- 37
Milton, John.
Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Paradise Lost. A Poem in Ten Books. London: S. Simmons, and to be sold by S. Thomson..., H. Mortlack..., M. Walker..., and R. Boulter..., 1668 (Printed, and are to be sold by Peter Parker...and by Robert Boulter...and Matthias Walker..., 1668)
4to (181 x 131mm.), first edition, with both amory's first state title page (1a) and second state title (traditional third and fourth title pages), woodcut head-pieces and initials, autograph letters signed by john osmond deakin and thomas frognall dibdin tipped-in, stubs indicating the former presence of other letters before rebinding, modern dark blue morocco lettered in gilt on the spine, small gilt crest on covers, all edges gilt, two endpapers preserved from an earlier binding (the one at the end with the papermaker's mark stamped in red), very occasional minor foxing
a fine copy with a distinguished provenance of what is now generally regarded as the first (as well as the scarcest) issue of "paradise lost". William Riley Parker located only 23 copies of this issue (see An Exhibit of Seventeenth-Century Editions of Writings by John Milton, The Lilly Library, Indiana, 1969). Although with a 1668 date, most scholars and bibliographers now regard this as the true first issue of Paradise Lost, following Hugh Amory's ground-breaking article in the Spring 1983 Book Collector. Amory located only seven copies of this subissue 1a (with only Milton's initials on the title).
The earlier of the autograph letters (bound in reverse order) is by John Osmond Deakin (2 pp., 8vo, 7 John Street, Oxford Street, 19 December 1826), to the bibliophile Thomas Frognall Dibdin, explaining the gift of this copy to him ("In disturbing the sanctity of cobwebs wch have taken of my books at Camb: I discovered a first Edition of Milton (with the title page s of 1668) wch I think will receive ore regard from you than it does from me...You set a value on the 'genus' to wch this books belongs, and it cannot be under better protection than yours...The binding is I believe the original one, it having been given to me by a member of an old family and a possessor of an old library; but who, like myself, preferred a newer Edition...". The later letter (4 pp., 8vo, Christmas Day 1826) accompanies the gift, a Christmas present, of the same book ("...a clean, sound & unsophisticated copy of the first edition of Paradise Lost, with the two title-pages - sent to me by Master Deakin...) by Dibdin to an unnamed correspondent (actually Sir Francis Freeling, Secretary of the Post Office and member of the Roxburghe Club). The contemporary sheepskin binding was evidently not to Freeling's taste, since he had the copy rebound in the present handsome blue morocco binding.
a fine copy with a distinguished provenance of what is now generally regarded as the first (as well as the scarcest) issue of "paradise lost". William Riley Parker located only 23 copies of this issue (see An Exhibit of Seventeenth-Century Editions of Writings by John Milton, The Lilly Library, Indiana, 1969). Although with a 1668 date, most scholars and bibliographers now regard this as the true first issue of Paradise Lost, following Hugh Amory's ground-breaking article in the Spring 1983 Book Collector. Amory located only seven copies of this subissue 1a (with only Milton's initials on the title).
The earlier of the autograph letters (bound in reverse order) is by John Osmond Deakin (2 pp., 8vo, 7 John Street, Oxford Street, 19 December 1826), to the bibliophile Thomas Frognall Dibdin, explaining the gift of this copy to him ("In disturbing the sanctity of cobwebs wch have taken of my books at Camb: I discovered a first Edition of Milton (with the title page s of 1668) wch I think will receive ore regard from you than it does from me...You set a value on the 'genus' to wch this books belongs, and it cannot be under better protection than yours...The binding is I believe the original one, it having been given to me by a member of an old family and a possessor of an old library; but who, like myself, preferred a newer Edition...". The later letter (4 pp., 8vo, Christmas Day 1826) accompanies the gift, a Christmas present, of the same book ("...a clean, sound & unsophisticated copy of the first edition of Paradise Lost, with the two title-pages - sent to me by Master Deakin...) by Dibdin to an unnamed correspondent (actually Sir Francis Freeling, Secretary of the Post Office and member of the Roxburghe Club). The contemporary sheepskin binding was evidently not to Freeling's taste, since he had the copy rebound in the present handsome blue morocco binding.
Provenance
unidentifed owner ("possessor of an old library", referred to in Deakin's letter; John Osmond Deakin, Reader and Preacher at St. Mary's, late eighteenth/early nineteenth century, letter bound in, giving this copy to: Thomas Frognall Dibdin (1776--1847), bibliographer, letter bound in, giving this copy to: Sir Francis Freeling, English postal reformer and member of the Roxburghe Club, with gilt crest on covers; Joseph Neald, nineteenth-century armorial bookplate; Francis Dannay, sale of the library at Christie's New York, 16 December 1983, lot 242; Helmut N. Friedlander, book-label, sale of his library at Christie's New York, part I, 23 April 2001, lot 168
Literature
Hugh Amory, "Things Unattempted Yet", in The Book Collector, Spring 1983, pp.41-66; Grolier English 33; Grolier Wither to Prior 602; Coleridge 90; Wing M2139; Hayward 72
Condition
Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."