Essays on physiognomy, designed to promote the knowledge and the love of mankind.
London: John Murray, 1789; 1792; 1810. 3 vols in 5. Large 4to. [iv], iv, [xxviii], 281; xii, 238; [vi], [239]-444; xii, 252; [vi]-253-437, [13] pp. (some mispagination in Volume I). First English edition of Vols. I and II, re-issue of Vol. III, including the 3 plates by William Blake. Complete with all blank leaves, half-titles and directions to the binder. With more than 800 engravings, including 173 copper engraved plates and 359 text images by and after Thomas Holloway, Fuseli and others, and by William Blake. Contemporary polished calf, gilt spines, front joints a bit sensitive; interior with minor foxing and off-setting of the plates as usual, but generally a tall, clean and well-margined set in excellent condition. Item #11191
First English edition of Volumes I and II, with the sheets of the third volume reissued by Stockdale. The work is famous for the splendid illustrations and vignettes, including the plates by William Blake. It was a classic pseudo-scientific work, extremely influential in the history of psychiatry, and represents Lavater's account of madmen, demons, and terror. Fuseli's drawings are rendered with distinction in the engravings of Thomas Holloway, and in one instance, Gillray (see Ray, The illustrator and the book in England, 20). Lavater (1741-1801) was a German poet, mystical writer and physiognomist.
Price: $2,500.00