(London: fPrinted for J. Dodsley; Printed for Edward and Charles Dilley; Printed by and for T. Sherlock, 1774; 1777; 1778).

RARE PRESENTATION COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION OF ALL FIVE VOLUMES OF THE LETTERS AND MISCELLANEOUS WORKS, INCLUDING THE VERY SCARCE AND SELDOM SEEN THIRD VOLUME OF THE MISCELLANIES, STILL IN THEIR ORIGINAL REGENCY PERIOD BINDINGS. Lord Stanhope assumed his seat in the House of Lords and became the 4th Earl of Chesterfield in 1726 upon the death of his father. The new Lord Chesterfield's inclination towards oration, often seen as ineffective in the House of Commons because of its polish and lack of force, was met with appreciation in the House of Lords, and won many to his side. In 1728, under service to the new king, George II, Chesterfield was sent to the Hague as ambassador, where his gentle tact and linguistic dexterity served him well. As a reward for his diplomatic service, Chesterfield received the Order of the Garter in 1730, the position of Lord Steward, and the friendship of Robert Walpole. While a British envoy in the Hague, he helped negotiate the second Treaty of Vienna (1731), which signaled the collapse of the Anglo-French Alliance, and the beginning of the Anglo-Austrian Alliance. In 1732, Madelina Elizabeth du Bouchet, a French governess, gave birth to his illegitimate son, Philip for whose advice on life Chesterfield wrote the Letters to his Son. The letters, over 400 of them are elegant in their style and instructive in the methodology. The Earl of Chesterfield is remembered to this day for his evocative and sensitive words, his fine manners and his cosmopolitan life.
Upon the death of the Earl, Eugenia Stanhope, the impoverished widow of Chesterfield's illegitimate son, Philip Stanhope, published the book of Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774). It is comprised of a thirty-year correspondence in more than 400 letters. Begun in 1737 and continued until the death of his son in 1768, Chesterfield wrote mostly instructive communications about geography, history, and classical literature, with later letters focusing on politics and diplomacy, and the letters themselves were written in French, English and Latin to refine his son's grasp of the languages.
As a handbook for worldly success in the 18th century, the Letters to His Son give perceptive and nuanced advice for how a gentleman should interpret the social codes that are manners:

"... However frivolous a company may be, still, while you are among them, do not show them, by your inattention, that you think them so; but rather take their tone, and conform in some degree to their weakness, instead of manifesting your contempt for them. There is nothing that people bear more impatiently, or forgive less, than contempt; and an injury is much sooner forgotten than an insult. If, therefore, you would rather please than offend, rather be well than ill spoken of, rather be loved than hated; remember to have that constant attention about you which flatters every man's little vanity; and the want of which, by mortifying his pride, never fails to excite his resentment, or at least his ill will...."

Interestingly, Samuel Johnson respected the Earl's great literary and intellectual skills so completely that he wished him deeply involved in the project that Johnson was engaged in at the time, the preparation and publication of the Dictionary. But in 1755, the year of the Dictionary's first printing, the Earl and Johnson had a bit of a dispute over the Dictionary. Eight years previously, Johnson had sent Secretary of State Chesterfield, an outline of his Dictionary, along with a business offer for such; Chesterfield agreed and invested £10. Although Chesterfield wrote two anonymous articles for World magazine shortly before the dictionary's publication that praised both Johnson's exhaustive editorial work and the comprehensive dictionary itself, Johnson was disappointed at the lack of interest in the project from Lord Chesterfield during its compilation. Upset with what he saw as a lack of support from an avowed man of letters and patron of literature, Johnson wrote the Letter to Chesterfield, which dealt with the dynamics of the patron artist relationship. Chesterfield was not offended by the letter but instead was impressed by the language. After receiving it, he displayed it on a table for visitors to read and, according to Robert Dodsley, said "This man has great powers" and then he "pointed out the severest passages, and observed how well they were expressed". Adams told Johnson what was said, and Johnson responded, "That is not Lord Chesterfield; he is the proudest man this day". Adams responded, "No, there is one person at least as proud; I think, by your own account, you are the prouder man of the two". Johnson, finishing, said, "But mine, was defensive pride".
The Miscellaneous Works, also included here, contain a great number of the many writings that the Earl penned on subjects as diverse as politics, poetry, philosophy, humanities and adds also, a profuse number of letters to friends and colleagues.
A wonderful set of an iconic work, still in its original Regency period bindings. Item #31627

5 volumes. The First Edition of All Five Volumes. Presentation Copy From Mrs. Stanhope, the Publisher, with the inscription of the recipient and initials. Complete with all half-titles called for. Engraved portrait frontispiece in the first volume. 4to, very handsomely bound at the time in fine straight-grain red morocco over original gray paper covered boards, with elaborate gilt rules separating the compartments, two of which are lettered in gilt, the covers with gilt rules at the turnovers and joins. [4], vii, 568; [4], 606, [2 errata]; vii, [1], 342, [2 Errata], 293, [1], [1]; [4]. [1], [588]; [xi], 204 pp. A very handsome set of these iconic writings and including the very rare third volume of the Miscellanies, beautifully preserved with some very occasional foxing or browning.