The Poetical Magazine; Dedicated to the Lovers of the Muse (Volume 4)
by
Rudolph Ackermann

** PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR MORE PICTURES **

DETAILS: (London): R. Ackermann, 1810. First edition. Modern half leather, with marbled boards, edges and endpapers. 342, [3]pp. Illustrated with 13 aquatints, 11 hand-coloured and 1 tinted, plus engraved title page. 8vo (standard sized book).

CONDITION: Very Good to Good (see table below for details). Modern binding, with new endpapers. Some sunning to pages and plates, heavier to some. Light dirt and foxing to some pages and to some plates at margins. Offsetting to pages opposite pages. A little staining to front pages at fore edge. Plates, especially colour plates, in nice condition. *Photo(s) given of actual book.

CONTENTS: Called by Graham quite the most original and prosperous of poetry journals at the beginning of the 19th century, this is an uncommon collection of poetry and striking colour plates, the latter by Thomas Rowlandson. Abbey says that the magazine was probably started by Ackermann as a receptacle for the overflow of poetical effusions sent for publication in the 'Repository of Arts,' whose fourth number gives the first prospectus of the venture. It is chiefly remarkable as the first appearance of the famous Doctor Syntax, who, under the title of 'The Schoolmaster’s Tour,' ran through the whole of the publication, to be reprinted in volume form under the title of 'Doctor Syntax in Search of the Picturesque.' This is the fourth of the four volumes in the series that were published. This volume includes 13 aquatint plates, 11 of which are hand-coloured (of which 8 are illustrations of Doctor Syntax), and 1 other is tinted. The other 3 colour plates are views of the Thames near Vauxhall, the Abbey Church of Bath, and Netley Abbey. There is some sunning to the plates but they are generally in very good condition, especially the stunning colour plates (see above for examples). There is a little staining to the fore edge of a few front pages, but it does not affect the plates at all. A collectable work, for the quality of the Rowlandson plates alone. We also have Volumes 1 and 3 from this set (in identical binding). Click on the logo at the top of the page to go to our shop.