The life and errors of John Dunton, citizen of London; with the lives and characters of more than a thousand contemporary divines and other persons of literary eminence
London: J. Nichols, 1818.
Booth Family Center for Special Collections
Georgetown University Library
Gift of Paul F. Betz, 2018
Robert Southey was a fellow Poet Laureate, Lake District resident, and member of the Wordsworth Circle. The Southey and Wordsworth households frequently visited one another, and this volume, whose plain paper boards are covered in green calico, is a touching memorial of that bond.
Southey was a compulsive buyer of used books. To improve their appearance and brighten his bookshelves, the Southey and Wordsworth families covered their tattered paper covers with colorful printed cotton cloth. Scholars and book sellers refer to these rare works as “cottonian” bindings.