The Medall a Satyre against Sedition…
The Medall a Satyre against Sedition. By the Authour of Absalom and Achitophel.
London: Jacob Tonson, 1682.
Small quarto, 32pp.; protected in modern wrapper.
First edition, second issue: 'the second of Dryden's political satires'.
First edition, second issue: 'the second of Dryden's political satires'.
The acquittal of the Earl of Shaftesbury on charges of treason for opposing the succession of the Catholic James was regarded as a great Whig victory. Flushed with success, they issued a medal, Shaftesbury's head on the obverse, the sun rising over the Tower of London on the reverse. It was the perfect prompt for Dryden's mock-heroic satire: 'Of all our Antick Sights, and Pageantry, Which English Ideots run in crowds to see, The Polish Medall bears the prize alone…'.
Grolier, Wither to Prior, 313.
Price (AUD): $850.00
US$558.29 Other currencies