Bernard Barton — Poetic Vigils

London, Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1824. First edition. Leather. The first edition of a poetical anthology hoping to brighten the suffering of those who read it from a popular Quaker poet. The first edition of Poetic Vigils, a lovely anthology of hope and resilience, written by the Quaker poet and critic of capital punishment Bernard Barton. In half contemporary calf, with marble boards. Contains contemporary end papers and without half-title as issued. Friends with fellow poets Robert Southey and Charles Lamb, Barton published numerous poems inspired by his Quaker faith, with this particular anthology characterised by the overcoming of suffering. Sir Robert Peel would later be a fan of his poetry, offering him an annual pension of £100 following his Household Verses in 1845. Barton was also known to provide poems for Anne Knight's children's books, a fellow Quaker writer. In half contemporary calf, with marble boards. Contains contemporary end papers and without half-title as issued. Externally, the odd fading patch and mark to boards, with rubbing to calf joints, edges and rubbing marks to spine. Knocks and rubbing to calf extremities, with chip to calf to bottom extremity of front board. The odd spot to end papers with browning tidemarks to tails of hinges. Loss to top extremity of front free end paper, with previous owner's contemporary ink inscription below. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are mostly bright and clean with brown tidemarks to tails of first and final hinges, and a couple of faint spots. Good . Ill.: None. Good .