Hudibras, in three parts; written in the time of the late wars: corrected and amended. With large annotations, and a preface, by Zachary Grey LL.D. Adorn'd with a new set of cuts de BUTLER, Samuel (bap.1613, d.1680); William Hogarth [illustrates] - 1764

London: printed for C. Hitch, G. Hawkins, C. Bathurst, J. Tonson, J. Worral, R. Baldwin, T. Longman, J. Bathoe, C. Corbett, T. Lownds, G. Kearsly, T. Becket, W. Nichol, and M. Richardson, 1764. Full Calf. Fine-. Best edition" (Lowndes), with Grey's annotations and Hogarth's plates, of the most celebrated satire of the seventeenth century. Complete in two octavo volumes, with engraved half-length portrait of the author by Vertue and 16 full-page engravings (five folding) by Mynde after Hogarth. [2],xiv,xxxvi,424,[16]; [2],446,[24]pp. Contemporary full calf, spines in six compartments divided by gilt-ruled bands, red morocco lettering pieces gilt, all edges speckled red. Engraved armorial spade shield bookplates of J. G. Vernon on front paste-downs. A superlative set: endpapers and a few preliminaries and final leaves browned at margins but otherwise clean and bright; plates pristine, in deep, rich impressions; boards firmly attached, bindings tight and intact. Grolier (English 100) 32. Bland, pp. 216-19. Wither to Prior 137. Dibdin (Library Companion), p.731 ("the best critical edition, not only of this author, but doubtless of every other of the period"). Brunet I 1427-28. Lowndes 335. Maslen & Lancaster (Bowyer Ledgers) 4485. Paulson (Hogarth's Graphic Works) 73-84. Second Hogarth edition with Grey's notes (with "many emendations upon that of 1744," according to Lowndes). Originally published in three parts, between 1663 and 1678; the first edition with Hogarth's plates appeared in 1726, and the plates were re-engraved for this edition). Influenced by Rabelais and particularly Cervantes' Don Quixote, Butler's mock-heroic poem satirized Roundheads, Puritans, Presbyterians, and other factions of the English Civil War. "Although 'written in the time of the late Wars,' Hudibras was not licensed to be printed until 11 November 1662, two years after re-establishment of the monarchy, when a satire on Puritanism could no longer give offense to the ruling party. On the contrary, the satisfaction which it gave to the King and court had much to do with the great success it achieved." (Grolier English Literature 100, 32). Samuel Pepys bought a copy, and finding no humor in it, sold it the same day. Still, the book enjoyed enormous popularity, and on 5 November 1663, the Second Part appeared. Fourteen years passed before 'Hudibras: the Third and Last Part' (dated 1678) was entered in the Stationers' register on 22 August 1677 and put on sale. Multiple editions (as well as pirated issues) of the individual parts, as well as combined editions, were published by 1680. According to Bland, Hogarth's plates are a "landmark in English illustration and emphasize its divergence from an international style. . . . nothing could be more different from French work of the time . . . Hogarth aims at the common man; where the French illustrator is salacious, he is coarse; where the French illustrator chooses a classical or aristocratic subject, he prefers a contemporary plebeian one; and he is moral where the Frenchman is amoral." N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, with dust jackets carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).