Keats, John

8vo (8 1/2 x 5 3/8 in.; 216 x 137 mm).  Half-title with imprint on verso reading "Printed by T. Miller, Noble street, Cheapside," dedication leaf, single erratum on page [xi]; lacks ads at end, occasional light spotting.  Contemporary calf, rebacked, spine gilt in six compartments, original lettering-piece laid down.

Ashley 3:13; Hayward 232; MacGillivray

Condition as described in catalogue entry.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

First edition, first issue. The second issue has A6 cancelled and five additional errata printed on A6r.

This work, dedicated to the memory of the poet Thomas Chatterton, was written when Keats was twenty-one years old. Before setting to the task, Keats predicted that "Endymion … be a test, a trial of my Powers of Imagination and chiefly of my invention which is a rare thing indeed—by which I must make 4000 lines of one bare circumstance and fill then with Poetry" (in a letter to his brother George, Gittings 138). the poem tells the story of Endymion, the "brain-sick shepherd-prince, with whom the moon goddess (Cynthia, Phoebe) falls in love.