Author: Hervey, James (1714–1758)
Meditations and Contemplations. In Two Volumes. Containing, Vol. I. Meditations among the Tombs; Reflections on a Flower-Garden; And, A Descant on Creation. Vol. II. Contemplations on the Night; Contemplations on the Starry Heavens; And, A Winter-Piece.
Meditations and Contemplations is an artifact of the mid-18th-century shift toward Romanticism. Published during the height of the Enlightenment by the legendary London print dynasty of John and James Rivington, this tenth edition reflects the explosive cultural velocity and overwhelming popularity of a work that completely captured the transatlantic imagination. Writing in a rhythmic prose, Hervey journies through churchyard vaults, moonlit paths, and botanical gardens, inadvertently birth-marking the famously atmospheric "Graveyard School" of poetry that would later inspire William Blake, Mary Shelley, and the Gothic literary movement. For the book archaeologist, this is an exceptional specimen of Georgian book production, featuring crisp, dark typography struck on early handmade rag paper and an incredibly detailed, allegorical copperplate frontispiece engraved by the master Charles Grignion after a design by Francis Hayman.
Illustrations & Plates: Features a striking, classically styled copperplate frontispiece engraving by Charles Grignion (after a design by Francis Hayman). It includes the biblical under-caption: "He gave Himself a Ransom for All. I Tim. ii. 6."
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