The Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith, MB, with an Account of the Life and Writings of the Author; The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray, with an Account of the Life and Writings of the Author

Miniature book (approximately four inches tall).  Two volumes bound in one.  i-xvi, 17-88, [6], i-xviii, 19-64pp, , with two tissue-guarded frontispieces and two extra illustrated title pages.   Bound in full black leather, decorated with blind and gilded toolwork with gilt embellishments and gilt lettering on a red spine label.  Marbled endpapers.  32mo.  Boards are rubbed and rounded at corners and spine ends, a few minor rubs on surfaces and leather dried along joints.  Text block edges toned, affecting page margins.  Previous owners named inked on flyleaf and first title page (both in copperplate hand).  A little page toning, and the last three leaves are affected but a mild stain otherwise internally neat, clean and tight.

Hodgson & Co were London print publishers in the early part of the 19th century, known primarily for toy theatre prints.  A partnership betwixt William Hodgson and William Cole, they started out in 1820 at London’s King’s Street, moving to Newgate Street in 1822.  Hodgson retired from the partnership in 1824 but Cole continued to publish from Newgate Street under his own imprint until 1827, when one Samuel Maunder took over (although many of the print plates from Hodgson & Co were passed on to publisher Orlando Hodgson, likely William Hodgson’s son.  A sweet little volume.