The wonders of the peake.
London.
Printed for Charles Brome, 1699.
Fourth edition.
8vo.
[4], 86pp. Later panelled sprinkled calf, expertly rebacked to style, contrasting red calf lettering-piece. Lightly rubbed and scored. Spotting to endpapers, early ink ownership inscription to head of title.
An early edition of Charles Cotton's (1630-1687) celebrated topographical poem, first published in 1681. Composed in heroic couplets, the work, at least in part, satirises Thomas Hobbes' De Mirabilibus Pecci (1636), then newly translated into English (1676). Hobbes' catalogue of the choice natural and manufactured attractions across the region became a popular tourist itinerary for the aristocracy; Cotton exploits this vogue, providing waggish descriptions of the 'seven wonders' of the Peak District, including Poole's Cavern, The Devil's Arse, and Chatsworth House, seat of the Duke of Devonshire.
ESTC R14543
£ 375.00
Antiquates Ref: 26420