The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.

DEFOE, Daniel.

Item Number: 129670

London: Printed for John Stockdale, 1790.

First edition of Stockdale’s 1790 edition of Defoe’s classic tale of adventure, the first edition with engraved frontispieces, vignette title pages and 12 full-page illustrations by Thomas Stothard. Octavo, two volumes bound in full contemporary polished calf with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, illustrated with engraved frontispieces, vignette title pages and 12 full-page illustrations by Thomas Stothard. In very good condition. Rare and desirable in a contemporary binding.

"Robinson Crusoe is the most popular, delightful, and extraordinary of all Defoe's Works, and has lost none of its original attraction. Dr. Johnson observed, `nobody ever laid it down without wishing it were longer'" (Lowndes, 613-14). “Stockdale’s edition was an important contribution to the life of Defoe’s book. The handsome set restored the Crusoe text, which, by 1790, had been much abused. Thomas Stothard[’s]… extensive and beautiful illustrations made Stockdale’s the first edition so finely decorated” (Lovett 89). “Stothard was the first English artist to realize the visual potential of Robinson Crusoe." As opposed to previous illustrators of the text, “Stothard depicts Crusoe not as a sinful or isolated figure, but as a social man who leaves his family with regret and who rejoices in his companionship with Friday and, later, with the Spanish lieutenant. Rather than fear, he emphasizes contentment, harmony and the nobility of man… His designs set an idealistic and romantic standard that subsequent artists aspired to equal” (Picturing the First Castaway, Rutgers University).