"There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. "
— Oscar Wilde
Oliver Goldsmith | First Editions
1728 - 1774
Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Irish novelist, playwright and poet, who is best known for his novelThe Vicar of Wakefield (1766), his pastoral poem The Deserted Village (1770), and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man (1768) and She Stoops to Conquer (1771, first performed in 1773). He is thought to have written the classic children's tale The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes (1765).Goldsmith's work was often influenced by the events occurring around him; for example, in the 1760s, Goldsmith witnessed the demolition of an ancient village and destruction of its farms. This was to clear land, making way for a wealthy man's garden. Subsequently, Goldsmith produced the poem The Deserted Village, published in 1770, which expresses a fear that the destruction of villages and the conversion of land from productive agriculture to ornamental landscape gardens would ruin the peasantry. As such, he should be considered an important writer in environmentalist studies, alongside writers such as John Clare.
See below our stock of Oliver Goldsmith First Editions, fine bindings, sets, and signed copies.
Results 1 - 5 (of 5)
Select Works of Oliver Goldsmith. Comprising The Vicar of Wakefield; Plays and Poems.
London: Macmillan and Co., 1901. [Anthology] FINELY BOUND. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.[2] xii; 434 [2]. Contemporary tan full polished calf for Henry Sotheran, with raised bands, gilt titles to burgundy label, and further gilt decoration to spine. Top edge gilt; marbled endpapers. Very light spotting to preliminaries. Lightly toned..... More
The Vicar of Wakefield. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
London: George G. Harrap and Company Limited, 1929. FIRST RACKHAM EDITION. Large 8vo., pp. 232. Publisher's dark grey cloth with gilt titles and gilt decoration to spine and upper. Near fine in very good dust-wrapper, dusty and showing small tears. With 12 coloured plates and several other illustrations. Shows extremely..... More
The Vicar of Wakefield.
London: Macmillan and Co., 1915. [Illustrated Classic] FINELY BOUND AND ILLUSTRATED, a later impression. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.[4]; xxxvi; 305; [3]. With numerous wood engravings by Thomson, including a frontispiece. Contemporary lilac half calf by RIVIERE, with raised bands, gilt titles and decorations to spine, and blue cloth over..... More
![The History of Greece [and] The History of Rome. The History of Greece from the Earliest State to...](/pictures/thumb/56833.jpg?v=1591116130)
The History of Greece [and] The History of Rome. The History of Greece from the Earliest State to the Death of Alexander the Great. To which is Added, a Summary Account of the Affairs of Greece, from that Period, to the Sacking of Constantinople by the Othomans. [and] The History of Rome from the Foundation of the City of Rome, to the Destruction of the Western Empire.
Derby: Henry Mozley, 1826. [Greek and Roman History] FINE CONTEMPORARY BINDING, two volumes bound as one. Octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.[8] 382; pp.viii; 432 [4]. With a folding map as a frontispiece to each title. Contemporary full marbled calf with gilt titles to black label, and extensive gilt decoration to..... More
History of Greece, Abridged, for the Use of Schools.
London: Printed for J. Brambles [etc.], 1807. NEW EDITION. Duodecimo, pp. viii, 269 [3]. With a frontispiece engraving of the death of Alexander the Great. In contemporary half brown calf with gilt titles to spine and marbled boards. Black ink ownership inscription to front free end-paper. Lightly browned throughout; wear..... More
Results 1 - 5 (of 5)