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[ADDISON, Joseph, & Richard Steele]

The Spectator.

A later edition of one of the first British periodicals, it was published daily in 1711 and 1712. Appealling to the growing numbers of middle class traders and shop keepers in London, Addison estimated it to have been read by a tenth of the city’s population, primarily in coffee shops. The content was innovative and made the gentlemanly culture of letters accessible to a wide audience for the first time. The Spectator was reprinted in book form many times and remained popular through the 19th century.

8 volumes, octavo (171 × 100 mm). Contemporary tan calf, spines elaborately gilt in compartments, red and green labels. Engraved frontispieces to each volume. Bookseller’s ticket to front pastedown of volume I. Edges browned, slight tanning of title pages due to frontispieces. Volume III has some worm damage to the last quarter of the text, largely marginal but sometimes touching the text.