Spenser, Edmund

4to (6 7/8 x 5 in.; 175 x 126 mm). Roman letter. Woodcut headpiece and printer's device on title-page (McKerrow 222), woodcut initial, woodcut and type-ornament headpieces, section-title for Daphnaïda with woodcut printer's device (McKerrow 164); three headlines just scarcely shaved (E2r, E3v, E4v), tiny repaired wormhole in upper fore-edge margin of gathering I, washed. Red morocco gilt by Bedford; extremities a bit rubbed.

Unidentified bookplate with baronial coronet. acquisition: John Fleming, 1972

STC 23086; ESTC S111278; Grolier/Langland to Wither 238; Johnson, Spenser 17; Pforzheimer 974

4to (6 7/8 x 5 in.; 175 x 126 mm). Roman letter. Woodcut headpiece and printer's device on title-page (McKerrow 222), woodcut initial, woodcut and type-ornament headpieces, section-title for Daphnaida with woodcut printer's device (McKerrow 164); three headlines just scarcely shaved (E2r, E3v, E4v), tiny repaired wormhole in upper fore-edge margin of gathering I, washed. Red morocco gilt by Bedford; extremities a bit rubbed.
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 edition. The Fowre Hymnes are followed (G2r seqq.) by the second printing of Daphnaïda. An Elegie upon the Death of the Noble and Vertuous Douglas Howard, with a separate title-page but continuous pagination and signatures. Only three copies are recorded of the first edition of Daphnaïda (T. Orwin for Ponsonby, 1591; STC 23079).

As Fowre Hymnes, like Prothalamion, was printed in the autumn of 1596 (the dedication to the Countesses of Cumberland and of Warwick is dated 1 September 1596), and as neither was entered in the Stationers' Register, the Pforzheimer catalogue speculates that at least some copies of the two works were originally issued together. This conjecture is supported by the present copy, which bears a faint offset of the Prothalamion title-page on K2v, its final, blank page.