Chaucer, Geoffrey

Folio (). 394 (of 397) leaves (lacking A1–3). Black letter, text in double columns. 20 woodcut illustrations from 15 blocks, section-titles within woodcut compartments (McKerrow & Ferguson 19) for "The Romaunt of the Rose," "Troylus and Creseyde," "Boetius de consolatione philosophie," "How Pite is Ded and Beried in a Gentyll Hert," and "The Testament of Love," all with continuous foliation and signatures, QQ3 cancelled as usual and replaced by four leaves incorporating Robert Henryson's Testament of Criseyde. Calf antique.

Lloyd Tyrell-Kenyon, fifth Baron Kenyon (morocco label). acquisition: Bernard Quaritch, 1965

STC 5068; ESTC S106664; Grolier/Langland to Wither 28; Hayward 2; Pforzheimer 173

Folio (). 394 (of 397) leaves (lacking A1–3). Black letter, text in double columns. 20 woodcut illustrations from 15 blocks, section-titles within woodcut compartments (McKerrow & Ferguson 19) for "The Romaunt of the Rose," "Troylus and Creseyde," "Boetius de consolatione philosophie," "How Pite is Ded and Beried in a Gentyll Hert", and "The Testament of Love," all with continuous foliation and signatures, QQ3 cancelled as usual and replaced by four leaves incorporating Robert Henryson's Testament of Criseyde. Calf antique.
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 complete collected edition of Chaucer and the first attempt to collect into a single volume the complete writings of an English author. Putting aside Pynson's three separate publications of ca. 1526, Godfray's publication "was the first attempt at a critical edition and for over 200 years provided the standard text of The Canterbury Tales" (Hayward). It was edited by William Thynne, clerk of the kitchen and of the green cloth to Henry VIII, and recipient of numerous grants and appointments. His dedication to Henry VIII (actually written by Sir Brian Tuke) is noteworthy for its remarks on the development of language and on the editor's collection of printed and manuscript works of Chaucer.

As the Pforzheimer catalogue remarks, Thynne's enthusiasm may have outstripped his critical capacity, since more than half of the poems he included were spuriously attributed to Chaucer—giving this work a claim to the title of the earliest English poetical miscellany.

Only The Canterbury Tales is illustrated: the cuts of the Knight and Squire are copies from Pynson's 1526 edition (Hodnett 2066, 2067), while the remaining thirteen were cut for Caxton's 1483 edition (Hodnett 214–236).