8vo. [4], 248pp. Bound by F. Bedford (stamp-signed to verso of FFEP) in contemporary gilt-ruled green half-morocco, marbled boards. T.E.G., marbled endpapers. Armorial bookplate of Thomas Gaisford to FEP. Light scattered spotting.

The first edition of English poet Richard Hengist Horne's (1802-1884) Ballad Romances, a collection of lyric folktales drawn from British and Continental myth and legend. Chiefly remembered today for his epic poem Orion (1843), Horne was a close correspondent of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and a good friend of Dickens, presenting to each a copy of this volume; Barrett Browning expressed gratitude 'for all the pleasure I have had in the work', praising, in particular, 'The Monk of Swineshead Abbey', the 'Three Knights', and the 'unforgotten 'Delora'', 'all three deep with various music'.