A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland
London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1775. 384p. Later half dark brown roan and pebbled cloth boards. Second edition of Samuel JOhnson's account of his visit to the Hebrides with James Boswell. Johnson's Journey is "a book that the admirer of Johnson will linger over ad return to again and again" (Wain, 321). Motivated in part by an interest from childhood in the high church of Glasgow (and perhaps also by fascination with the idea of "the Second Sight" - see pages 248-56), Johnson spent a hundred days in Scotland in 1773. "Those travels. were no inconsiderable feat for a man of his age [64 years] and size. They were not free from danger or discomfort. But he went through the troubles which attended his wanderings without flinching". (Courtney & Smith, 118-19) Second edition (sometimes described as first edition, second issue), with six-line errata and leaf U4 correctly paginated. Chapman and Hazen suggest that no more than 1500 copies off this issue were printed. Title page with author's name inked in an early hand, pages with marginal pencil emphasis marks and annotations. Some light to moderate foxing, with pencil marks as above. Binding rubbed, title page starting to separate. Item #10482
Price: $250.00