A most pleasant, fruitful, and witty work…
A most pleasant, fruitful, and witty work of the best state of a public weal, and of the new isle called Utopia; Written in Latin by the Right Worthy and Famous Sir Thomas More, Knight, and translated into English by Raphe Robinson, A.D. 1551.
London: William Miller, at the Shakespeare Press, 1808.
Quarto, engraved frontispiece and one plate; contemporary straight-grain brown morocco, elaborately gilt.
Large paper issue of a classic in a superb binding
The classic "Dibdin" edition of More's Utopia in English, in a handsome "Large Paper" issue.
The classic "Dibdin" edition of More's Utopia in English, in a handsome "Large Paper" issue.
This very attractive copy reprints the Ralph Robinson translation of 1551, which had been the first time More's work was published in English, some 35 years after the Latin original (and 16 after More's death at the behest of Henry VIII). Robinson's great patron was William Cecil, Lord Burghley, the Elizabethan statesman, to whom he dedicated the work. His edition did yeoman service in making the book available, being considered the standard translation for centuries.
This edition was published under the guidance of the great bibliophile Thomas Frognall Dibdin, and includes his notes, biographical introduction, and an informative resumé of earlier editions. Dibdin's introduction was widely influential, not least because 'the portraits of More are critically discussed' (Lowndes). Dibdin had a particular association with the printer William Miller, whose Shakespeare Press was then a byword for fine printing.
Jackson, 12a; Lewis, p. 132.
Condition Report: Slight rubbing to joints and extremities of binding but in very good shape.
Price (AUD): $2,400.00
US$1,572.58 Other currencies