Higden, Ranulph

folio (276 x 190mm.), black letter, double column, 44 lines to a page, title-page in red and black printed with five blocks comprising crown, medallion portrait of Henry VII with royal arms and arms of the City of London, xylographic title, large illustration of St George and the Dragon, John Reynes' printer's mark in red (McKerrow 55), colophon at the end within border of hunting scenes (McKerrow & Ferguson 12), full-page woodcut by Reynes on final page (an earlier version of the title-illustrations: McKerrow 61), full-page woodcut of English and French armies in battle on z6v (Hodnett 2491), woodcut musical notation illustrating diapason on n5r, further woodcut portraits of kings, queens, etc., with repetitions (6 blocks: Hodnett 2490, 2492-6), historiated and decorative initials, eighteenth-century navy blue morocco gilt by J. Mackenzie, covers with triple fillet border enclosing inner border of repeated sheaves with various flower tools, acorns, stars etc, spine in six compartments richly gilt with drawer-handle corners and central star and roundel designs, tan morocco label, gilt edges, lacking blank leaf 2h6, title remargined with slight loss to printer's mark at foot, repairs to margins of D1-8, P4-5, a few other repairs and tear, some occasional staining especially towards the end, neat repairs to worm-holes towards end, some slight scuffing and minor wear to binding

William O'Brien, bequest booklabel dated 1899

STC 13440; Pforzheimer 490; Grolier Langland to Wither 121, Steele, English Music Printing no.10

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when 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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

THIRD EDITION -- AND FIRST ILLUSTRATED EDITION -- OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL CHRONICLE IN BRITAIN OF THE FOURTEENTH AND FIFTEENTH CENTURIES.

The Polychronicon, as originally written by the Benedictine monk Ranulph Higden, was a world history from Creation to 1360. Written in seven books, in imitation of the seven days of Genesis, it offered a clear and original picture of that history based on medieval tradition, with an added emphasis on antiquity (particularly the Roman world) and the relation of early British history to the wider context. As such it serves as a national history, with its focus on the Norman Conquest and subsequent English history. The Polychronicon went through a number of manuscript editions in Higden's lifetime, with the history continued by a number of writers in the second half of the fourteenth century, the most important of whom was John Malvern. The English translation of John Trevisa (c. 1330-1412) was commissioned by Thomas, Lord Berkeley, and completed on 18 April 1387. The complete text was first printed by Caxton in 1482, with a second edition published by Wynkyn de Worde in 1495. With the exception of the woodcut of the musical notation on n5r, which first appeared in Wynkyn de Worde's 1495 edition (and was the earliest printed musical notation in an English book), ALL THE WOODCUT ILLUSTRATIONS APPEAR HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME.