Philological Inquiries In Three Parts

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by James Harris

Philological Inquiries In Three Parts
HarrisPhilologicalInquiries1781v1and2.jpg

Title page from Philological Inquiries In Three Parts, two volumes bound as one, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary.

Author James Harris
Editor {{{editor}}}
Translator {{{trans}}}
Published London: Printed for C. Nourse
Date 1781
Edition {{{edition}}}
Language English
Volumes 2 volumes (3 parts) in 1 volume set
Pages {{{pages}}}
Desc. 8vo (23 cm.)
Location [[Shelf {{{shelf}}}]]
  [[Shelf {{{shelf2}}}]]
Frontispiece.
James Harris (1709-1780), a philosopher and music patron, attended both Wadham College and Lincoln’s Inn, but graduated from neither.[1] He and his wife, Elizabeth, had five children together, but only three of them made it past infancy.[2] He was a great admirer of Handel’s, and even wrote a first draft of one of the composer's librettos, L'allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato.[3] Harris served as a member of parliament for Christchurch, and went on to serve as commissioner of admiralty and, eventually, as secretary and comptroller for Queen Charlotte.[4] Harris had close royal ties, was elected as a fellow to the Royal Society, and held a Trustee position in the British Museum for the fifteen years leading up to his death in 1780.[5] Harris’ writings held great significance among his contemporaries.[6] His Philological Inquiries was published the year after he died, in 1781. Although his writings are unfamiliar to many today, with Philological Inquiries, Harris made a vital contribution to historical linguistics.[7]
Armorial bookplate of John Cator, front pastedown.

Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library

Listed in the Jefferson Inventory of Wythe's Library as "Harris's Philological enquiries. 8vo." This was one of the titles kept by Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson later sold a copy to the Library of Congress in 1815, but the volume no longer exists to verify Wythe's prior ownership.[8] Both George Wythe's Library[9] on LibraryThing and the Brown Bibliography[10] list the first (1781 and only?) edition. The Wolf Law Library followed their recommendations and purchased a copy of the first edition for the George Wythe Collection.

Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy

Bound in contemporary tree calf with spine divided in gilt compartments with gilt lozenges and lettering. Includes the bookplate of John Cator with the Latin motto "Nihil sine labore" (Without labor, nothing) on the front pastedown. Purchased from Am Here Books.

View this book in William & Mary's online catalog.

References

  1. ↑ Rosemary Dunhill, “Harris, James (1709–1780)” in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004- ), accessed October 18, 2013.
  2. ↑ Ibid.
  3. ↑ Ibid.
  4. ↑ Ibid.
  5. ↑ Ibid.
  6. ↑ Ibid.
  7. ↑ Clive T. Probyn. “Johnson, James Harris, and the Logic of Happiness.” The Modern Language Review , Vol. 73, No. 2 (April 1978), 256-266: Modern Humanities Research Association. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3727099.
  8. ↑ E. Millicent Sowerby, Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson, 2nd ed. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983), 5:40 [no.4697].
  9. ↑ LibraryThing, s. v. "Member: George Wythe", accessed on February 26, 2014.
  10. ↑ Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433

External Links

Read parts one and two of this book in Google Books. Read part three of this book in Google Books.

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