Lot 308
  • 308

(Donne, John)

Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 USD
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Description

  • Alberico Gentili. Regales disputationes tres. [Hanau: printed by W. Antonius, & sold] Londini apud Thomam Vautrollerium, 1605
  • printed book
4to (7 1/4 x 5 3/4 in.; 186 x 146 mm). Woodcut printer's device on title-page, woodcut initials and head- and tailpieces; worm-trail at lower inner margin occasionally affecting a catchword or letter of text, lightly browned, a few scattered rust and ink spots, F3 with small rusthole to text. Nineteenth-century calf gilt, by M. M. Holloway, marbled endpapers, early red edges; rubbed, rebacked.

Provenance

John Donne (signature and motto on title-page) — Everard Meynell (bookplate) — Leonard Woolf (see introduction to The Library of Leonard and Virginia Woolf); consigned without designation by his executor to — Sotheby's London, 27 July 1970, lot 143; purchased by — Dawsons of Pall Mall. acquisition: Dawsons, ca. 1973

Literature

STC 11741; ESTC S103022; Grolier/Donne 117; Keynes, Donne L80

Condition

4to (7 1/4 x 5 3/4 in.; 186 x 146 mm). Woodcut printer's device on title-page; worm-trail at lower inner margin occasionally affecting a catchword or letter of text, lightly browned, a few scattered rust and ink spots. Nineteenth-century calf gilt, by M. M. Holloway, marbled endpapers, early red edges; rubbed, rebacked.
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

John Donne's copy, with his signature ("J: Donne") and final two words of his Italian motto on the title-page (rest of the motto cropped by binder). Gentili is considered one of the founders of international law; this work—one of three legal treatises by him owned by Donne—deals in part with the question of sovereignty. Virtually every page bears Donne's characteristic pencil markings.