The Prince of Abissinia. A Tale. The Fifth Edition

Shortly after my boyfriend and I began dating in 2012, he gave me a presentation copy of Gwin Kolb's edition of Samuel Johnson's Rasselas that he'd found in the free bin outside of Powell's. Thus began a new strand of collecting for us: first acquiring other presentation copies of Kolb's book, then moving on to American-printed or owned copies of Rasselas, now forming what I call my "American Rasseli" collection. Each year on my birthday, I am gifted with an addition to the collection. This year's gift was a 1775 London printing that was deaccessioned by the University of Chicago when Kolb's copy, itself an 1828 presentation copy from Thomas Butt to his cousin Lucy Cameron, an author of children's books, came to the library after his death in 2006.