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John Evelyn's Imaginary Voyage to England

EVELYN, JOHN.

A Journey to England. With some Account of the Manners and Customs of that Nation. Written at the Command of a Nobleman in France. Made English.

Place and Imprint: London: Printed and Sold by A. Baldwin, 1700.
Edition: Fourth edition.
Bibliographical References: ESTC R219623 (six in the UK and five in North America); Wing E3940A; Keynes, Evelyn, 16a.
Condition: Wrappers a little worn at the edges; shadow of a label on the front wrapper; very good copy.
Book ID: 28787

Physical Description

8vo, early plain pink wrappers, 35 pages. With half-title.

Comments

An anonymously written pamphlet under the guise of being a dairy of a Frenchman’s visit to England and his shock at the dirty, chaotic streets of London, the noise and polluted air, the vulgar women in Alehouses, ad infinitum. Evelyn originally published this in 1659 under the title A Character of London. There were three editions that year, followed years later by this fourth one, with an altered title, which was apparently meant to associate it with William Lister’s A Journey to Paris in the Year 1698 and the satire of it by William King, A Journey to London in the Year 1698. From the library of Robert S. Pirie, with his bookplate inside the front wrapper and his notation in pencil that he purchased this from John Lawson in 1997.

Price: $1,250.00