Marmion. A Tale of Flodden Field.
Edinburgh: Printed by J. Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh; and William Miller, and John Murray, London, 1808. [10], 377, [1], cxxvi pp. 4to (26 cm). Full fine tooled pebbled calf, raised bands, gilt decorated compartments, outer gilt rules, elaborate inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, sewn-in bookmark. First edition, first impression. Front board very tender but threads still holding, joints rubbed, some minor rubbing along top edges and a few bands, otherwise a crisp, tight copy, gilt glowing, with some faint scattered foxing. A beautiful production. NCBEL III, 370. Ruff 59 (see pp.49-53). Item #26728
Second state of the first impression with cancels on three leaves (c1, B1, X3). One of 2000 copies issued. The poem concerns Lord Marmion who is after a favorite of Henry VIII, the wealthy heiress, Clara de Clare. He implicates her fiance, Sir Ralph De Wilton, in a treasonable plot, but eventually De Wilton has Marmion unmasked just as the battle of Flodden Field (one of the greatest disasters in Scottish history [1513]) begins. Marmion is killed in the battle while De Wilton regains his honor, estates, and Clara. The book was a tremendous success, despite its exceedingly high price, with at least three editions issued the same year.
Price: $500.00