SHELLEY, Percy Bysshe. St. Irvyne; or, The Rosicrucian. (1811 - FIRST EDITION FIRST ISSUE)

AUTHOR: SHELLEY, Percy Bysshe.

TITLE: St. Irvyne; or, The Rosicrucian.

PUBLISHER: London: for J. J. Stockdale, 1811.

DESCRIPTION: FIRST EDITION FIRST ISSUE. 1 vol., 7" x 4-1/2", (ii)236pp., with the original half-title, bound in full olive green morocco, ribbed gilt decorated spine, covers double ruled and paneled in gilt, gilt corner pieces, gilt dentelles, marbled pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt.

CONDITION: Internally clean and bright, extreme foredge of page 19/20 as well as the extreme lower corner of page 21/22 expertly renewed both not affecting text, short closed tear expertly repaired to page 25/26 not affecting text, minor paper fault to pages 90/91, inner and outer hinges fine, head and foot of spine fine, back corners square, spine sunned, no previous ownership marking, inscriptions, or bookplate, overall A VERY GOOD+ copy of an exceedingly scare title.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: According to RBH only 7 copies have appeared at auction in the last 75 years. The last in 2016.

Stockdale later reissued the remaining copies with a new title page and imprint dated 1822. The original bill for the publication was meant to be borne by Shelley. Finding the young poet unable to pay, Stockdale applied to Shelley's father, who responded that since his son was not of age, he wouldn't pay a farthing on the account. This was Shelley's second gothic romance, actually written before he went to Oxford. He apparently thought that this sort of fiction would make money, and tried financed the printing of the book himself, assuming that it was "a thing which almost mechanically sells to circulating libraries." In fact he was wrong, and St. Irvyne was little noticed.