[ANSTEY, Christopher, 1724-1805] :

THE NEW BATH GUIDE : OR, MEMOIRS OF THE B---R---D [BLUNDERHEAD] FAMILY. IN A SERIES OF POETICAL EPISTLES.

[Cambridge] : sold by J.Dodsley ; J.Wilson & J.Fell ; J.Almon ... 1766. First edition : the first issue (without the later additional epilogue). The original appearance of the celebrated and immensely popular satirical verses of Christopher Anstey (1724-1805) - "So much wit, so much humour, fun, and poetry, so much originality, never met together before" (Walpole). The old Etonian Anstey's ridicule and parody of the freaks of fashion had the same kind of immediate success (presumably with the same audience) as his contemporary Laurence Sterne. He later moved to Bath, where he lived for the last thirty years of his life. The book was endlessly reprinted in smaller format editions, but never again in the spacious quarto of the first edition. Post 4to. 104pp. Bound in neat (twentieth century) cloth-backed drab boards; boards a little marked and spotted; first and last leaves a little discoloured; unobtrusive two-inch split or tear to centre of title-page; a little spotting and a few faint creases, but a good and well-margined copy.

• GBP 350.00 > other currencies
• ordernr.: 17873

• bookseller: Ash Rare Books (GREAT BRITAIN)