1800s Rasselas Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson, Green Leather Antique Book

“Rasselas Prince of Abyssinia” by Samuel Johnson. Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons in New York and London. Printed by The Knickerbocker Press. This rare First Edition book is undated and unmarked, but is deemed a First Edition and believed to be published in the late 1800s (after 1866), due to the publisher markings.

This is an antique story, originally published in England in 1759. It is an apologue about bliss and ignorance by Samuel Johnson. Early readers considered Rasselas to be a work of philosophical and practical importance. Like a fable or parable, an apologue seeks to impart a moral. The moral supersedes the narrative in terms of importance, while utilizing a metaphorical truth. Apologues use allegory to make observations and state truths about real people, places, or events. A thought provoking piece of classic literature, over 159 years old.