[Head, Richard and Francis Kirkman] | Vivid satirical accounts of 17th century debauchery

From the Library of Clayre and Jay Michael Haft

[Head, Richard and Francis Kirkman]

The English Rogue Described, in the Life of Meriton Latroon; A Witty Extravagant; Comprehending the Most Eminent Cheats of Both Sexes. London: Printed for Francis Kirkman, 1672 (part 1); 1671(part 2); 1680 (parts 3 and 4)

Four parts bound in two volumes, small 8vo (162 x 99 mm). 12 plates, comprising: part 1 portrait and frontispiece, part 2 frontispiece (trimmed) and one plate; parts 3 and 4 with four plates each; part 3 title with extreme upper margin and N2 lower margin renewed; B3 in part 4 stained, some occasional light foxing and a few stains and repairs. Finely bound in 19th-century green straight-grained morocco, richly decorated in gold and blind, all edges gilt; extremities just touched, really quite fine. In a green cloth folding case; one joint broken.

Early editions of these vivid satirical accounts of 17th century debauchery—in part based on Spanish rogue stories—started by Richard Head and continued by Francis Kirkman. The first part was originally published in 1665, and new editions overlapped with the additional volumes as they came out in a complex publishing history after the first edition published by Henry Marsh sold out within the year. Marsh died that year and his business partner Francis Kirkman, to whom Marsh had been indebted, secured the rights and sold Head's title in four further editions between 1666 and 1667. It is unclear how volumes two, three, and four (published in 1671, 1674 and 1680) came to be written (a fifth was promised and never appeared). The present set appears to collect the sixth edition of the first part, the second edition of the second part, and the second edition of the fourth (though Wing does not reference this 1680 edition of the third part, there are 1671 and 1674 editions recorded, indicating that this cannot be earlier than the third edition; it most likely was reissued to accompany the publication of the 1680 part 4). Richard Head was a prolific hack writer whose fortunes were reportedly limited by his dissipated lifestyle and addiction to gambling. Kirkman seized on the work’s popularity and continued the tales. It was one of the first works of English literature to be translated on the Continent. Complete sets of the four parts are rare, with part three being especially scarce.

REFERENCES:

Wing 1248bA (part 1); 1249 (part 2); 1251 (part 4; no entry for the 1680 part 3 found here)

PROVENANCE:

Thomas Basil Duguid (bookplate in each vol.)