1804 WILLIAM COWPER. Beautifully Illustrated Life of Hymnist & Abolitionist, William Cowper.

A beautiful production by famed illustrators James Storer and John Grieg. Together, they executed a sequence of superbly crafted full-page engravings of locations important in the life of hymnist and poet, William Cowper. The plates include Cowper's Summer house, Weston House, The Peasant's Nest, etc. As a poet, Cowper helped initiate the Romantic movement with his descriptions of life in the English countryside. After a stint of being institutionalized for insanity, Cowper recovered and began focusing on writing religious works. He was strongly against slavery, using his poems to try and support the Abolitionist campaign and was close friends with John Newton.  Illustrated with twelve plates by two of the finest engravers of the period. Storer was an engraver who devoted himself to producing views of topography and ancient architecture. He collaborated with Greig, who was another topographical artist publishing 'Views in North Britain illustrative of the Works of Burns', 'Select Views of London and its Environs', and 'The Antiquarian and Topographical Cabinet'.  Cowper, Illustrated by a Series of Views, in, or Near, the Park in Weston-Underwood, Burks. Accompanied with Copious Descriptions, and a Brief Sketch of the Poet's Life. London. Vernor and Hood. 1804. 48pp. Good + example in rubbed but solid half calf. Bears the bookplate of famed Victorian art dealer, Thomas Blaynes. Minor damp stains at extremities of leaves as shown, generally shy of the images themselves.