Elyot, Thomas

8vo (5 1/4 x 3 5/8 in.; 133 x 93 mm). Black letter, title within woodcut border (dated 1534) with full-page woodcut arms on verso, woodcut initials, arms repeated on final leaf; title-page torn and repaired, final leaf torn at fore-edge, some soiling. Nineteenth-century tree calf, spine gilt and with lettering-piece; joints and edges rubbed.

Several ownership inscriptions, that on the final leaf "Gulielmus Lillius"

STC 7631 (3 copies only)

Condition as described in catalogue entry.
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Lowndes describes Elyot's dictionary as one of the "earliest and best attempts in the promotion of lexicographical literature" and this work as consisting of "sentences of morality from the bible, the Fathers, and ancient Classics." As well as serving as ambassador to the court of Charles V with instructions to procure his agreement to Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon, Elyot became renowned both as a translator and a pioneer of English prose literature.