Lot 26
  • 26

Bacon, Sir Francis

Estimate
18,000 - 25,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • The Essaies. London: Imprinted by John Beale, 1612
  • ink, vellum
8vo (6 1/4 x 4 in.; 159 x 102 mm). Title within border of printer's ornament, woodcut headpiece of putti riding cornucopiae and open-work ornament on title-page, head- and tailpieces composed of printer's ornaments, text within ruled border with blank marginal column for side-notes. Contemporary limp vellum.

Provenance

John Breame (contemporary signature on front free endpaper, with another signature that has been crossed out and obscured through oxidation) — "Property of a Lady," Sotheby's, 5 May 1981, lot 264 . acquisition: Purchased at foregoing sale through Bernard Quaritch

Literature

STC 1141; ESTC S104436; Gibson 6; Pforzheimer 28

Condition

2 works bound in one volume, 8vo (4 3/4 x 3 in.; 121 x 76 mm). Essaies: Title within border composed of printer's ornaments, head- and tailpieces composed of printer's ornaments, woodcut initials, section title for Of the colours of Good and Euill, a Fragment, final blank P4 present; lacks initial blank, a few leaves at the beginning shaved close to the running head,l light staining in quire A. Apologie: Printer's ornament on title-page, woodcut headpiece and initial. Contemporary stiff vellum, manuscript title on spine.
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.

Catalogue Note

First augmented edition, with changes made by Bacon in nine essays and reprinted here with twenty-nine new ones, although the table lists a total of forty. "This edition ranks with the first of 1597 and the 'complete' of 1625 as one of three editions which provide an authoritative text" (Pforzheimer).