The History of Sir Charles Grandison. RICHARDSON (Samuel).

FIRST AUTHORIZED DUBLIN EDITION

The History of Sir Charles Grandison. In a Series of Letters. By Samuel Richardson, Author of Pamela and Clarissa. In Seven Volumes. The Sixth Edition.

Seven volumes. 12mo. [175 x 105 x 168 mm]. vi, [ii], 330 pp; [1]f, 372pp; [1]f, 360, 365-388, 385-396 pp; [1]f, 316pp; [1]f, 294pp; [1]f, 384, 369-372 pp; [1]f, 324pp. Bound in contemporary marbled sheep, smooth spines divided into six panels by gilt pallets, lettered in the second on red goatskin labels, numbered directly in the fourth, the others with a small centre tool, the edges of the boards hatched in blind, plain endleaves and edges. (Worn, cracking to joints and front joint of vol.6 split but holding).
Dublin: printed for Thomas Walker, (No.79) Dame-Street, 1780.

A few minor spots and marks but a good clean and complete copy. There are two early ink signatures, in the same hand, on the front endleaf of vol.1. One is clearly Constantia Rawdon, the other is Charlotte McTaid (?). Constantia may be Lady Charlotte Adelaide Constantia Rawdon (1769-1834), daughter of John Rawdon, 1st Earl of Moira and his third wife Elizabeth Hastings, 16th Baroness Botreaux. In 1800 her hand was sought in marriage by one of the Boubon's cadet princes, Antoine Philippe d'Orléans, Duc de Montpensier, but he was refused authorisation by Louis, Count of Provence (the future King Louis XVIII). Instead, in 1814, she married Hamilton Fitzgerald.

This is the first authorized Dublin edition, following pirated Dublin editions of 1753 and 1765. The edition statement ("sixth") is misleading as the first London edition was 1753, the second dated 1754 (but actually 1753), the third 1754, the fourth 1756 (and again 1762), the fifth 1766, the sixth 1770, and the seventh 1776. ESTC locates ten copies of this 1780 Dublin edition, at the British Library, Cambridge, Dublin City Libraries, University of Ulster, Oxford, State Library of Ohio, W.A. Clark Memorial Library, University of Chicago, University of Minnesota and Yale.

Stock no. ebc8283