The Deserted Village, A Poem.

London: W. Griffin,, 1770. The country blooms - a garden, and a grave The third edition, in an attractive contemporary binding, of The Deserted Village, Goldsmith's poetic attack on the transformation of the countryside into vast landscaped landed estates: "the man of wealth and pride/takes up a space that many poor supplied,/space for his lake, his park's extended bounds, space for his horses, equipage, and hounds … His seat, where solitary sports are seen,/indignant spurns the cottage from the green". In condemning the enclosure of land, Goldsmith also implicitly criticized those, such as Capability Brown, who turned these estates into spectacular parks. The Deserted Village is considered one of the great English poems of the 18th century. Also bound here are six other poems, including examples of the biting poetic satires of Charles Churchill and William Coombes. Bound third, with: i) CHURCHILL, Charles. The Ghost. London: printed for the author, 1763. Third edition, with additions. ii) CHURCHILL, CHARLES. The Duellist. A Poem in Three Books. London: printed for G. Kearsly, 1764. Second edition. iii) COOMBE, William. The Diaboliad, A Poem. Dedicated to the Worst Man in His Majesty's Dominions. A New Edition, with Large Additions. London: printed for G. Kearsly, [1677, i.e 1777]. Later edition, published the same year as the first. iv) COOMBE, William. The Diaboliad, A Poem. Part the Second. By the Author of Part the First. Dedicated to the Worst Woman in His Majesty's Dominions. London: printed for J. Bew, 1778. First edition. v) COOMBE, William. The First of April: or, the Triumphs of Folly: A Poem. Dedicated to a Celebrated Duchess. London: printed for J. Bew, 1778. First edition, one of two states without known priority. vi) COOMBE, William. The Justification: A Poem. By the Author of the Diaboliad. London: Printed for the author, 1777. First edition. Seven works bound in a single vol., quarto (262 x 203 mm). Contemporary tan half calf, red morocco label lettered in gilt to spine, marbled paper sides, vellum tips. Contemporary ownership signatures on front pastedown and to most poems, slightly cropped at times, a few pencil and ink annotations to both Diaboliad parts, two poems with names of borrowers and dates of return in pen on the title page, a contemporary drawing of a face on final page of The Duelist. Tiny chip to head of spine, covers slightly abraded, some light soiling and browning to contents, some marks, occasional foxing, some pages lightly creased, a few small nicks and tears not affecting text, tiny chips to pp. 11 and 23 of The Deserted Village affecting pagination, pp. 33-4 of The Diaboliad part one repositioned after p. 12. A very good collection. ESTC numbers: T74515; T35002; T146044; T31775; T112377; N411; T2683.