[Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of].

3 volumes, 8vo, first edition, vignettes, contemporary gilt panelled red morocco, spine gilt in six compartments, gilt edges, rebacked, boards spotted, vol.2 lacking final blank

Richard Palmer, bookplate

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."

an attractive and clean copy of shaftesbury's chief work, a complex work of philosophy that attempted to integrate aesthetics and ethics, elegantly written in a polite mode. The Characteristicks comprised revised versions of five previously published works - Letter Concerning Enthusiasm, Sensus communis, Soliloquy, An Inquiry Concerning Virtue, and The Moralists - together with a volumes of five miscellanies.