The Task. A Poem in Six Books. To which is Added, Tirocinium: Or, A Review of Schools. By William Cowper, of the Inner Temple, Esq. A New Edition

Philadelphia: Thomas Dobson. Good. 1787. First American Edition. Hardcover. William Cowper (1731 - 1800) was a British poet whose fragile mental health led him to seek solace in Christianity. "The Task" is considered to be his major work and was highly regarded and popular in its day as well as by 19th century poets. He is now considered to be the foremost poet of his generation. The six books of The Task are: "The Sofa," "The Timepiece," "The Garden," "The Winter Evening," "The Winter Morning Walk," and "The Winter Walk at Noon." Cowper speaks of Christianity, the gifts of nature, and attacks slavery, superficiality, etc. First published in London in 1785, this is this is the first American edition (a "New Edition") and was printed by Thomas Dobson, a Philadelphia printer who had recently come from Scotland. This is an interesting association copy; an inscription in the front reads: "Louisa Adams, 1794; Given by John Park before marriage." One line from an old letter in an old hand is affixed to the rear end paper: "ever faithful heart of Louisa" (this appears to have been written by her husband, John). Louisa Adams was born in 1773 in Acton, Mass. Her husband John Park was a physician in the U.S. Navy. At his request, she kept a diary from June 1800 to July 1801 while he was on a Navy cruise in the USS Warren fighting the French in the Caribbean. In her diary she talks about her family, her lonliness, the death of their son, their friends, local churches, politics, and her concern for her husband. Her diary has been published in the modern era. There is also an old pencil ownership name on the front fly leaf dated 1864. The contents have scattered spotting, but the text is generally clean. This book is bound in full leather, all edges are gilt, and there the covers are patterened in diamond stamping with a fancy gilt rule around the edges. The front cover is detached and the rear cover is nearly detached. This copy is worth rebacking to reattach the covers (preserving, of course, the end papers). The second 32 page poem, "Tirocinium." has a separate title page. Evans notes that a copy was published in New York in the same year by Carroll and Patterson. No ads are present in this copy. Ref: Evans, American Bibliography, 23034 ; 24mo 5" - 6" tall; 186, 32 pages .