Collected Works of John Wilmot Earl of Rochester Edited by John Hayward Published by The Nonesuch Press in 1926

Personalized inscriptions on end pages and and front free end-papers One such inscription reads: My father made me a very generous present for Christmas 1925 and my birthday, March 20, 1926 Another inscription reads: None such, and an edition needed. This edition was later barred entrance into the U.S.A. !!!

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1 April 1647 – 26 July 1680) was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II's Restoration court, who reacted against the "spiritual authoritarianism" of the Puritan era. Rochester embodied this new era, and he became as well known for his rakish lifestyle as for his poetry, although the two were often interlinked. He died as a result of a sexually transmitted infection at the age of 33.

Rochester was described by his contemporary Andrew Marvell as "the best English satirist", and he is generally considered to be the most considerable poet and the most learned among the Restoration wits. His poetry was widely censored during the Victorian era, but enjoyed a revival from the 1920s onwards, with reappraisals from noted literary figures such as Graham Greene and Ezra Pound.

Rochester’s life was a scandal, and so were his poems. Many of them portray bisexual orgies, public sex, prostitution, impotence, drunkenness, masturbation “in a pigsty,” and rampant sexually transmitted diseases, in songs, satires, verse-letters, and impersonations. His writings circulated in manuscript, among his friends and enemies, most of them printed soon after he died.

Has a mylar dust jacket Has been rebound Deckle edge Wear on the top and bottom of spine and on edges of front and back board Wear on hinge Wear commensurate with age

These books came from the Estate of Estelle Chessid, New York City Artist and Dealer in Antiquarian Books.