Bonhams 1793 : CARLYLE (THOMAS) Autograph letter signed, 1868

Autograph letter signed, to "Dear Sir", arranging for books to be sent to Edinburgh: "There are two little Parcels of Book, intended for Edinburgh by yr earliest Bundle thither...They are quite ready for carrying up to Piccadilly; want only to be put in brown paper, and to have the addresses copied"; and informing him that, although his printer [Charles] Robson has finally got the "Library Editn Copy", which had been awaiting collection for a week, "no type, it seems, is yet forthcoming"; adding philosophically: "I suppose the delay is really not in him, but in his typefounder. Patience, patience!", 2 pages, 12mo, on blue paper, minor blemishes, Chelsea, 26 May 1868

Sold for £275 inc. premium

Footnotes

'PATIENCE, PATIENCE!': Carlyle supervises the Library Edition of his works, which was to be printed by Charles Robson, the printer grudgingly exculpated in this letter. Three collected editions of his works were to appear in Carlyle's lifetime, the Uniform Edition (1857-1858), Library Edition (1869-1871) and People's Edition (1871-1874): 'Each is important to the history of the texts, for in various ways Carlyle superintended their collection... The Library Edition, published in thirty volumes by Chapman and Hall (1869-1871), is the most lavish of the lifetime editions, selling for 6s. to 9s. per volume, or £15 for the set. Carlyle took special interest in the quality of this edition, the first attempt at a comprehensive printing of all his works... A limited number of substantive and accidental variants appear in this edition, and an "Author's Note" on the publication history of Sartor Resartus is added' (Rodger L. Tarr in The Carlyle Encyclopedia, 2004, edited by Mark Cumming, p. 140).

Category: Books / Books, Maps and Manuscripts

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