c1856–1873 – The Poetical Works of Mark Akenside – Aldine Edition, Half-Leather, Marbled Edges
 
Quick summary: attractive Aldine Edition half-leather binding with marbled boards, marbled edges and pastedowns, neat interior, all pages present.
 
Book overview

The Poetical Works of Mark Akenside, including the Life of Akenside, collected in an Aldine Edition of the British Poets series. Undated copy but datable to c.1856–1873 (see Dating Notes). Half-leather binding with marbled paper boards, marbled all edges, marbled pastedowns and endpapers. Small vignette on the title page, decorative headpieces. Very neat, tightly bound copy.
 
Publishing and dating notes
 
Publisher: Bell & Daldy, York Street, Covent Garden, London.
Printer: Chiswick Press, printed by Whittingham & Wilkins, Tooks Court, Chancery Lane.
Dating rationale: Bell & Daldy partnership began in 1856 and ended when Daldy left in 1873. The imprint therefore dates the book to between 1856 and 1873. This is a standard method for dating undated Bell & Daldy issues and is consistent with the Aldine series run.
 
Exterior condition
 
Half-leather binding with marbled paper boards.
Panelled spine with gilt tooling and gilt lettering.
Marbled all edges, marbled pastedowns and endpapers.
Cover intact and robust. Light shelf wear to edges and corners, a few small rips at corners, and minor rubbing to the marbled paper. Overall, very good for a book over 150 years.
 
Interior condition
 
Pages bright and unusually clean for age.
Very occasional small marks only.
One very small rip at the edge of page 151 and overleaf; does not affect the text.
No pen or pencil inscriptions.
Tightly bound, no loose gatherings.
All pages present: 312 pages of poems, plus 82 pages of the Life of Akenside, complete.
 
Measurements & weight
 
Approx. 16.7 × 11.0 × 2.6 cm
Approx. 328 g
 
About the author

Mark Akenside (1721-1770) was an English poet and physician best known for the long philosophic poem The Pleasures of the Imagination, included in this volume.