1794 ❧ Bodoni printing in English. THOMSON, JAMES. 1700-1748. The Seasons. Parma: Printed by Bodoni, 1794. Large 4to (331 x 255 mm). Uncut. Original oatmeal-tan handmade paper soft covers, featuring natural organic plant-fiber inclusions left intentionally visible in the rustic pulp. Clamshell box. Provenance: 'Mme. A. Jauge from Gustave Demarest' (contemporary ink presentation inscription to the half-title). ONE OF VERY FEW BOOKS IN ENGLISH PRINTED BY BODONI. First published in full in 1730, James Thomson's sweeping nature poem The Seasons is one of the most commercially and critically influential blank-verse masterpieces in English literature, serving as a vital creative spark for historic figures including Handel, Gainsborough, and Turner. This 1794 deluxe version, printed in Parma by the typographic master Giambattista Bodoni, ranks among the absolute pinnacles of neoclassical print craftsmanship. Bodoni's editions in the English language are vanishingly few, all released during a brief three-year window as the printer sought to enter the British market by expanding his reputation among traveling 'Men of Taste and Letters.' Rejecting excessive copperplate illustrations, Bodoni prioritized pure typographic harmony, achieved through perfectly crisp architectural layouts, rich ink density, and highly generous negative space. 'THE SEASONS', a pristine architectural main title page, an elegant dedication leaf addressed to David Steuart Esq. (Lord Provost of Edinburgh), a historical preface, and the full text for Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Printed on unbleached organic cream rag paper boasting remarkably wide margins, with the deckles adding considerable appeal Bodoni's austere by design design. Brooks, no. 532; De Lama, II p. 92. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing