Goldsmith - Complete Poetical Works - 1906

A VOICE MEASURED AGAINST THE EXCESS OF THE MODERN WORLD
This Oxford Edition of 1906 gathers Oliver Goldsmith’s entire poetic corpus in a single volume, restoring with philological rigor and editorial sobriety one of the most balanced and influential voices in eighteenth‑century English literature. Edited by Austin Dobson, the edition combines a reliable text, essential critical apparatus, and an elegant engraved portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds, establishing itself as a late-Victorian classic intended for cultivated libraries and collectors attentive to the English editorial tradition.
MARKET VALUE
The Oxford Edition of the Complete Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith, published by Henry Frowde in the early twentieth century, in decorated leather binding and with an engraved portrait, presents indicative market values ranging from 200 to 1,000 euros, with variations based on binding condition, paper freshness, and the completeness of the iconographic apparatus.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
English hardcover binding in full olive green leather, richly gold-decorated spine with stylized floral motifs and title impressed on a label; marbled edges. Engraved portrait of Oliver Goldsmith by Sir Joshua Reynolds on the frontispiece. Yellowing of the pages. In old books, with a centuries‑long history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 36; 278; 2nn; (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
The Complete Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith.
London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, New York and Toronto, Henry Frowde, 1906.
Oliver Goldsmith.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Goldsmith holds a central position in the English literary canon as an interpreter of a rare balance between moral satire, sentiment, and expressive clarity. His poems, including The Traveller and The Deserted Village, offer a civic reflection on progress, loss, and the dignity of the individual. The Oxford Edition, with its sober and authoritative layout, crystallizes Goldsmith as a “classic” author, shielding him from critical fashions and handing him down to stable and continuous reading.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Oliver Goldsmith was born in Ireland in 1728 and died in London in 1774. A poet, writer, and essayist, he was a key figure of the English Enlightenment. Author of moral poetry, novels, and plays, he managed to fuse social observation and sentiment, profoundly influencing later English literature.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The Oxford editions edited by Henry Frowde in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries represent one of the high moments in the standardization of the English literary canon. This 1906 edition sits within a long tradition of reissues intended for an academic and cultured audience, with wide circulation in the Anglophone world.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Oxford University Press, historical catalogs of the Oxford Editions.
British Library Catalogue, Goldsmith, Poetical Works.
DNB, Goldsmith, Oliver.
Dobson, Austin, Introduction to The Complete Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith.