Bacon, Sir Francis | The two bookes... Of the proficience and advancement of learning..., London, 1605, the Doheny copy

Bacon, Sir Francis

The two bookes... Of the proficience and advancement of learning, divine and humane. To the King. London: [Thomas Purfoot and Thomas Creede] for Henry Tomes, 1605

The Doheny copy of the first edition of Bacon's first published philosophical work.

Here, Bacon expounded the importance of learning in all parts of life and the means by which it could be expanded and improved. He planned to issue a Latin version at the same time, so that it would reach a larger audience than just readers of English, but this never came to fruition. The book was dedicated to the new King James I, in the hope that he would reform the universities and promote scholarly discourse.

Small 4to (178 x 140 mm). Two ornamental woodcut initials; title-page soiled and with marginal repairs, many leaves browned with scattered foxing and dampstaining throughout, chipping at margins and several closed tears affecting text, worming to gutter of a few leaves, lacking final blank and the two errata leaves which were added later, instances of contemporary and later annotations. Recased in old limp vellum from another volume, manuscript label to spine, edges stained red; upper joint cracked slightly, new endpapers.

REFERENCES

STC 1164; ESTC S100507; USTC 3002078; Gibson 81; Pforzheimer 36; Grolier/Horblit, 8a

PROVENANCE

Estelle Doheny (bookplate to front pastedown; her sale, Christie's New York, 17 October 1988, lot 1053) — purchased by Heritage Bookshop, Inc.