An Almanack for the Year of our Lord God, MDCCLXIV.
GOLDSMITH
London: Printed by R. Hett, Junior, for the Company of Stationers. 1764.
10 blank leaves, title page, 24 printed leaves with 11 blanks interleaved and 6 further blank leaves at the end. Contemporary red morocco, decorative gilt-roll floral border to covers, spine decorated in gilt, silver clasps lacking hinged catches, all edges gilt, rubbing to corners. An attractive binding. Internally very good, with some soiling and cropping with slight loss of text.Handwritten notes on some of the blank pages. The first blank leaf has a note about a legal agreement dated 1699 with the following two leaves containing a list of names and weights under the heading "Weighed at Swalarde (?) Aug 5 1763". Here we learn that Lord Strathmore weighed 12st 4lb with Lady Strathmore coming in at 9st 4lb with Mr Lidden tipping the scales at an impressive 16st. 6lb. Sir Thomas Clavering is listed at 15st 12. The Claverings are a Durham family and only a few years after this Almanack he was elected MP for County Durham. The list of names and weights is a mystery unless the owner of this pretty little book ran a very upmarket chapter of Weight Watchers. Goldsmith's first almanac appeared in 1663, this edition of 1764 appearing to be very rare with only the BL copy recorded in ESTC and Worldcat.
10 blank leaves, title page, 24 printed leaves with 11 blanks interleaved and 6 further blank leaves at the end. Contemporary red morocco, decorative gilt-roll floral border to covers, spine decorated in gilt, silver clasps lacking hinged catches, all edges gilt, rubbing to corners. An attractive binding. Internally very good, with some soiling and cropping with slight loss of text.Handwritten notes on some of the blank pages. The first blank leaf has a note about a legal agreement dated 1699 with the following two leaves containing a list of names and weights under the heading "Weighed at Swalarde (?) Aug 5 1763". Here we learn that Lord Strathmore weighed 12st 4lb with Lady Strathmore coming in at 9st 4lb with Mr Lidden tipping the scales at an impressive 16st. 6lb. Sir Thomas Clavering is listed at 15st 12. The Claverings are a Durham family and only a few years after this Almanack he was elected MP for County Durham. The list of names and weights is a mystery unless the owner of this pretty little book ran a very upmarket chapter of Weight Watchers. Goldsmith's first almanac appeared in 1663, this edition of 1764 appearing to be very rare with only the BL copy recorded in ESTC and Worldcat.