James Boswell (1740-95)
Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson
London: Bell & Daldy, 1872
Ten volumes
Octavo, half brown mottled calf; marbleized boards and endpapers
Top edges gilt
Sold, please inquire as to the availability of similar items.
Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson
1872 Edition
1872 Edition
This item is sold. It has been placed here in our online archives as a service for researchers and collectors.
- Please inquire as to the availability of similar items currently in stock, or use the navigation bar above to browse our site for currently available items.
- Find guidelines for the use of images from georgeglazer.com.
- To see more archived items, view our directory.
- Find information about selling your art and antiques.
 |
 |
 |
James Boswell was a colorful character of 18th Century Britain. Born in Scotland to a well-to-do family who wanted him to become a lawyer, he preferred London society and travel in Europe, and is remembered today as a biographer, diarist and travel writer. While many of his contemporaries found him obnoxious, he was indisputably a perceptive writer and gifted storyteller who rubbed shoulders with some of the important thinkers of his time.
When he was 23 years old, he introduced himself to one of the leading literary critics and scholars of his age, Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-84) and they became good friends. With Johnson's encouragement, he took notes of their conversations and published his Life of Samuel Johnson in 1791. It was an immediate success, and is still widely read today as a fascinating and detailed picture of its subject and 18th century England. Many of Johnson's numerous witty sayings and observations are also recorded here.