BYRON, George Gordon Noël, Lord Byron.
Manfred, a dramatic poem.
London, John Murray, 1817.
[bound after:]
—. The Prisoner of Chillon, and other poems. London, John Murray, 1816.
[and before:]
—. Lara, a tale. Fifth edition. London, John Murray, 1817.
Three works in one vol., 8vo, Manfred: pp. [3]–80, without the half-title; The Prisoner of Chillon: pp. [4], 60, bound without the half-title and the final leaf bearing Murray’s listing of Byron’s poems and the imprint; Lara: pp. [2], 74; some foxing and light browning; contemporary half calf with marbled sides, spine gilt in compartments; rebacked rather crudely at an early date preserving most of the spine, extremities worn; contemporary ink ownership inscription of William Lumley at head of title of first two works.
A contemporary sammelband of three works by Byron, two of them in first edition.
I. First edition, Wise’s rare second issue, the title-page omitting the quotation from Hamlet, which Byron had sent to John Murray on 9 April 1817. The work is most often found in the third issue: the first two, omitting the quote, are ‘as scarce as the proverbial teeth of hens’ (Randolph) – indeed, the copies that Murray sent to Byron himself in Venice were almost certainly of the third issue.
Byron had sent the third act of Manfred to John Murray from Rome on 5 May 1817 with the request to print it without sending him proofs. ‘As it happens, B’s decision not to correct further proofs turned out to be most unfortunate, for the first published edition – and all later editions – printed a corrupt text. B was outraged when he saw the first edition because Murray, on Gifford’s suggestion, had deliberately removed line 151 from Act III, Scene IV [‘Manfred. Old man, ’tis not so difficult to die’]’, ruining the sense (McGann).
Of the two early issues, Wise calls this the second, Randolph the ‘Dramatis Personae’ variant (precedence undetermined, though he hesitantly suggests it is the first). It is also ‘slightly rarer … but possession of either variant is a true reason for a collector’s pride’.
II. First edition of Byron’s long narrative poem The Prisoner of Chillon, which chronicles the imprisonment of the patriot-cum-historian François Bonivard, Genevois monk. After succeeding his uncle as head of the Cluniac priory of St Victor, near Geneva, Bonivard began to oppose the encroachments made by Charles III, duke of Savoy, and the bishop of Geneva against that city’s liberties. He was imprisoned by the duke at Grolée from 1519 to 1521, lost his priory, and became one of the significant figureheads of the struggle. Byron’s interpretation of these events is oblique, bearing only a passing resemblance to the reality of Bonivard’s life (as recounted partially in the ‘Notes’), but is steeped in characteristic romantic imagery.
III. Fifth edition of Lara, first published in 1814.
I. Randolph, pp. 64-7; Wise, Byron I, p. 122. II. Randolph, pp. 61-2.
