Brathwait, Richard

4to (7 1/4 x 5 3/4 in.; 184 x 145 mm). Fine additional engraved title-page in 11 compartments with a central portrait of a perfected English gentleman, possibly the author, by Robert Vaughan, folding letterpress "A Draught of the Frontispi[e]ce" explicating the eight "Properties, Adjuncts, and Characters" depicted on the engraved title (viz., youth, disposition, education, vocation, recreation, acquaintance, moderation and perfection), woodcut initials, woodcut and type-ornament head- and tailpieces, with terminal blank Nnn4; small rusthole in Cc2 with loss of 2 letters, quire Hh and Bbb2.3 torn at head of inner margin without loss, Ccc1 extended, some scattered light browning and foxing. Contemporary stiff vellum, early manuscript title on spine, plain endpapers and edges; soiled, ties lost.

Philip Bliss (1787–1857, the antiquary and book collector, armorial bookplate and acquisition note "of Parker [bookseller], Oxon.") — Archibald, 5th Earl of Rosebery and Midlothian (armorial bookplate and inkstamp of Barnbougle Castle Catalogue on letterpress title-page); Sotheby's London, 29 October 2009, lot 13. acquisition: purchased at the foregoing sale through Bernard Quaritch

STC 3563; ESTC S104636; Church 192; Grolier/Wither to Prior 66; Newberry/Courtesy Books 207

4to (7 1/4 x 5 3/4 in.; 184 x 145 mm). Fine additional engraved title-page in 11 compartments with a central portrait of a perfected English gentleman, possibly the author, by Robert Vaughan, folding letterpress "A Draught of the Frontispi[e]ce" explicating the eight "Properties, Adjuncts, and Characters" depicted on the engraved title (viz., youth, disposition, education, vocation, recreation, acquaintance, moderation, and perfection), woodcut initials, woodcut and type-ornament head- and tailpieces, with terminal blank Nnn4; small rusthole in Cc2 with loss of 2 letters, quire Hh and Bbb2.3 torn at head of inner margin without loss, Ccc1 extended, some scattered light browning and foxing. Contemporary stiff vellum, early manuscript title on spine, plain endpapers and edges; soiled, ties lost.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

First edition, variant issue without the additional section "Three Choice Characters of Marriage" at end. One of the most important of all English courtesy books, Brathwait's English Gentleman was greatly influenced by Baldassare Castiglione's Il cortegiano of a century earlier. Castiglione's work "had a great impact on the development of English drama and comedy, and in the seventeenth century two famous books on the gentleman appeared, that by Peacham intended for the Cavaliers (see lot 630) and that by Braithwait intended for the Puritans" (Printing and the Mind of Man 59).