- 74
Hobbes, Thomas
Estimate
7,000 - 10,000 GBP
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Description
- Hobbes, Thomas
- Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill. Andrew Crooke, 1651
- Paper
folio (280 x 178mm.), first edition, first issue, with woodcut "head" ornament on title-page, added engraved title-page by Abraham Bosse, 1 folded broadside printed table, contemporary calf, rebacked retaining parts of original spine, lower margin of table repaired with some loss of text, neat paper repairs to margins, light dampstaining to lower margin of some pages
Literature
Macdonald and Hargreaves 42; Pforzheimer 491; PMM 138; Wing H2446
Condition
Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where 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."
Catalogue Note
First edition, first issue of one of the most important English works of political philosophy.
Leviathan was written in Paris, where Hobbes had fled at the outset of the Civil War. The book's most influential idea, illustrated by Abraham Bosse's celebrated engraving, is of the state as an aggregation of individual men submitting voluntarily to the rule of the sovereign, the "soul" of the "commonwealth." With this idea, Hobbes offended both right and left, even alientating the exiled royalists among whom he lived in Paris.
While the book was initially unpopular, particularly with those in authority (further printing was prohibited by the Licensers), it quickly became a popular success: according to Pepys, Leviathan was "mightily in demand" and he had to pay "30s. for a second-hand copy on 3 Sept. 1668, it having originally sold for 8s" (Macdonald and Hargreaves, p.29).
Leviathan was written in Paris, where Hobbes had fled at the outset of the Civil War. The book's most influential idea, illustrated by Abraham Bosse's celebrated engraving, is of the state as an aggregation of individual men submitting voluntarily to the rule of the sovereign, the "soul" of the "commonwealth." With this idea, Hobbes offended both right and left, even alientating the exiled royalists among whom he lived in Paris.
While the book was initially unpopular, particularly with those in authority (further printing was prohibited by the Licensers), it quickly became a popular success: according to Pepys, Leviathan was "mightily in demand" and he had to pay "30s. for a second-hand copy on 3 Sept. 1668, it having originally sold for 8s" (Macdonald and Hargreaves, p.29).