1723 3rd Edtn DRUNKEN BARNABYS FOUR JOURNEYS By Richard Braithwaite Illus. Anonymous

1723 3rd Edition
DRUNKEN BARNABYS FOUR JOURNEYS
TO THE NORTH OF ENGLAND
Together with Bessy Bell

A characterful third edition of Richard Brathwait’s most celebrated work: a comic and satirical itinerary through England, presented in parallel Latin and English verse and illustrated with an engraved frontispiece and five further copper-engraved plates.
Originally published pseudonymously in 1638 as Barnabae Itinerarium, or Barnabee’s Journal, the work follows four journeys between Kendal and London, taking a different route on each occasion. Towns, villages, inns, taverns, landlords, hostesses, drinkers, clergy and local customs are recorded in lively rhyming verse, giving the book enduring appeal as early travel literature, social observation and literary drinking history.
This copy retains its contemporary gilt calf binding and yellow edges. It is accompanied by a later handwritten biographical note concerning Brathwait, headed “Cassell’s Encyclopaedia” and apparently signed “W. Ackerley.” Despite binding wear and several localised textual defects, the volume remains an evocative and substantially legible antiquarian copy, with all six engraved illustrations present.
By Richard Braithwaite

Provenance: Old ownership signature, apparently “D. [?] James,” to the front free endpaper.

Format: Leather, Octavo (Standard) (8vo 6 × 9 in 152 × 229 mm )
 Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.

Language: English

Published By: Printed for S. Illidge, under Serle’s Gate, Lincoln’s Inn New Square, London

Condition Report:
Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Good - An honest and characterful copy in contemporary calf gilt, with yellow edges. The binding was apparently rebacked at an earlier date and is now rubbed and scuffed, with splitting to the joints and general wear consistent with age and use.
Engraved frontispiece and five further copper-engraved plates present, together with typographical ornaments and parallel Latin and English text. Printing flaws affect leaves C3 and F3, with the loss of a few letters. The corner of F5 has been torn away, resulting in the loss of a few letters on the verso. A few leaves have received marginal repairs.
One plate is stained. Contents with occasional light spotting, staining, browning and handling marks. Notwithstanding these defects, the text remains substantially clear and legible throughout.

Provenance: Old ownership signature, apparently “D. [?] James,” to the front free endpaper.
Accompanied by a later handwritten biographical note concerning Richard Brathwait, headed “Cassell’s Encyclopaedia” and apparently signed “W. Ackerley.” The note records details of the author’s life and identifies Barnabae Itinerarium as his best-known work. It has evidently been preserved with the volume by a former owner and adds an attractive element of historical reader engagement.

A pleasing working copy of a notable work of English topographical satire, valued for its lively parallel text, tavern and travel content, engraved illustrations and surviving period binding.

Collation: 175 numbered pages, with unnumbered preliminary and terminal matter; engraved frontispiece and five further plates.

Please see Photos as part of condition report.

References:
ESTC T133831
Cox III, 5
Lowndes 260
Grolier, Wither to Prior, 79

Author Bio: Richard Brathwait, also spelled Brathwaite or Braithwaite, was an English poet and writer born in Westmorland in approximately 1588. A prolific author of poetry, satire, conduct literature and devotional works, he wrote under several names and pseudonyms, including Corymbaeus.
His most enduring work is Barnabae Itinerarium, subsequently known as Drunken Barnaby’s Four Journeys to the North of England. Composed in rhyming Latin with accompanying English doggerel, it combines travel narrative, topographical observation, tavern humour and social satire. Although it attracted comparatively limited attention on its first appearance, it became increasingly popular through its eighteenth- and nineteenth-century editions.
Brathwait died in 1673.

Illustrated By: Anonymous
Illustrator Bio: Several plates associated with J. Clark
No single illustrator is credited on the title page. The edition contains an engraved frontispiece and five further copper-engraved plates, several of which were newly prepared or adapted for this third edition. The illustrations depict incidents from Barnaby’s travels and complement the work’s humorous and satirical character.

Synopsis: Drunken Barnaby’s Four Journeys to the North of England recounts four journeys between Kendal and London, with a different route followed on each occasion. Written in parallel rhyming Latin and colloquial English verse, the narrative passes rapidly from one town, village and hostelry to another.
Barnaby observes the character of each place through its inns, drink, landlords, hostesses, inhabitants and local customs. Comic encounters sit alongside genuine topographical detail, creating an unusual mixture of travel writing, social history, literary satire and tavern literature.
Among its best-known episodes is the visit to Banbury, where Barnaby encounters the proverbial Puritan who hangs his cat on Monday for killing a mouse on Sunday. The humour is frequently irreverent, but the journeys also preserve valuable impressions of seventeenth-century English roads, settlements and hospitality.
The volume concludes with Bessy Bell, a lighter pastoral and courtship poem concerning two rustic lovers.
First issued in 1638 under the title Barnabae Itinerarium, the work was revived in the eighteenth century under the more familiar title Drunken Barnaby’s Four Journeys. This third edition includes additional material and a series of copper-engraved illustrations.



SKU: BTETM0001732
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg
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