Alexander Pope's "Rape of the Lock" 1st. edn

London: Bernard Lintott, 1714. "TH'ADVENTROUS BARON THE BRIGHT LOCKS ADMIR'D, HE SAW, HE WISH'D, AND TO THE PRIZE ASPIR'D". An Heroi-comical Poem. In Five Cantos. Slim octavo, late 19th century full navy crushed morocco gilt, raised bands, gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. First complete edition and first seperate publication of Pope's mock-heroic masterpiece; the 1st edition to contain all five cantos of the poem. Illustrated with an engraved frontispiece and five plates, as well as a later portrait of Arabella Fermor Inserted opposite the dedication. Pope was initially inspired to compose The Rape of the Lock in order to resolve a quarrel that arose between the Fermor and Petre families after Robert Lord Petre snipped a lock of Arabella Fermor's hair. Hoping to ease the animosity between the two families through playful humor, Pope, with Arabella Fermor's permission, first published The Rape of the Lock in two cantos in Lintott's "Miscellaneous Poems and Translations" in 1712. Pope's genius, however, is fully displayed in the five-canto version of the poem in which he expands the sketch to include divine machinery, albeit on the miniature scale of sylphs and gnomes. "One of Pope's most brilliant performances, it has also been one of his most popular" (DFrabble, 810). Rothschils170. BMC. Bookplates. Early owner inscription, dated 1766, and a few other small ink marks on washed title page. A lovely copy, beautifully bound in 19th c. full morocco by Lloyd and Wallis.