A History and Bibliography of George Herbert Editions

Abstract

A descriptive bibliography of the numerous editions together with their later issues of George Herbert's writings. The list includes separate sections of both relevant manuscripts and also ghost editions. Selections are not included in the bibliography, but the more significant ones are noted in the accompanying essay on the history of George Herbert publications. The essay traces the trends which influence both publishers and their readership over the years 1612-1993, and though the focus is on George Herbert materials, the discussion is applicable to any study of publishing history. It argues that the nineteenth-century revival of interest in Herbert at its most prominent in the Victorian period was primarily a result of a devotionalism which favoured traditional ways. Yet, it is hard to separate this devotionalism from the bourgeoning antiquarianism of the period. Similarly, those at the head of the revival of interest in Herbert were literary people: S. T. Coleridge, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Keble and the Tractarians, The Pre-Raphaelites, George Macdonald, and A. B. Grosart. As a result the revival represented a remarkably comprehensive interest in Herbert's works. By way of contrast, in the twentieth century the scholarly interest in Herbert appears to have detached itself from a devotional involvement, and as the century draws to a close this approach fostered eagerly by the universities brings with it the idea that Herbert's poetry is inaccessible without an expert's instruction. Thus, at a time when there is an extraordinary flowering of books about George Herbert, we are beginning to see the return of Herbert to obscurity, an obscurity in practice which exceeds that which he suffered in the eighteenth century. The essay also considers the variety of ornamentation employed in Herbert editions, particularly the treatments of the shape poems "The Altar" and "Easter Wings", but also the use of plates and illustrations within the text. The bibliography itself includes details of trade bindings, original prices, numbers printed, and printers' and publishers' full addresses wherever possible. There are a number of uses for this bibliography beyond its immediate purpose. Anyone interested in the history of a printing or publishing house should find helpful data, for instance. Bibliographers who are faced with undated issues or editions of a certain author may find a parallel item in this list which has an assigned date. It is hoped, too, that other bibliographers who are investigating Herbert publications will find this a source of data. The most important purpose of the bibliography, though, is to fill a present gap in Herbert studies, namely the need for a study of the publishing history of Herbert's writings.