JOHNSON (SAMUEL) The Works of the English Poets. With Prefaces, Biographical and Critical by Samuel Johnson, 68 vol. (complete), Printed by H. Hughs, for C. Bathhurst and others, 1779-1781[JOHNSON (SAMUEL)]The Works of the English Poets. With Prefaces, Biographical and Critical by Samuel Johnson, 68 vol. (complete, including 10 volumes of prefaces, and 2 index volumes), 28 engraved portrait frontispieces, without the portrait of Johnson, direction to binder leaf and errata leaf (as often), uniformly bound in contemporary crimson straight-grained morocco gilt, covers with linked gilt borders, spines in six compartments with floral centre-pieces and scrolling corner-pieces, g.e., a few light abrasions but a fine set [Courtney and Smith, p.140; cf. Rothschild 1262], small 8vo, Printed by H. Hughs, for C. Bathhurst [and others], 1779-1781FINELY BOUND SET OF JOHNSON'S CELEBRATED EDITION OF THE ENGLISH POETS, "which proved to be the ultimate success in his career... his major lives were quickly recognized as setting a new standard for English literary biography. In particular, the surveys of Cowley, Milton, Dryden, Swift, and Pope exemplify Johnson's serious concern with the deepest springs of creativity, as well as his ability to explore with considerable insight some individuals whose character and work aroused profound antipathy in him. Even in an age of greater theoretical sophistication, his reading of mainstream poetry from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries remains canonical, by reason of its attention to verbal detail, its decisive judgments, and its robust expression" (ODNB).Provenance: Sotheby's, 15 July 2010, lot 92.