good . Ill.: Not Stated. Very Good .