Alexander Pope: Essay on Man
Rare first edition of all four parts

"A thousand years may elapse before there shall appear another man 
with a power of versification equal to that of Pope."  
—Samuel Johnson

Pope, Alexander. Essay on Man. London: for J. Wilford, 1733-34. Parts I-IV, bound in one volume. Tall folio, nineteenth-century three-quarter green morocco, marbled boards and endpapers. $9,000.

"Know then Thy-self, presume not God to scan;
The only Science of Mankind is Man."

—Essay on Man, Epistle II

First edition of all four parts of Pope’s great metaphysical treatise in verse. With rare “To the Reader” leaf, and with rare Contents and Ad leaves present in Part IV. With half-title (as called for) in Part III, but lacking half-title to Part II. Tape repairs to E1 and E2 (not affecting text) of Part I. Some soiling and paper loss along outer edges of tall, wide-margined text. Bookplate of “Carlingford” on front pastedown. Since the parts were issued separately, it is rare to find first editions of all four parts bound together. A handsome copy.