The Guardian with Notes and Illustrations, Volumes I and II, edited by Nestor Ironside, 1822 London edition.

Various authors. Richard Steele, a.k.a. "Nestor Ironside", Editor. 1822 London Stereotype Edition. Notes and letters originally published in 1713 by various individuals and publishers.

The Publisher to the Reader
Volume I

"It is a justice which Mr. Ironside owes gentlemen who have sent him their assistances from time to time, in the carrying on of this work, to acknowledge that obligation, though at the same time he himself dwindles into the character of a mere publisher, by making the acknowledgment. ... All those papers which are distinguished by the mark of a Hand, were written by a gentleman who has obliged the world with productions too sublime to admit that the author of them should receive any addition to his reputation, from such lose occasional thoughts as make up these little treatises; for which reason his name shall be concealed. Those which are
marked with a Star, were composed by Mr. Budgell. That upon Dedications, with the Epistle of an Author to Himself, the Club of little Men, the Receipt to make an Epic Poem, the paper of the Gardens of Aleinous, and the Catalogue of Greens, that against Barbarity to Animals, and some others, have Mr. Pope for their author. ...

"... The letter from Gnatho of the Cures performed by Flattery, and that of comparing Dress to Criticism, are Mr. Gay's. Mr. Marti, Mr. Philips, Mr. Tickell, Mr. Carey, Mr. Eusden, Mr. Ince, and Mr. Hughes, have obliged the town with entertaining discourses in these volumes; and Mr. Berkeley, of Trinity College in Dublin, has embellished them with many excellent arguments in honour of religion and virtue. Mr. Parnell will I hope forgive me, that without his leave I mention, that I have seen his hand on the like occasion. There are some discourses of a less pleasing nature which relate to the divisions among us, and such (lest any of these gentleman should suffer from unjust suspicion,) I must impute to the right author of them, who is one Mr. Steele of Langunnor, in the county of Carmarthen, in South Wales."

- Nestor Ironside, a.k.a. The Guardian

The Guardian was a weekly periodical conceived as a sequel to The Spectator by its publishers, Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele. The short-lived journal was printed Monday through Saturday from March to October, 1713. They shut it down for lack of time, as both were members of Parliament, and money, but its influence lived on in reprints. The Spectator, The Tatler, and The Guardian were considered the most influential literary journals of the 1700 - 1800s. The Guardian's writers often published anonymously or pseudonymously, especially if partisan political writings would get them in trouble with the Crown or the Church. Steele, the most outspoken Whig of his time, also worked under a pseudonym: Nestor Ironside, a.k.a. The Guardian. Having enough content was a constant challenge. And Steele and Addison were especially keen for content that appealed to women. After the first few issues, Steele invited the public to submit letters, essays, poems, and gossip via the carved stone lion's head letterbox at Button's Coffee House in Covent Garden. Many of the great wits and intellectuals of the era, including women, slipped their writings into the lion's mouth.

This two-volume set was purchased at Bertrand Smith's Acres of Books of Long Beach, California sometime between 1960, when the store moved to Long Beach Blvd, and 2008, when it closed.

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Condition: Both volumes lack a dust jacket, as issued. 19th century duodecimo with blue cover boards with Italian marbled paper backstrip. At a later date, as a repair or a whim, the spine was painted over with a brown wash, apparently to simulate leather, causing the paper to eventually crack and flake. The original marbled paper is visible at the hinges inside the front and back covers.

Volume I: Good. Cover boards: Front cover is loose; soiled, including small dampstains, front and back; light to moderate wear along all edges; paper spine is flaking; bumped at the corners. Previous owner's bookplate, with a square of paper glued over it concealing all but the owner's name, and a bookstore stamp on front paste-down. Light foxing on preliminary pages. Uncut pages, selectively cut and left uncut depending on the text. Light pencil marks inside a few uncut pages may be from propping them open with a pencil to read them without cutting them. Pages are otherwise clean, undamaged, and complete.

Volume II: Very Good. Cover boards: Soiled front and back, including small dampstains on the back; light to moderate wear along all edges; paper spine is flaking; bumped at the corners. Previous owner's bookplate, with a square of paper glued over it concealing all but the owner's name, and a bookstore stamp on front paste-down. Light foxing on index pages. Unopened pages selectively opened depending on the letter or article. Pages are clean, undamaged, and complete.

Note on spines: Scrap paper, with printing visible on the underside of loose pieces on Vol I, was attached to the book spine and faux painted to achieve the look of leather.