The Poems of Ossian
Title: The Poems of Ossian - A new Edition carefully corrected and greatly improved
Author: James MacPherson
Publisher: W Strahan and T. Becket
Date: MDCCLXXIII (1773)
Full calf Leather Bound edition In 2 Volumes
Additional Product Information
James MacPherson's translation into English of the supposed tales by Ossian, Gaelic Oisín, the Irish warrior-poet about Finn MacCumhaill (MacCool) and his war band, the Fianna Éireann.. First published in 1762.
It has been described as the greatest-ever literary hoax!
The poet James MacPherson was writing at a time when British Society was obsessed with the Classical World and supposedly used Irish folklore to create a Scottish legend to rank with Homeric epics.
Whilst Samuel Johnson condemned the work as a forgery others from Napoleon (Always carried a copy on his campaigns to Thomas Jefferson (Who wanted to learn Gaelic in order to be able to read the poems in their original language) and the Poets Wordsworth, Coleridge and Byron were taken in and trumpeted the work using it as inspiration for their Romantic ideals.
Condition Notes
This is a very elegant 2 volume set bound in the original full calf leather which remains strong and intact throughout with just some minor loss at the very top of the spine of volume 1. Inside the pages are bright and clean throughout.
Please check the images associated with this Book to gain a clear insight into the book's condition and if you require further details please send an email enquiry.
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Provenance
The inside end paper carries the Clan crest for "The Laird of Altyre" The Cummings or Cumyn Clan seat in Moray.