Select Poetical Works of the Late William Dunkin, D. D. Two vols (set)

Description

DATE RANGE: 1769-1770. Original half light brown calf, marbled paper to boards. Raised bands and red gilt label to spines. Rubbing to boards; board corners slightly pushed in. Small 4tos (13.4 x 21.7cm). All edges speckled blue. Hinges of vol. II very slightly tender. Endpapers starting at gutters. A little tidemarking at gutters in front endpapers and blank endpages in vol. II, not affecting text. Vol. I has imprint: ‘Printed by W. G. Jones, in Suffolk-Street’; vol. II has imprint: ‘Printed by S. Powell, in Dame-Street’. Owner’s signature to both t.p.s: ‘Ja. Hastings’. A very few scattered spots of foxing. Vol. II, p. 469, has untrimmed top corner (production error). Latin verses in both vols are accompanied by parallel or succeeding English translations; Greek verses by Latin and English translations likewise: all these versions are by Dunkin himself. William Dunkin (1706/7-1765), Church of Ireland clergyman and poet. Dunkin’s ‘reputation for fluent scholarship was vitiated by ebullient high spirits’, as recorded, for instance, in his Latin mock epic Techrethyrambeia (1728; reprinted here), ‘which describes riotous and belated Trinity undergraduates attempting to talk their way past Paddy Murphy, an egregiously opinionated college porter’ (ODNB). Swift regarded Dunkin as ‘a Man of Genius, the best Poet we have [in Ireland]’ (letter to John Barber, 17 Jan 1738; quoted in ODNB), and indeed ‘Dunkin’s best verse manifests an outrageous sense of fun as well as sharp wit; it shows an acute ear for patois and pungent dialogue, together with fine technical control’ (ONDB). This first collected edition of his poems is extremely scarce. ESTC N47958. Robust packaging. Tracking can be added to overseas orders on request.