MILTON (JOHN) PARADISE LOST. A POEM IN TWELVE BOOKS; PARADISE REGAIN'D. A POEM IN FOUR BOOKS TO WHI

MILTON (JOHN) PARADISE LOST. A POEM IN TWELVE BOOKS; PARADISE REGAIN'D. A POEM IN FOUR BOOKS TO WHICH IS ADDED SAMSON AGONISTES AND POEMS UPON SEVERAL OCCASIONS two vols, 8vo, list of subscribers in vol I, calf gilt, worn and pitted, joints loose, Birmingham: John Baskerville, 1760 (2)Provenance: Henri Rieu (engraved bookplates).Henri Rieu (1721-1787), Voltaire's "cher corsaire" was a frequent visitor to Ferney. A Geneva man of letters with a penchant for books printed in English, Rieu was a friend to whom Voltiare regarded himself indebted for literary services. Rieu occasionally received gifts of English books from Voltaire and in his will, dated 30.9.1776 left him all the rest, amounting to some 271: "Je prie Monsieur Rieu de prendre dans ma bibliotheque tous les livres anglais qui lui conviendront."The Ferney Library and that part of it given to Rieu was subsequently bought by Catherine the Great. This is the reason why some of Voltaire's English books in the National Library of Russia, St Petersburg have Rieu's handsome bookplate. Voltaire's three editions of the Milton Paradise did not, according to the manuscript catalogue of his Library, include the Baskerville edition, so the present example presumably always belonged to Rieu.