JOHNSON, Lionel.

Sir Walter Raleigh in the Tower.

First edition. 4to., original printed wrappers. The Queen’s Gold Medal, English Verse, Winchester College. Chester: Phillipson and Golder, n.d. [1885], 1885.

£4,800.00

The author’s extremely rare first separate publication, following its appearance in The Wykehamist, No. 200 (August 1885), pp. 326-28. Very skilful restoration of the rear wrapper, which had been missing a few inches at the top - the last page of text is stained accordingly, otherwise a very good clean copy, in a stout modern cloth folding case with the neat book-label of the legendary collector Simon Nowell-Smith. Only one copy appears in auction records, namely the Esher copy, which was sold as part of the great library of H. Bradley Martin in 1990, and then was re-sold at Sotheby’s in 2016.

Stock No.
239607