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THE SEASONS
By JAMES THOMSON
Printed for A MILLAR and sold by T CADELL in the STRAND
1767
With 4 Engraved illustrations and Vignette on title page
30 + 208 pp.Contents First 30 pages contain life of James Thomson and an ode on his death by Mr Collins, SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN, WINTER and A HYMN
Book measures 6 ¾ inches by 4 inches approx
Full leather binding, worn hinges cracked, back board holding by binding cords, previous owners inscription on front paste down, back board has lines drawn on paste down, page vi and vii torn with no loss see photos
James Thomson was born in Ednam in Roxburghshire around the 11th September 1700 and baptized on the 15th September.[1] The fourth of nine children of Thomas Thomson and Beatrix Thomson (nee Trotter).[2] Beatrix Thomson was born in Fogo, Berkshire and was a distant relation of the house of Hume. Thomas Thomson was the Presbyterian minister of Ednam until eight weeks after Thomson’s birth, when he was admitted as minister of Southdean, where Thomson spent most of his early years.[3] Thomson possibly attended the parish school of Southdean before going to the grammar school in Jedburgh in 1712. He failed to distinguish himself there, Shiels, his earliest biographer writes: 'far from appearing to possess a sprightly genius, [Thomson] was considered by his schoolmaster, and those which directed his education, as being really without a common share of parts'.[4] He was, however, encouraged to write poetry by Robert Riccaltoun (1691–1769), a farmer, poet and Presbyterian minister; and Sir William Bennet (d. 1729), a whig laird who was a patron of Allan Ramsay.[5] While some early poems by Thomson survive most were burnt by him on New Year’s Day each year. [6] Thomson entered the College of Edinburgh in autumn 1715, destined for the Presbyterian ministry. At Edinburgh he studied metaphysics, Logic, Ethics, Greek, Latin and Natural Philosophy. He completed his arts course in 1719 but choose not to graduate, instead entering Divinity Hall to become a minister [7] In 1716 Thomas Thomson died with local legend saying that he was killed whilst performing an exorcism.[8] At Edinburgh Thomson became member of the Grotesque Club, a literary group where he met his lifelong friend David Mallet. After the successful publication of some of his poets in the ‘’Edinburgh Miscellany’’ Thomson followed Mallet to London in February 1725 in an effort to publish his verse In London Thomson became a tutor to the son of Charles Hamilton, Lord Binning, through connections on his mother’s side of the family. Through Mallet, by 1724 a published poet, Thomson met the great English poets of the day including Richard Savage, Aaron Hill and Alexander Pope.[10] Thomson’s mother died on 12th May 1725, around the time of his writing ‘Winter’, the first poem of ‘‘The Seasons’’. ‘Winter’ was first published in 1726 by John Millian , with a second edition being released (with revisions, additions and a preface) later the same year
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