Description: British Synonymy Hester Lynch Piozzi 1st Samuel Johnson Click to Enlarge Description: British Synonymy or, An Attempt at Regulating the Choice of Words in Familiar Conversation Inscribed, with Sentiments of Gratitude and Respect, to such of her Foreign Friends as Have Made English Literature their Peculiar Study by Hester Lynch Piozzi Printed by William Porter for P. Byrne and W. Jones, Dublin, 1794, First Edition. Full leather over boards with gilt spine titles, octavo, xx + 516 pages. Very scarce 1794 Dublin first edition, published the same year as the first London edition. The London edition was published in two volumes while the Dublin edition which is much more scarce was published as a single volume. First edition of a collection of short essays on synonyms, intended as a help to her husband and his foreign friends. Mrs. Piozzi began work on her Synonymy in early 1792, and by August was hard at work: ?ten pages o? Day copying, besides a little Composition now and then to stretch and swell I should like to make it two thin Octavos like Brown?s Estimate and sell it like Merlin as dear as I can? (letter to Queeney of 22 August). She mentions Samuel Johnson some fifty times and uses his Dictionary as a source. Johnson's poem "A Short Song of Congratulation,"written for Henry Thrale's nephew, Sir John Lade, on his coming of age, is here printed in full for the first time. "Hester Lynch Thrale (born Hester Lynch Salusbury and after her second marriage, Hester Lynch Piozzi ) (27 January 1741 [? 2 May 1821) was a British diarist, author, and patron of the arts. Her diaries and correspondence are an important source of information about Samuel Johnson and eighteenth-century life. Thrale was born at Bodvel Hall, Caernarvonshire, Wales. As a member of the powerful Salusbury Family, she belonged to one of the most illustrious Welsh land-owning dynasties of the Georgian era. She was a direct descendant of Katheryn of Berain. Her father was John Salusbury. After her father had gone bankrupt in an attempt to invest in Halifax, Canada, she married the rich brewer Henry Thrale on 11 October 1763, at St. Anne's Chapel, Soho, London. They had 12 children and lived at Streatham Park. However, the marriage was often strained; her husband was often slighted by members of the Court and may well have married to improve his social status. The Thrales' eldest daughter, Hester, became a viscountess. After her marriage, Mrs Thrale was liberated and free to associate with whom she pleased. Due to her husband's financial status, she was able to enter London society, as a result of which she met Samuel Johnson, James Boswell, Bishop Thomas Percy, Oliver Goldsmith and other literary figures, including the young Fanny Burney, whom she took with her to Gay Street, Bath. (There is some evidence that she was jealous of the attention given to the youthful novelist.) Johnson visited Wales in Thrale's company on several occasions. In 1775 he wrote two verses for her, the first in celebration of her 35th birthday, and another in Latin to honour her. Following her husband's death (4 April 1781), she fell in love with and, on 25 July 1784, married Gabriel Mario Piozzi, an Italian music teacher. This caused a rift with Johnson, which was only perfunctorily mended shortly before his death. The levelling marriage also earned her the disapproval of Burney (who would in 1793 marry the impoverished, Catholic émigré Alexandre D'Arblay). With her second husband, Hester retired to Brynbella, a specially-built country house on her Bach y Graig estate in the Vale of Clwyd, near Tremeirchion village in north Wales. During this time she began to reflect heavily on her ancestry, and for a time became obsessed with the idea of reclaiming her father's Canadian lands in Herring Cove, an enclave of Nova Scotia. After Johnson's death, she published Anecdotes of the late Samuel Johnson (1786) and her letters (1788). Together with her diaries which were known as Thraliana, and were not published until 1949, these sources help to fill out the often biased picture of Johnson presented in Boswell's Life. Johnson often stayed with the Thrale household and had his own room, above the library at Streatham in which he worked. Hester's papers provide more insight into his composition process. She died at Royal York Crescent in Clifton, Bristol and was buried on 16 May 1821 near Brynbella in the churchyard of Corpus Christi Church, Tremeirchion. A plaque inside the church is inscribed "Dr. Johnson's Mrs. Thrale. Witty, Vivacious and Charming, in an age of Genius She held ever a foremost Place". From the time of her death to nearly the present, she was referred to by scholars as Johnson had referred to her as "Mrs Thrale" or "Hester Thrale." However, she is now often referred to as either "Hester Lynch Piozzi" or "Mrs Piozzi."? [Wikipedia] Condition: Covers have considerable wear, mainly at the corners and spine, crackling on the spine, soiling. Some loss of spine gilt. Dust soiling of page edges. Browning and spotting of paper on endpapers and title page. Creases and very small closed tear on the fore-edge of the title page. Corner crease on some leaves. Dampstains on the margins of the title, Preface and Contents pages. Intermittent light to moderate foxing. Binding is tight. Check our other auctions and store listings for additional unusual items. (Click here to view all of our auctions) Shipping and Payment Information Shipping : DOMESTIC Domestic Media Mail shipping, including Delivery Confirmation and Insurance, is standard. This applies to any address in the US and Puerto Rico, as well as to APO addresses. 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We understand that this requirement may be a problem to some of our customers and we will do our best to accommodate their needs. On Oct-07-12 at 07:04:10 PDT, seller added the following information:inkfrog terapeak
Price: 600 USD
Location: NJ
End Time: 2024-10-26T03:14:16.000Z
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Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Binding: Leather
Subject: Reference
Printing Year: 1794
Origin: English
Special Attributes: 1st Edition
Year Printed: 1794
Topic: Dictionaries, Thesauri