Pepys, Samuel | First edition of his famous diary

Pepys, Samuel

Memoirs of Samuel Pepys, Esq. F.R.S., comprising his Diary from 1659 to 1669, deciphered by the Rev. John Smith...from the original short-hand Ms. in the Pepysian Library, and a Selection from his Private Correspondence. Edited by Richard, Lord Braybrooke. London: Henry Colburn, 1825

Large 4to, 2 vols. (298 x 244 mm). Engraved frontispiece to each volume, 11 engraved plates, one of which folding, with a map of the Action at Sheerness with the Dutch Fleet, a facsimile of Pepys' special short-hand, a family tree, and portraits of Pepys and his wife Elizabeth. Three quarter red morocco, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers.

First edition of this famous diary

Samuel Pepys, the Secretary to the Admiralty under Charles II and James II, began keeping a diary at the age of 27, and filled six volumes before ending it nine years later. The diary, originally written in code, was housed in the Magdalene College library until the Rev. John Smith, of St. Johns Cambridge, deciphered it between 1819 and 1822, and it was published in 1825. As a leading official in the admiralty for over a decade, Pepys was in touch with some of the most influential men in government. He also carried on a correspondence with Isaac Newton, Christopher Wren, and John Evelyn. His observations, written in his secret cipher, are one of the best views and principal sources for many aspects of government, intrigue, and social life in the mid-17th century.

REFERENCE

Grolier, 100 Books Famous in English Literature 75; Lowndes 1828