Lot 298
  • 298

Donne, John

Estimate
1,500 - 2,500 USD
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Description

  • Donne, John
  • Letters to Severall Persons of Honour. London: Printed by J. Flesher, for Richard Marriot, and are to be sold at his shop in St Dunstans Church-yard under the Dyall, 1651
  • printed book
4to (8 x 5 7/8 in.; 203 x 151 mm). Fine engraved frontispiece portrait of Donne by Pieter Lombart, woodcut initials and headpiece, with blanks A1 and Ss4; very short internal tear without loss to title-page, slight offsetting of title to frontispiece, two tiny wormholes running at top inner margin from quire Dd to end. Contemporary calf; spine refurbished, other rubbing and repair.

Provenance

Thomas Hutchinson (signature, 1721, on initial blank) — Henry Buxton-Forman (bookplate, penciled initials and note) — Edward Hubert Litchfield (bookplate; Parke-Bernet, 3 December 1951, lot 328). acquisition: Seven Gables, 1962

Literature

Wing D1864; ESTC 1211; Grolier/Donne 39 (this copy); Grolier/Wither to Prior 296; Keynes, Donne 55 (significantly underreporting the size of the Pirie copy as 19.5 x 14.8 cm); Pforzheimer 295

Condition

4to (8 x 5 7/8 in.; 203 x 151 mm). Engraved frontispiece portrait of Donne by Pieter Lombart, woodcut initials and headpiece, with blanks A1 and Ss4; very short internal tear without loss to title-page, slight offsetting of title to frontispiece. Contemporary calf; spine refurbished, other rubbing and repair.
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 edition; one of five copies known on large and thick paper. "Although a few of Donne's letters had been published in the first two Marriott editions of his Poems and in the 1640 LXXX Sermons, the present work—129 letters gathered and edited by Donne's son—marked the first appearance of his correspondence in a cohesive collection.