Stat Nominus Umbra [Letters of Junius] by JUNIUS (pseud. attributed to Sir Philip Francis] - 1799

Edinburgh: James Ballantyne and Co., 1807. New edn. 8vo. Rebound in recent gilt lettered cloth-backed paper-laid boards, new endpapers (VG). Pp. xxxi + 360, illus with 12 engraved plates (some light spotting to pages and plates; previous owner's neat 1829 inscription on title page; small 2mm hole to front prelim; some pages uncut). A collection of 69 of the letters by the pseudonymous late 18th C essayist originally published in the Public Advertiser between 1769 -1772.

London: T Bensley, 1799. Hardcover. Poor. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Title pages dated 1797. 274 & 319pp. Paper covered boards, cover quite worn and chipped/frayed. Former owner's name in ink ffep, foxing, some staining. Text blocks are intact and ok shape, but covers are quite battered.

Edinburgh: James Ballantyne and Co. , 1807. Cloth. Very Good. 8.5" by 5.5". None. An illustrated edition of the letters of Junius. With 12 portrait engravings. Junius was the pseudonym of a writer who contributed a series of letters to the Public Advertiser between 1769 and 1772. The identity of the author has never been confirmed though many scholars believe it to be Philip Francis, an Irish-born politician and pamphleteer. Rebound in a quarter cloth binding with paper spine label. Externally, very smart. Rear hinge strained. Label of A B Schofield to front pastedown. Internally, firmly bound. Pages bright with some spotting and handling marks to first and last. Some offsetting from frontispiece to title page. Very Good

1799. Junius. STAT NOMINUS UMBRA (LETTERS OF JUNIUS). Bensley, London, 1799. 2 volumes, tall 8vo., calf, with old rebacking, 274 & 319pp., title pages dated 1797, 21 portraits engraved by Bewick, plus engraved head- and tail-pieces. Shelf wear to bottoms of boards, else a most attractive copy. The "Junius" letters, which appeared anonymously in The Public Advertiser between 1769 and 1792, comprise a series of attacks on prominent figures of the Government. One, which attacks George III, provoked an unsuccessful libel action against the publisher. Though authorship of the letters has never been firmly established, most think they were written by Sir Philip Francis (1740-1818). Francis was a diplomat prominent in the governing of India, accused Governor Hastings of corruption, duelled with him and was wounded, and assisted Burke in the efforts to impeach him.