COWLEY, Abraham.

The Works of... Consisting of Those which were formerly Printed: and Those which he Design'd for the Press, Now Published out of the Author's Original Copies. To this Edition are added several Commendatory Copies of Verses on the Author, be Persons of Honour. [bound with] The Second and Third Parts of the Works of... The Second containing What was Written and Published by himself in his younger Years... The Third containing his Six Books of Plants, Never before Published in English...

London: Printed by J.M. [John Macock] for H. Herringman [and] Printed for Charles Harper, 1688, 89. Two works bound in one, folio, (l), 41, (1), 80, (4), 58, 61-70, 154, 23, (1), 148; (xiv), 161, (1), (xx), 166, (2, 8) pp, complete despite some erratic pagination, and with the 8 page table to the first work bound at the end of the volume. Two frontispieces, with some old ink stars to the margins at the beginning and near the end of the first work, subtle restoration to the corners of the first few leaves. Modern brown morocco, mild sunning of spine, an attractive copy. Immensely popular in his lifetime, and a lasting influence on Dryden, Cowley's reputation faded in the subsequent centuries. A Royalist who was expelled from Oxford for writing satires against the Puritans, he spent some of the Civil War in Paris attached to Queen Henrietta's court and was employed in deciphering messages between her and King Charles. When he died in 1649 he was interred in Westminster Abbey next to Chaucer and Spenser. Wing C6658, C6661. The first work was first published in 1668, the second being the first combined printing of parts 2 and 3 - the sixth edition of part 2 and first edition of part 3. The final part of "Of Plants" was translated by Aphra Behn. Item #41680

Price: £350.00