BACON'S ESSAYS AND COLOURS OF GOOD AND EVIL

London and New York: [Printed by Cambridge University Press for] Macmillan and Co, 1891. From the "Golden Treasury" series. 210 x 133 mm. (8 1/4 x 5 1/4"). xxiii, [1], 388 pp.Edited with notes and glossarial index by W. Aldis Wright, M. A., Trinity College, Cambridge.
HANDSOME NAVY BLUE MOROCCO, GILT, BY RIVIERE AND SON (stamp-signed on front turn-in), covers with border composed of five plain rules and incorporating a scalloped corner configuration containing a pentagonal element, raised bands, spine intricately gilt in compartments outlined by plain and stippled rules enclosing an inner frame repeating the cover design, and, at the center, an elaborate fleuron emanating from a floral tool and punctuated by many tiny dots, turn-ins densely gilt, maroon glazed endpapers, top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed. Engraved frontispiece in three states and the title page with the same image in a fourth, tissue guard before title page. A Large Paper Copy. ◆Spine just slightly and uniformly sunned toward blue-green, title page with faint offsetting from tissue guard (another page with a small area of darkening from laid-in piece of paper), one leaf with two tiny marginal tears expertly repaired, one page with trivial foxing, but all of these imperfections insignificant, and in general a very fine copy in a most attractive binding, the text uniformly fresh, bright, and clean, and the binding lustrous and virtually unworn.

This is a special luxury copy of a late 19th century edition of Bacon's famous "Essays," first printed in 1597. As Oxford Companion indicates, the text here comprises Bacon's "collections of reflections and generalizations and extracts from previous authors, woven together . . . into counsels for the successful conduct of life, and the management of men." Some of the essays "deal with questions of state policy, . . . some with personal conduct, . . . some on abstract subjects such as 'Truth,' 'Death,' and 'Unity' . . . [and] some reveal Bacon's delight in Nature, such as the pleasant essay 'Of Gardens.'" Day says that "in Bacon's hand the essay is an impersonal gem of worldly wisdom," and most of the essays reflect an intention to provide "cold-blooded instruction on how to get ahead in life." In short incisive prose modeled after Tacitus, "the aphoristic skill and wise experience of Bacon unite to form some of the most memorable and penetrating phrases in English." DNB indicates that this is an important edition, pointing out "the accuracy of [Wright's] text and the concise learning of its notes." In very fine condition, our volume gives special pleasure from the handsomely decorated Riviere binding, to the high quality laid paper, to the carefully printed text within enormous margins.

Riviere is one of the foremost names in English binding, partly because the firm did consistently fine work and partly because it was so long in business. Robert Riviere began as a bookseller and binder in Bath in 1829, then set up shop as a binder in London in 1840; in 1881, he took his grandson Percival Calkin into partnership, at which time the firm became known as Riviere & Son, and the bindery continued to do business until 1939..