The Letters of the Late William Cowper, Esq. to His Friends | Regency Full Calf Gilt Binding | London, 1820 | Small Octavo

A beautiful early 19th-century volume of The Letters of the Late William Cowper, Esq., to His Friends, edited by his kinsman J. Johnson, LL.D., Rector of Yaxham with Welborne in Norfolk. Printed in London for Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1820.

Elegantly bound in full navy-blue polished calf, richly decorated in gilt to both boards and spine, with a contrasting crimson title label, marbled endpapers and page edges, and delicate inner dentelle gilt tooling. The spine features exquisite floral gilt ornaments in the early Regency style.
Includes engraved frontispiece and vignette title pages protected by tissue guards.

Inside, the volume presents Cowper’s correspondence. Among the letters are Cowper’s moving exchanges with Lady Hesketh, the Rev. John Newton, and William Unwin, in which he reflects on solitude, faith, and the consolations of friendship. Later letters to Samuel Rose and William Hayley illuminate his thoughts on poetry and the translation of Homer, offering readers a profound portrait of one of England’s most sensitive and introspective poets.
A previous ownership inscription reads “Harriet Adams 1827 / Transferred to F.A. Price,” adding provenance charm to this well-preserved copy.

Binding tight and gilt bright; clean and crisp pages. 612pp

Condition: Very Good + 

Rare Book

Size: 5 1/4’L × 2 3/4”W x 1 1/4”D

A refined and desirable early 19th-century literary volume—an ideal addition for collectors of fine English bindings and Cowper’s works.