Essays on the Nature and Principles of Taste

First Edition. 4to., pp. xiii + 415, bound in contemporary half calf, re-backed preserving old gilt spine with red morocco label lettered in gilt, corners repaired, Barne bookplate and bookplate of Peter Stewart Young to front pastedown; antiquarian bookseller and long-time resident of Tillingham, a small village in the UK. Printed for J.J.G. and G. Robinson (London), and Bell and Bradfute (Edinburgh), 1790. Some light spotting to title and final page, otherwise a very clean copy. A near fine example. Archibald Alison (13 November 1757 – 17 May 1839) was a Scottish episcopalian priest and essayist. This work is one of the first known psychological discussions on the nature of beauty, with Alison theorising that beauty is not a separate entity, but rather a series of thoughts closely linked to emotions. Alison references the landscapes of Claude Lorraine, the poetical works of John Milton and the music composed by George Frideric Handel in putting forward his argument. This work, "with a wealth of imagination and sentiment denied absolutely the existence of objective qualities inherent in objects, accounting for all emotions by the association of ideas aroused in the mind of the spectator. Anything might be beautiful if it aroused pleasant and therefore beautiful ideas." (Hussey: 'The Picturesque'. 1927 p.15.) The enduring popularity and interest in this work ensured that it went through multiple re-printings over the years. Please contact us for shipping costs if ordering from outside the UK.