THE HISTORY OF RASSELAS, PRINCE OF ABYSSINIA. A Tale.

Later edition. Nicely bound in contemporary speckled calf with a diamond pattern to the boards. The spine with six compartments ruled and decorated in gilt and a red morocco title label lettered in gilt. Illustrated with an engraved frontispiece of the author and five further plates. A very good copy, the binding square and firm with some minor old insect damage to the top right of the spine and rubbing to the boards. The contents with a neat contemporary previous owner's inscription to the head of the title page, a minor wave line to the top margin of the plates and a little offsetting from the plates to the facing text pages are otherwise in good order.

An attractively bound copy of Johnson's allegorical Orientalist tale exploring and exposing the vanity of the human search for happiness. Provenance: From the library of Martin Stone.