William Somervile — The Chace. A Poem

London, Printed for G. Hawkins , 1735. First edition. Leather. The first octavo edition of William Somervile's famous poem on hunting. The first octavo edition. First quarto edition had appeared a month earlier.Bound in full speckled calf. For this printing the Bowyer Ledgers indicate a press run of 1000 copies. There is also an entry, about two weeks later, for two cancelled leaves, which Foxon identifies as A7-8, noting that in most copies A8 has the press figure 8. The reason for the cancellation was that in the commendatory poem by John Nixon beginning on the recto of A7, the second line had inadvertently been omitted; in this copy the leaves have not been cancelled, the line is missing, and there is no press figure [Foxon S563].ESTC no. T67401Register runs as A8, B-I8, K4. Collated, complete.One of the most famous and frequently reprinted poems on hunting, written in Miltonic blank verse. It traces the history of hunting up to the Norman Conquest of England, with reference to kennel design, hare hunting, stag hunting, otter hunting, and the breeding and training of dogs.The well-known work of English poet William Somervile, noted for pioneering early English georgic. Bound in full speckled calf, with decorative gilt to the spine. Externally, with rubbing to the extremities. Front joint is tender. With minor cracking to the head of the rear joint. Bookplate of one Sir George Howard to the front paste down, with smaller accompanying plate below. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are generally bright and clean, with offsetting to the endpapers and the odd spot. Good . Ill.: None. Good .