A beautiful set in a superb binding by Tout.

A beautiful set in a superb binding by Tout.

Two works by Samuel Rogers (1763-1855): Italy and Poems. These illustrated editions were a major success for Rogers who was in the same literary circle as his now more famous friends Wordsworth, Coleridge and Byron. Both volumes are for the most part odes to Italy and the taste for the "grand tour", Rogers having visited Italy and the Continent with his sister in 1814 and later in 1822. Out of these tours arose his last and longest work, Italy. It was at first a failure, but Rogers was determined to make it a success. He enlarged and revised the poem, and commissioned illustrations from J.M.W. Turner, Thomas Stothard and Samuel Prout. These were engraved on steel in the sumptuous edition of 1830. The book then proved a great success, and Rogers followed it up with an equally sumptuous edition of his Poems (1834). In 1850, on Wordsworth's death, Rogers was asked to succeed him as poet laureate, but declined the honour on account of his age. Inheriting wealth, Rogers was a noted art collector and patron, and at his home in St James's place he hosted all the celebrities of London.