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CONCANEN ( Matthew ). Poems, upon several occasions. By the author of

Currency:EUR Category:Antiques / Books & Manuscripts Start Price:10.00 EUR Estimated At:1,000.00 - 1,500.00 EUR
CONCANEN ( Matthew ). Poems, upon several occasions. By the author of

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Auction Date:2012 Oct 20 @ 11:00 (UTC+1)
Location:38 Molesworth Street, Dublin, Dublin, ., Ireland
CONCANEN ( Matthew ). Poems, upon several occasions. By the author of, The Match at Foot-Ball. Dublin : Printed by A. Rhames, for E. Dobson, at the Stationers-Arms, in Castle-Street, 1722FIRST EDITION, pages xx, 99, (1, blank), 8vo, contemporary speckled calf, the boards panelled in gilt, with fleurons at corners and a darker central rectangular onlay, the spine gilt and a little rubbed, all edges gilt : a fine copy of the fine paper issue, watermarked with a fleur-de-lys on a shield, the paper stock significantly thicker than that for ordinary copies, with the signature of Sarah Barton and date, 1747, on the title-page and the later armorial bookplate of Oliver Brett, Viscount Esher. Only one other copy on fine paper recorded. The Esher copy of the fine paper issue. Foxon page 135, locating only one other copy (BL) on fine paper. Our copy does not contain the list of subscribers. The fact that the only other copy recorded on fine paper is also without this list almost certainly implies that its omission was deliberate. Foxon describes the BL copy as being in a presentation binding ; the binding here is also rather more elaborate than one would expect to find on a book of this sort. This was Concanen's principal collection of poems : his name appears at the end of the dedication to the Duchess of Grafton. Concanen (1701-49) was born in Ireland, but nothing is known of his origins. Shortly after this book was published he moved to London and embarked upon a career in literary and political journalism. He chose to side with the Whigs, and wrote essays attacking both Pope and Swift ; in return he was ridiculed by Pope in the Dunciad (1728), and by Swift in On Poetry : A Rhapsody (1733). For his efforts on behalf of the government he was awarded the governorship of Jamaica, where he served effectively for ten years (1733-43), before returning to London an affluent man. This volume contains a number of occasional poems, such as "On a Lady Throwing Snow-Balls," or "On Struggling for a Kiss." Of greater interest is "A Letter to a Critick, in Vindication of the Modern Poets," in which he praises both Pope and Swift (he had not yet changed sides) ; there are laudatory passages as well on such contemporaries as Congreve, Young, Gay, and Sewell, and even the hapless poet laureate, Laurence Eusden. The text concludes with The Match at Foot-Ball, a mock-heroic description of a game between the six men of Soards [sic], and those of Lusk ; this curiosity had been published separately in 1720. He was sufficiently successful as a writer to be mentioned by Swift as a contender for the poet laureateship in 1730, though elsewhere he ridiculed Concanen's literary abilities (IDNB).ENGLISH PRE 1801; DUBLIN PRINTED; ENGLISH LITERATURE; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;