c1856-1873 – The Poetical Works of James Beattie – Aldine Edition, Half-Leather, Marbled
 
Book overview

The Poetical Works of James Beattie, part of the Aldine Edition of the British Poets. Includes a Memoir of Beattie by Rev. Alexander Dyce and Beattie’s most celebrated works, including The Minstrel. With half-leather binding, marbled boards, marbled edges, and marbled endpapers. Illustrated vignette on title page and decorative headpieces at the start of sections.
 
Publishing and dating notes
 
Publisher: Bell & Daldy, York Street, Covent Garden, London
Printer: Chiswick Press, Whittingham & Wilkins, Tooks Court, Chancery Lane
Date: Not dated; based on imprint, c.1856–1873 (the Bell & Daldy partnership spanned these years)
 
Exterior condition
 
Bound in red half leather with marbled paper boards.
Panelled spine with gilt decorations and gilt lettering.
All-edge marbled pages, marbled pastedowns and endpapers.
Robust binding, rubbing to corners and spine, and light wear to board paper, consistent with age.
 
Interior condition
 
Pages bright and clean for age.
Only very occasional small marks.
Very small rips between front pastedown and free endpaper at inner margin.
No pen or pencil marks.
Pages tightly bound, no loose sections.
Complete: 244 pages + Memoir of Beattie.
 
Measurements & weight
 
Approx. 16.7 × 11 × 2.1 cm
Approx. 286 g
 
About the author

James Beattie (1735–1803) was a Scottish poet, philosopher, and professor. He is best remembered for The Minstrel, a poem that epitomised Enlightenment ideals and secured his reputation in the 18th century. A friend of Samuel Johnson and admired by Robert Burns, Beattie was celebrated in his lifetime but fell into neglect in the 19th century. Today his works remain valued by scholars of the Scottish Enlightenment and Romantic precursors.