Untitled historic item (004100)

xxxix,[1] 165pp [3]. One of an edition limited to 1000 copies. Beige cloth-covered boards (cloth slightly bubbled). Some mild marks and scuffs on endpapers, else internally neat, clean, bright and tight barring a library stamp on title page verso. In a plain dust jacket (jacket is lightly chipped at edges, especially at spine head, lightly worn and discoloured around spine). A new work claiming admission at a late date among the works of a major literary figure such as Sterne is a rare event, but that is exactly what his work does. The preface and lengthy introduction set out Miss Shaw's case, now widely accepted, for asserting these letters should be attributed to Sterne. The title page is a facsimile of that which appeared on the first edition in 1779 and the typescript taken from the British Museum copy. There was no edition of this work, originally claimed by and attributed to a scurrilous hack, William Coombe, between its first publication in 1779 and this 1929 edition under the editorship of Shaw. Approximately 8.5 inches tall. 8vo.