Fables by John Gay; With a Life of the Author and Embellished with Seventy Plates

London: John Stockdale, 1793. Later edition. Hardcover. Very Good+. 2 vol. Large 8vo. [2], iii-xi, [1], 1-225, [1] ; [4], iii-vii, [1], 1-187, [1] (page of publisher's advertisements) pp. Mid-nineteenth century paneled sheep: each board with a calf border inlaid with gilt pointillé in the border, three gilt borders on each board, gilt fleur-de-list to the turn-ins, spines in six compartments with three morocco labels lettered in gilt on each spine (two red and one brown), gilt decorations on the spine; all edges decoratively stained yellow. Beautiful marbled endpapers and pastedowns. Bound by W. Worsfold of London. Each volume with an engraved title (truncated) page, volume one with a frontispice, 51 plates, and volume two with 16 plates. Bentley and Nurmi 371A. Oxford DNB, David Nokes, "Gay, John (1685-1732)". Packer 168. Ray 1. First published in 1727, Gay's Fables achieved popularity thanks to their anthropomorphic characters and general charm. A beautiful edition of Gay's Fables, sumptuously bound. Twelve of the seventy plates done by William Blake, the poet and titan of eighteenth-century illustration. The plates in these volumes bring Gay's fables to life, with rabbits, elephants, boars, dogs, foxes, and other creatures expertly and humorously engraved with expressive countenances. Minor rubbing to the extremities, some of the plates are foxed but the pageblock and plates are still largely clean and sharp, one leaf in volume two with a hairline repair. (Inventory #: 000012887)