Lives of the Necromancers; or, An Account of the Most Eminent Persons in Successive Ages, Who Have Claimed for Themselves, or to Whom Has Been Imputed by Others, the Exercise of Magical Power.
NY: Harper & Brothers, 1835. 12mo. xii, [25]-307 pp. Original brown cloth (a little splash stained, a little wear at spine ends), paper spine label (partly chipped away). Contemporary Smithfield, Virginia, owner's book label on front pastedown; his signature at head of title page. Very good. Item #46248
First American edition of the author's final book (first published in London the previous year). With a Theodore Roosevelt bookplate (the son's) on the front endpaper. Godwin (1756-1836) made his mark with An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice and Its Influence on Morals and Happiness (London, 1793), published novels, essays, several biographies, treatises on economics, and a well-received History of the Commonwealth of England (London, 1824-1828), married Mary Wollstonecraft (1797), and saw their daughter Mary elope with Shelley (1814 ).
Price: $450.00