History of Brazil, 3 vols.

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Creator

Robert Southey (1774–1843).

Title

History of Brazil, 3 vols.

Publisher

London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme,

Date

1810-1819.

Description

Provenance: Inscribed by the author to Sir Charles Stuart, later Lord Stuart de Rothesay, with his arms.

Sir Charles Stuart (1779–1845) was British ambassador to France and Russia and envoy to Portugal and Brazil. In 1825, on behalf of Portugal, Sir Charles signed the treaty that recognized Brazil’s independence. A keen bibliophile, his collection was rich in Spanish and Portuguese materials, and was rivaled only by that of the English Romantic poet, Robert Southey.

Poet Laureate for thirty years, Southey’s fame has long been eclipsed by that of his friends William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, though his verse still enjoys some popularity. Southey was also a prolific prose writer, and History of Brazil chronicles the development of Brazil from when it was first colonized in 1500. Ironically, perhaps his most lasting work, The Story of the Three Bears, is rarely associated with his name.

I began collecting Southey in the late 1960s, and my collection includes over 425 volumes, including presentation copies of first editions, manuscripts, association items, and books from his library, one of which is a “cottonian” binding.

Source

Richard Ramer