Dr Goldsmith's Roman history : abridged by himself for the use of schools.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Goldsmith, Oliver, 1730?-1774.

Contributor:

Byron Collection in Memory of Meyer Davis, Jr. (University of Pennsylvania)

Standardized Title:

Roman history

Language:

English

Penn Provenance:

Davis, Meyer (donor)

Davis, Hilda Emery (donor)

Davis, Meyer, Jr. (honoree)

Byron, George Gordon Byron, Baron, 1788-1824 (autograph, 1796)

Gerard, George (autograph)

Gerard C., M. (autograph, 1832)

Sim, Adam (bookplate)

Spohn, Howard L. (former owner)

Physical Description:

311 pages, 1 unnumbered page ; 18 cm (12mo)

Other Title:

Doctor Goldsmith's Roman history

Place of Publication:

[Scotland?] : [publisher not identified], [1790 or 1794?]

Notes:

Bibliographic record based on copy with title leaf wanting, identified in booksellers' descriptions as "[a]pparently a Scotch edition", so presumably either that printed in Edinburgh for W. Gordon, Bell and Bradfute, J. Dickson, and P. Hill in 1790 (ESTC N8959) or that printed in Glasgow for J. Gillies and A. Macaulay in 1794 (ESTC N8961).

Local Notes:

Penn Libraries copy formerly owned by Lord Byron with earliest surviving example of his autograph on pp. 15, 87 and 185 and back pastedown.

"A Byron relic of superlative interest. On the margins of pages 15, 86, and 185 occur the autograph of Lord Byron -- 'George Byron, his Book, 1796.' On the inside of the back cover is written 'Byron,' 'N,' 'M,' 'Guliver', and other letters and scribblings, in Lord Byron's handwriting, in the manner of a young schoolboy. The volume also belonged to George Gerard, whose autographs occurs [sic] two or three times, and an old note, written on the last printed page of the book which has been torn out and pasted on the inside front cover, dated 1832 and signed 'M. Gerard C.', states that George Gerard of Aberdeenshire, was the writer's brother, and was killed at Quatre Bas [sic] (1818), while carrying the colors of the 42d regiment. There is also the following note, under the signature 'Byron' written on the last cover, in Mr. Gerard's handwriting: 'Trace the resemblance between this and his signature in later years. M.G.C.' Lord Byron, in 1796, then 8 years of age, was a schoolboy at the Aberdeen Grammar School, where no doubt George Gerard was a fellow pupil. ... These are the earliest known autographs in existence of Lord Byron. It is not an extravagant statement to make that his particular interest in Roman history and his writing of 'Tasso' ' Dante' 'The Doge of Venice,' etc., can be directly traced to this volume."--Bookseller's typed description.

Given to the Penn Libraries in 1966 by Meyer and Hilda Emery Davis in memory of their son, Meyer Davis, Jr.

Penn Libraries copy bound in full calf; gold-stamped spine panels; red morocco label on spine with "Roman History" stamped in gold; enclosed in full blue French levant slip case with gilt and inlaid back, gilt fillets on sides and crown and "B" in alternate corners, and inner protecting wrappers of crimson watered silk.

Penn Libraries copy imperfect: all before p. 3 (including title leaf) wanting; p. 85-86 wanting; all after p. 308 wanting (except a portion of the last leaf which has been affixed to inside front cover).

Penn Libraries copy has 2 folded typed leaves (one with bookseller's description, the other with a poem entitled "Lord Byron's Copy. Paraphrased from Violet Fane's Poem on the same subject"), 1 folded printed leaf (running title reads: Hobbies April, 1934) with bookseller's description "from the priced sale catalogue of ... rare literary items in the collection of Howard L. Spohn ... [s]old ... on February 13 and 14" ; 2 folded printed leaves from an auction catalogue (running title reads: First Session Tuesday evening, February 13, 1934) with bookseller's description and a reproduction of Byron's autograph on p. 87, 1 folded ms. leaf of notes concerning the autographs, and 1 newspaper clipping ("An Anecdote of Mrs. Siddons") laid in.

Penn Libraries copy has 1 newspaper clipping concerning sale of "[t]he Culter Mains library" with ms. date 1869 affixed to inside front cover; last printed leaf with ms. notes signed "M Gerard C" on blank verso removed from its place, cropped and affixed to inside front cover; 2 clippings with bookseller's brief descriptions affixed to recto of front free endpaper; bookplate of Adam Sim of Coulter affixed to recto of front free endpaper; bookseller's printed description affixed to verso of front free endpaper; 1 leaf with engraved portrait of Byron inserted at beginning of volume.

Penn Libraries copy has a few ms. notes and marks in ink or pencil; some underlining of text in pencil; top outer corner of p. 173-174 torn off with loss of page numbers; a few ms. inscriptions on back pastedown, including 2 autographs of George Gerard and ms. note signed "M G C".

Cited in:

ESTC N8959 ; N8961

OCLC:

221135318