Compellingly annotated and interleaved early 18th century edition of Milton’s Paradise Lost which shows the deep influence exerted by Joseph Addison’s mass circulation writing about English literature.
This single volume of Milton’s Paradise Lost (Books I-VI) has been interleaved throughout, seemingly by ‘Richard Blundell’ who signed the book at the back in an italic hand (probably the lawyer, 1656-1754, Exeter School, Tiverton; Sidney Sussex, Cambridge; Inner Temple) with his annotation to the text taken from Addison, and preceding that Blundell’s 32 page manuscript digest of Addison’s account of Milton’s epic plot structure, character, sentiments and language which Addison had first published in the Spectator in 1712 - around the time of the publication of this edition.
To add to the book’s interest, on the penultimate flyleaf, but written in a slightly earlier hand, is a copy of Thomas Yalden’s ‘Verses upon perusall of Milton’s Paradise Lost by A.B.’ (first published 1698 as ‘On the re-printing Milton’s Prose Works with his Poems. Written in his Paradise Lost.’) Yalden was a friend and Magdalen College, Oxford contemporary of Addison, but the writer of our version of this poem appears to be drawing upon a different source from the printed one, and indeed to attribute it to another author.
A compelling and complex volume.
DESCRIPTION:
Octavo, panelled calf c 1710; faded gilt decoration to spine panels with some loss to lower backstrip and over hinges though the binding remains sound. Preliminaries lacking; manuscript title on the flyleaf: Paradise Lost. A Poem in Twelve Books by Mr John Milton - as per Tonson’s editions of this period.
16 blank leaves bound in before the text containing ‘Mr Addison’s Criticism on Milton’s Paradise Lost’. Blundell omits long quotations, instead offering textual references and the manuscript breaks off mid-sentence, suggesting it was copied elsewhere before being bound in.
The printed text begins at B1, Book I ‘The Argument’. Blundell’s annotations are headed ‘The Particular Beauties of Paradise Lost by Mr Jos. Addison’ (deriving from Spectator, Feb 16, 1712), concluding with a long extract opposite the Argument to Book II. Blundell’s signature appears on the verso of the final blank.
