Lot 150: Shelley, Percy B. , Laon and Cythna; or, the Revolution of the Golden City: a vision of the Nineteenth Century. For Sherwood, Neely, & Jones, 1818

8vo, first edition, first issue with the rare fly-title to "laon and cythna" (leaf d1) , without the advertisement leaf at the beginning, but with the errata at the end, with blank leaf after the title, rebound in a jewelled binding by sangorski and sutcliffe, covers and spine in blue morocco richly illustrated in gilt and red with fillets, borders and corners of leaves, pointillé and circular tools enclosing central lozenge, spine in six compartments, gilt inner dentelles, top edge gilt, the others uncut, preserved in quarter blue morocco folding box, first few leaves with traces of foxing, otherwise fine

Graniss 40; Hayward 227; Wise p.48

the rare first issue of shelley's powerful and beautifully constructed latter-day epic poem, "an experiment on the temper of the public mind" (preface). The first issue contains the "extremely rare" (Hayward) fly-title to "Laon and Cythna", with the four-line quotation from Pindar. Laon and Cythna was written "mostly in the woods of Marlow, or in a boat on the Thames during the summer of 1817" (Graniss). It was printed during the second half of the same year (and postdated). When, however, only a few copies had been issued the publisher demanded that certain passages, chiefly overtly anti-Christian phrases and references to an incestuous relationship between hero and heroine, be removed. Under protest, Shelley agreed; the resulting alterations led to a new title-page (The Revolt of Islam), half-title and twenty-six cancel leaves. Much of Laon and Cythna concerns itself with "replaying the French Revolution and depicting Laon and Cythna as heroic revolutionary figures. The fact that the two central figures go to a post-mortal 'Temple of the Spirit' after the failure of the revolution indicates the poem's enriching awareness that its political and spiritual goals are hard to achieve..." (Oxford DNB)