The Poems of Mr. Gray. To Which Are Prefixed Memoirs of His Life and Writings

The Poems of Mr. Gray. To Which Are Prefixed Memoirs of His Life and Writings

Mr. [Thomas] Gray,

Life and writings by W. Mason, Engraving by James Basire

York, England: Printed by A. Ward

1775

The boards of this book are covered in a modest tree calf leather pattern. Tree calf is so named because acid was poured down a piece of leather and allowed to spread creating what looks like a trunk with branches. Around the edges of the covers is a gilt stamp scrolled. The edges of the book have a dot-and-line gilting design, while the spine has prominent raised bands surrounded by a narrow double-line border. In the second compartment down is a red leather insert with the title gilt stamped onto it is surrounded by a dot-and-line border.
The paper was made from old rags. The type bite into the paper leaving indentations. The edges of the textblock have been dipped in green dye. The endpapers are a stone marbling pattern in green, blue, pink, black, yellow, and white.
The frontispiece is a profile of the poet surrounded by a laurel wreath. The engraver's name is tucked into the wreath.
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Thomas Gray was an English poet of the 18th century best known for "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," and "Agrippina." Raised primarly by his mother, he was sent to Eton and Cambridge where maternal uncles worked for his education. He liked to study and spent more time at Cambridge than necessary in order to study a wide-variety of subject including languages, Classical authors, and antiquarian interests, all of which are reflected in his poetry of the time.
He travelled, studied law, and evenatually settled on a career as a minister, but after his "Elegy" was published in the late 1740s, he devoted more time to writing. Gray lived from 1716-1771.

Literature / Poetry

SPECIAL PR3501 .M3 1775

Hardcover book, 10.5 x 8.5 inches

English

This book has another record in the "Beautiful Books" Exhibit Collection.
This book can be seen in the photograph, Display Case 2.

This book is included in a video in our Damaged Books digital exhibit: How can I safely store a book with a loose cover on the shelf?

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