- 666
Purcell, Henry
Estimate
1,000 - 1,500 USD
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Description
- Purcell, Henry
- Orpheus Britannicus. A Collection of all the Choicest Songs for One, Two, and Three Voices. London: by J[ohn] Heptinstall, for Henry Playford, in the Temple-Change, in Fleet-street, 1698
- paper, ink, vellum
Folio (319 x 194 mm). Engraved frontispiece portrait of the composer by White after Closterman, title-page in red and black, type-set music throughout, woodcut initial, very light browning and a few minor stains. Contemporary English red panelled morocco elaborately gilt by Robert Steel, floral, leafy and drawer-handle tools with harp corner pieces, spine in compartments, black-gilt lettering piece; somewhat worn but sound.
Provenance
Arthur Rogers, bookseller (Sotheby's London, 21 October 1957, lot 405) — bought by Graham Pollard (his annotation to flyleaf) — Bonhams, 12 June 2012, lot 17 ("The Property of a Lady"). acquisition: Purchased at the foregoing sale through Bernard Quaritch
Literature
Wing P4218; ESTC R231719; Day & Murrie 166; RISM P5979
Condition
Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
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.
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. The elaborate binding can be attributed to Robert Steel on the basis of the large leafy tools. See H.M. Nixon, English Restoration Bookbindings (1974), no.38; Nixon, Catalogue of the Pepys Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, VI (1984), plate 52 ("The large leaf-like tools which appear on this and a number of other bindings by Steel...are very distinctive and do not seem to have been copied by any other binder"). This 1698 edition is complete without the Second Volume. Among many other famous airs, it contains the first publication of any music from Purcell's great opera, Dido and Aeneas (1689): the aria "Ah! Belinda, I am prest with torment," on pages 193–194.