Junius. Stat nominis umbra

Item Details

London, Woodfall, 1772, contemporary leather

1st ed., 1st issue, soiling and toning

“JUNIUS” (nom-de-plume). Junius. Stat nominis umbra. London: Printed for Henry Sampson Woodfall, 1772. 2 volumes, 12mo (6 1/8 x 3 ¾ inches). Pp. [2], xxxii; 208. [2], 356. Engraved title pages. (Occasional light soiling and toning). Old calf (worn [see images]). Provenance: Jennifer Little (inscribed, with lengthy note about the work on the front pastedown of vol.I).

Woodfall’s first edition, first issue – the first authorized edition, without the table of contents and index which were added for the second issue. A collection of 69 letters critical of the government of King George III written by the popular anonymous writer and polemicist ‘Junius’. 29 are addressed to "the Printer of the Public Advertiser" (i.e. Henry Sampson Woodfall), and the rest to individuals such as Sir William Blackstone and the Duke of Grafton (a frequent target).  This is the true first authorized publication of the letters as a set, but their popularity/notoriety meant that they were followed by many editions, both authorized and unauthorized, over many decades. The ‘Letters’ resulted in the prosecution of the publisher, Henry Sampson Woodfall, for seditious libel; the jury found him guilty but Lord Mansfield, the presiding judge, declared a mistrial and Woodfall escaped imprisonment.

Composed between 1769 and 1772, the pseudonym masked a well-placed man within the Whig establishment during the ministry of the Duke of Grafton, British Prime Minister 1768- 1770, and that of his successor Lord North. With the aim of exposing the injustices of the administration, and highlighting the rights and freedoms of British individuals, Junius attacked many highly respected  individuals within the Whig establishment. Long subject to speculation, the authorship of these significant and embarrassing political letters has still not been proved, but the current front-runner is Sir Philip Francis, a clerk in the War Office. Thomas Paine, Edmund Burke, and Benjamin Franklin have all been mentioned as long-shots in the past.