DEBATES IN PARLIAMENT

London: For John Stockdale, 1787. 2 volumes. First edition in complete and separate form of Johnson's first major literary project, his satirical takes on Parliamentary politics. 8vo, in antique three-quarter calf over marbled boards, the corner-pieces and back trimmed in gilt, the spine with flat bands gilt ruled, gilt trimmed and ruled green morocco labels gilt lettered, additional gilt lettering in a separate compartment, marbled endpapers. xv, [2], 394; [2], 516 pp. A very handsome set, the text all but free of any foxing, the paper still quite fresh and with very little evidence of use, the bindings are solid and tight, some unobtrusive rubbing to the marbled boards, the calf in very fine condition. A VERY HANDSOME SET OF THE TRUE FIRST EDITION IN BOOK FORM OF WHAT IS CONSIDERED BY KORSHIN TO “form [Johnson's] first major literary project..."
Prior to 1738 coverage of Parliamentary debates often appeared in journals and magazines; but in that year laws were pasted to suppress further reporting of them. From 1741 to 1744 Samuel Johnson composed speeches based on the actual debates in Parliament for publication in the 'Gentleman's Magazine'. Because it was then illegal to print any account of parliamentary activities, the magazine published Johnson's contributions as the rather thinly disguised "Debates in the Senate of Magna Lilliputia." 'Gentleman's Magazine' used insiders to hide in the shadows and jot down scant notes, which Johnson then transformed into 54 monthly installments of these "Debates". The politicians of the day were given distorted (but obvious) fictional names, and the sparse nature of the notes meant that Johnson had to largely invent what they actually said. Myers states that he created "an amazing literary tour de force... [portraying] the speakers with impressive skill while managing to express his own ideas on liberty, morality and the virtues and limitations of representative government” - Meyers. Johnson himself was no doubt pleased to hear the speeches he had written anonymously being compared to Demosthenes and Cicero. They were a fine exercise for his vivid imagination, but Johnson ended his involvement with the project when he found out many readers mistook his (mostly) imaginary speeches for actual Parliamentary record.
This printing was also issued with "Works of" title-pages as volumes XII and XIII of Hawkins' collected edition of Johnson's writings. This set is the preferred and scarcer separate issue. Now Rare.