The Tatler

[ADDISON, Joseph, 1672-1719, and STEELE, Richard, Sir, 1672-1729]: [Tatler] The lucubrations of Isaac Bickerstaff, Esq, London printed for C. Bathurst, J. Buckland, J. Rivington and Sons, W. Owen, R. Horsfield , B. White and son, T. Longman, B. Law, C. Rivington, J. Dodsley, H. Baldwinm G. G. J. and J. Robinson, C. Dilly, T. Cadell, J. Nichols, R. Baldwin, W. Goldsmith, J. Johnson, W. Flexney, W. Nicoll, G. Burnett, C.D. Piguenitt, G. and T. Wilxie, W. Fox, M. Say, and E. Newbery. M DCC LXXVI [1786]
The Tatler appeared thrice weekly from 12 April 1709 to 2 January 1711 (a total of 271 issues), as a single folio half-sheet, printed in double columns, containing between 1,000 and 3,000 words of text. A collected edition was published in 1710n11, under the title The Lucubrations of Isaac Bickerstaff, Esq. Each issue originally was divided into four individual sections dated from different coffee-houses: accounts of manners and morals from White's; literature from Will's; scholarship from the Grecian; and news from St. James's. A further miscellaneous section is dated ifrom my own Apartmenti. After six months, the paper's division into headings was gradually phased out in favor of single essays, written in the voice of Isaac Bickerstaff. The authorship of most Tatler essays remains unknown, but, according to the Literary Encyclopedia, Joseph Addison appears to have been Steele's only major collaborator. . . The Tatler seems to have enjoyed almost instant and widespread popularity. . . . [with] an original circulation of at least 3,000. The volume of correspondence within the Tatler may also indicate its popularity. Steele prints more than 200 readers' letters, many of which were probably genuine. . . . dated from as far afield as Edinburgh, Wales and Cornwall. Many of these letters are from women." (Literary Encyclopedia)

A new edition, edited by J. Nichols, with notes by Nichols and others, in six volumes. 8vo: [8], l, 440; [4], 456; [4], 412; [4], 432; [4], 448; [4], 504pp, with six portrait frontispieces and six full-page copper-engraved plates. Contemporary tan tree-calf calf, the flat spines in compartments between gilt rules, with red morocco lettering pieces. An extremely attractive set, the bindings square and tight, with fresh, bright pages and plates (occasional underlining in pencil). ESTC Citation No. T98535. Full Calf jacket condition: Fine

[SW: English essays]

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BRITISH ESSAYISTS.|THE, London Printed for F.C. and J. Rivington, J. Nichols and Co., et. al. 1802
With Prefaces, Historical and Biographical, by Alexander Chalmers, A.M. 45 Volumes. Collection of the complete runs of eleven eighteenth-century British newspapers. Contains The Spectator(10 vols), Tatler(5 vols), Guardian(3 vols), Rambler(4 vols), Adventurer(3 vols), World(4 vols), Connoisseur(3 vols), Idler(2 vols), Mirror(3 vols), Lounger(3 vols), Observer(4 vols), and an index (1 vol). The Tatler, the precursor to The Spectator, was started by Richard Steele as Isaac Bickerstaff and operated from April 12, 1709 to January 2, 1711). The Spectator, founded by Steele and Joseph Addison, attempted to correct some of the problems Steele had encountered during the run of the Tatler. The Spectator ran from March 1, 1711 to December 20, 1714, with a suspension from December 7, 1712 to June 17, 1714. During this time, Steele founded another newspaper entitled The Guardian, which ran from March 12 to October 1, 1713. The edition printed here contains the addition of no. 176, "Three Letters, by John Hughes; designed for the Guardian." The Rambler, published by Edward Cave, was edited and often written by Samuel Johnson and ran from March 20, 1759 to March 17, 1752, while The Idler was a collection of essays by Johnson which originally appeared weekly in the Universal chronicle from April 15, 1758 to April 5, 1760. With John Hawkesworth, Johnson also founded and wrote the periodical The Adventurer, which ran from November 7, 1752 to March 9, 1754. The World, edited by Edward Moore ran from January 4, 1753 to December 30, 1756 and predominantly focused on the interests of the upper class while The Connoisseur, run by George Colman the Elder and Bonnell Thornton from January 31, 1754 to September 30, 1756, acted as its counterpart for a more middle-class readership. The Mirror, which ran from January 23, 1779 to May 27, 1780, and its continuation, The Lounger, dating from February 5, 1785 to January 6, 1787, were both originally published in Edinburgh by Henry MacKenzie in the style of The Spectator. The Observer was a collection of essays and other pieces by Richard Cumberland originally published in 1785. Each newspaper contains an historical and biographical preface by Alexander Chalmers along with engravings of the founders and/or primary authors. Volumes labeled with volume number, newspaper name, and volume within newspaper. Every volume contains bookplate of Edmond Kelly, Conseil de l'Ambassade d'Amerique. First volume contains list of newspapers and number of volumes for each in pencil. On many, top or bottom board loose, boards spotted, leather at edges and spine loose, chipped, or flaking. Some with boards dented or rubbed. All text block edges soiled. Water ring on top board of volume 26. Top board of volume 23 split, and leather beginning to pull away.

12mo., full leather, gilt rules, gilt title and decorations on spine, 3 raised bands, gilt turn-ins, all edges marbled, bookmark ribbon. variously paginated.

[SW: PERIODICALS, EIGHTEENTH CENTURY UNITED KINGDOM SCOTLAND ESSAYS SPECTATOR TATLER GUARDIAN CONNOISSEUR.|THE MIRROR STEELE, RICHARD ADDISON, JOSEPH BICKERSTAFF, ISAAC CHALMERS, ALEXANDER POPE, ALEXANDER JOHNSON, SAMUEL CAVE, EDWARD DODSLEY, ROBERT SOCIETY SET]

Details

Various: The Tatler and The Guardian: Complete in One Volume: With Notes and a General Index, London William P. Nimmo 1877 ; fester Einband / hard cover; 1. Ed.
Very Good +

The Tatler: xii, 482pp inc frontis tissue protected portrait of Sir Richard Steele, "Original Dedications" to the first four volumes, Preface to the Octavo Edition and index; The Guardian: vi, 264pp inc "Original Dedications" to the first two volumes, and index - Two titles in one volume. Bound editions of both The Tatler (issues from No 1, 1709 through issue No. 271, 1710) and The Guardian (issues from No 1, 1713 through issue No. 175, 1713) all fully indexed. Covers (green leather with bevelled edges and bright gilt titles to five-banded spine) are a bit edgeworn and rubbed with the leather bucking a bit to the front board. TEG. Textblock clean and tight, albeit with some foxing, mostly to page edges. First Edition No Jacket Leather 6.25 x 9.5"; First Edition

[SW: The Guardian, The Tatler, Annuals, Sir Richard Steele, AntiquarianHistory Literature Annuals Literary Criticism Victoriana Antiquarian]

Details

Bickerstaff, Isaac; [Steele, Richard; Swift, Jonathan; Addison, Joseph]: The Lucubrations of Isaac Bickerstaff. The Tatler. 5 volume set, London E. and R. Nutt [printers]

Leather cover G: in Good condition without dustwrapper. Rebound in full leather with new endpapers. Pages browned (commensurate with age); foxing to some volumes. Corner torn the dedication page of vol. III with loss to text Reprint 336pp, 330pp, 312pp, 309pp, 324pp :: Engraved frontis plate :: 180mm x 110mm (7" x 4") :: Published between 1728 and 1733. The original Tatler was founded in 1709 by Richard Steele, who used the nom de plume "Isaac Bickerstaff, Esquire", the first such consistently adopted journalistic pseudonym. Steele's idea was to publish the news and gossip heard in London coffee-houses using 'The Tatler' as a satirical medium through which to present such information. Regular contributers to 'The Tatler' were Jonathan Swift and Joseph Addison English

[SW: Pre-1750]

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