"Donne was a great reformer of the English language. He enlarged the possibilities of lyric verse as no other English poet has done."
— T. S. Eliot
The Works of John Donne With a Memoir of His Life by Henry Alford. In Six Volumes. London. Published by John W. Parker, 1839.
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FIRST EDITION of this very important edition of the works of the great metaphysical poet, John Donne. An extremely rare and desirable edition which is very scarce to see the open market with this example externally in fine condition. We could trace only one other set currently for sale worldwide which has an asking price of $2,500. Other examples have sold at Christie's 25th October 1996 lot 21 for £748 and £1,050 at Dominic Winter 27th Sept 2023 lot 279.
This set has a nice engraved portrait frontispiece engraved by W. Holl and is one of the most complete editions of John Donne's works to be published. Donne is generally considered the most prominent member of the metaphysical poets, a phrase coined in 1781 by Samuel Johnson, following a comment on Donne by John Dryden. Dryden had written of Donne in 1693: "He affects the metaphysics, not only in his satires, but in his amorous verses, where nature only should reign; and perplexes the minds of the fair sex with nice speculations of philosophy, when he should engage their hearts, and entertain them with the softnesses of love."
Donne's earliest poems showed a developed knowledge of English society coupled with sharp criticism of its problems. His satires dealt with common Elizabethan topics, such as corruption in the legal system, mediocre poets and pompous courtiers. His images of sickness, vomit, manure and plague reflected his strongly satiric view of a society populated by fools and knaves. Donne's early career was also notable for his erotic poetry, especially his elegies, in which he employed unconventional metaphors, such as a flea biting two lovers being compared to sex.
Some have speculated that Donne's numerous illnesses, financial strain and the deaths of his friends all contributed to the development of a more sombre and pious tone in his later poems. The change can be clearly seen in "An Anatomy of the World" (1611), a poem that Donne wrote in memory of Elizabeth Drury, daughter of his patron, Sir Robert Drury of Hawstead, Suffolk. This poem treats Elizabeth's demise with extreme gloominess, using it as a symbol for the fall of man and the destruction of the universe.
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Size: 153 x 228 mm (approx., each)
Condition:
[xxxii, pp.1-587, 2pp (advertisements)]; [iv, pp.1-588, 4pp (advertisements)]; [iv, pp.1-614, 2pp (advertisements)]; [iv, pp.1-590, 2pp (advertisements)]; [iv, pp.1-623], [iv, pp.1-569, 7pp (advertisements)]
Summary: externally fine, internally very good.
Each volume collated as complete through each text block. No advertisements bound in to the fifth volume (if called for?) else all of the other volumes are complete with advertisements. Externally this set is in fine condition in modern cloth with earlier tooled morocco labels relaid to the spines. Page edges very good with uncut fore edges (as published). Endpapers foxed but very clean through each text block, mildly toned as typical. Frontispiece with a small tear at the foot with a small amount of loss not affecting the text or portrait itself. An additional modern portrait illustration of John Donne is included loosely in the front of the first volume, and some additional ephemera is included at the rear of the sixth volume from circa 1949.
[Lowndes II, 661].
