17th Century Literature

Butler, Samuel. "Hudibras. The First Part. Written in the time of the late Wars". [4], 268 pages. First Authorized Edition, first issue, with "Saint" in imprint spelled out in full; errata is present, lacking the imprimatur leaf (dated Nov. 11, 1662), and all textual errors uncorrected. London: Printed by J.G. for Richard Marriot, 1663. [bound with] "Hudibras. The Second Part. By the Author of the First". [4], 216 pages. Also, third part dated 1678. Bound in exceptionally fine binding and in very good condition with the bookplates of Daniel Henry Holmes, an avid book collector. This edition certainly is one of the rarest being that it is a first issue. A pirate copy came out the year before in 1662 and all proceeds from the sale of the book by the thief were recovered by Butler. Collation is as follows: [2 blank], TP, A3-8, B8-I8, K-R8, 2nd TP, B-I8, K-O8, P4, 3rd TP, A-I8, K-R8, S7, [2 Blank].Hudibras by Samuel Butler is a critique of the English Civil War and pokes at the Puritans and their military… Read More

London: Various Publishers, 1715-1741. Leatherbound. Very good. 15 volumes. 20 cm (quarto) full leather bindings with contemporary mottled calf boards. Respined in matching mottled calf. Minor repairs and staining in endpapers. Hinges secure but some are cracked on the interior. A touch of foxing, but most pages crisp and clean. This set is composed of rare editions printed during the author's lifetime. Most are first quarto printings. Set contains Pope's prose works as well as translations of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. Please contact us for more detailed cataloguing of each volume.

London: Robert Barker...by the Assignes of John Bill, 1633. Very Early Elizabethan Printing. Tooled leather. Very Good +/Custom Case. 12mo, original tooled leather 17th century binding, engraved frontispiece, very closely cut borders, all edges gilded, original green silk page divider, [viii blank] + ~ 524 + [vi blank] pages. THE NEW TES_/ TAMENT / Of our Lord and / S A V I O V R / - Jesus Christ Newly translated out of the / Originall Grrek : and / with the former transla- / tions diligently compared / and revised , by his Maie- / sties special commande- / ment. ---------------------------- Imprinted at London / By Robert Barker, Printer / to the Kings most Excel- / lent Majesty, and by / the Assignes of John Bill, 1633. Cum privilegia. A GEM! In an original tooled leather binding, no less. Beautiful clear type. Minimal wear. Some pages so closely cropped by the printer that the chapter headings at the top have been partially excised, though not the text. In order to ensure its… Read More

Thomas Warren, 1654. Book. Illus. by Cleyn, Francis. Fair. Full-Leather. 1654 folio edition with illustrations by Francis Cleyn, engraved by Wenceslaus Hollar and Pierre Lombard. 102 copper plates. Title page has 'adornd' without apostrophe. Initial illustration on 'The Life of Publius Virgilius Maro' page has three women with tree. Ham Court bookplate, with its inked shelf numbers, bearing the arms of Martin of Ham (presumably for the Rev Joseph Martin, died 1828, book collector). Leather boards with gilt decoration. Both boards detached, scuffed, have scratches, small chips at edges/corners, and top and bottom of spine, wear to leather. Map has small tears. Some damp staining to margins. A few creased pages..

London, Printed by Richard Bishop. M. DC. XL [1640]. Hard Cover. Folio: 226, [63]-668 pages, headpieces, initials, marginal notes. (A-S6, T5, G2-G6, H-Z6, Aa-Zz6, Aaa-Kkk6, Lll4); 29.5 cm. Each part has separate title-page and the above imprint except for "Poetaster", London, Printed by Robert Young. M. DC. XL. Contents: Epigrammes. I. Booke. The Author B. J.; Part Of The Kings Entertainment, In Passing To His Coronation. The Author B. J.; A Panegyre, On The Happy Entrance Of Iames, our Soveraigne, to His first high Session of Parliament in this his Kingdome, the 19 of March, 1603. The Author B. J.; A Particular Entertainment Of The Queene And Prince their Highnesse at Althrope, At The Right Honourable the Lord Spencers, on Saturday being the 25. of Iune 1603. as they came first into the Kingdom; The Author B. J.; Masques At Court. The Author B. J., incomplete: ends with catchword 'Till'; Every Man Out Of His Humour. A Comicall Satyre. First Acted in the yeere 1599. By the then Lord Chamberlaine his… Read More

1664 1st ed NEW YORK George Downing Discourse on DUTCH Settlements Indians 2v
Two exceedingly rare first editions of George Downing's defense of New York!
George Downing was an Irish preacher and political apologist known for his service under Oliver Cromwell in Scotland. In 1664 he wrote a short political letter describing the details of his arrangement of the acquisition of New York from the Dutch. 'A Discourse', as it is called, was written to clear his own name from any misconduct in the exchange. One of the most notable discussions in this work is a report on the miserable interactions of the Dutch settlers with local Indian tribes, as well as business and trade in New York. It should be noted that this work is considered one of the earliest works relating to New York in English! (Stevens).
A year after his first letter was written, he wrote his own reply – a work, which according to 'Rare Americana', was
"privately printed, and relates principally to the affairs of the English and Dutch West… Read More

8°; cc. (12), pp. 669, (3). Elegante legatura novecentesca firmata da Brugalla in marocchino decorato in oro, con astuccio. Bellissimo esemplare.
Exceedingly rare first edition of the Italian translation of the Primiera parte of Quijote.
Rius, 780; Suñé, 819 ("La version esta hecha con bastante fidelidad, tomada de la edición de Bruselas de 1607"); Palau, 53135. Sul traduttore, cfr. P. Scapecchi, Venezia e Firenze unite dalla prima traduzione italiana di 'Don Chisciotte', in Quixote/Chisciotte mdcv-2005. Edizioni rare e di pregio, traduzioni italiane e straniere conservate nelle biblioteche veneziane, Venezia, Sale Monumentali della Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Libreria Sansoviniana, 18 novembre 2005 – 2 gennaio 2006, Mostra a c. di D. Ferro, Catalogo a c. di A. Scarsella, Venezia 2006, pp. 33-37; S. Trovato, Andrea Baba stampatore veneziano, in Quixote/Chisciotte MDCV-2005…, pp. 39-52.
La traduzione del Franciosini sarebbe stata ripubblicata solo tre anni più tardi, nel 1625,… Read More

Rare. 91pp + 4pp preliminary 'To The Reader', Prologue and Production details, 1pp Epilogue. Bound in later brown wrappers with title feintly written in pencil to front. Opens at title page, which has been tipped in and has a strip of paper strengthening to verso of leading edge. The pages are closely cropped to upper and lower edges. Minor loss to lower corner of rear cover, and crease to upper corner.Sir Patient Fancy: A Comedy, Aphra Behn's first overtly political play, was performed in Dorset Garden on 17 January 1678. In An Account of the English Dramatick Poets, Gerard Langbaine noted that Sir Patient Fancy was based loosely on Moliere's last play, Le Malade imaginaire, which had been staged in Paris in 1673 and printed in 1675.

4? Edición . Pergamino. Aceptable. Encuadernación de tapa blanda. Condición: Aceptable. Inencontrable 4º edición de la segunda parte del Quijote (1617), que vió la luz en Lisboa a pocos meses de la muerte de Cervantes. 8º m.:13 cm x 18,5 cm, encuadernado en pergamino de época. Para esta edición se siguió el texto de la edición de Madrid de 1615, como se aprecia en este ejemplar de Lisboa, se omiten la aprobaciones del ejemplar de Madrid y se incorporan las de Portugal del 12, 22 y 25 de Agosto y 10 de sept de 1616, aunque la tasa se despachó en Lisboa el 17 de enero de 1617.( Ver imágen colgada de la página). Bien sabido es, que la segunda parte del Quijote se publicó por primera vez por Juan de la Cuesta en Madrid , en la imprenta Francisco Robles en 1615. En 1616 fue impresa por 2ª vez por Huberto Antonio en Bruselas y la tercera por Pedro Patricio Mey en Valencia. En 1617 se publicó… Read More

Volume I--(Second Edition) The Fables of Aesop Paraphras'd in Verse: Adorn'd with Sculpture. London: Printed by Thomas Roycroft for the Author, 1668. Second edition with new title page, a re-issue of the 1665 edition sheets. This volume contains the frontispiece, engraved vignettes and initials, (missing Ogilby portrait), and has all eighty-one full-paged plates in fabulous condition. Light yellowing/browning of initial few pages as regular. Volume II--(Second Edition) Aesopics, or a Second Collection of Fables, illustrated with sixty-eight full-paged plates in early issue before captions were added. Pages are remarkably clean without any browning. Large folio volumes, both illustrated throughout; Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-1677) engraved eighty-eight of the illustrations for these works, the others were executed by Dirck Stoop (c. 1610-1686) and Francis Barlow (c. 1626-1704). Both volumes are uniformly re-bound with original leather panels inset in full brick morocco bindings with gilt titles.

1607 SURVEYING 1ed Norden Surveyors Dialogue English Lords vs Tenants Farm Land

First edition of the first 17th-century work on English surveying!

John Norden was a 16th-century English cartographer and surveyor who, in 1600, was appointed to survey land in Devon for the Duchy of Cornwall. While mapmaking brought him fame, it was his work as surveyor of numerous royal castles that has brought him lasting recognition. His treatise on surveying is one of the earliest of its kind, and the very first English treatise on surveying of the 17th-century.

Honeyman's account of this work is perhaps the most telling.
"The first English surveying publication of the 17th-century and the second surveying text to be written in dialogue form. Norden gives a clear account of the operation of survey and attempts to reconcile the differences between surveyor and tenant."

According to Kiely,
"That the profession of surveyor was not in high repute among the common people may be seen from the opening statement of the… Read More

1640 BEST English HERBAL 1ed Theatrum Botanicum John Parkinson 2500+ Engravings
John Parkinson is considered to be one of the most important 17th-century botanists and was a foundational English herbalist. His discoveries and herbal treatises propelled him to Royal Botanist of King Charles I, and while his royal position certainly contributed to his lasting fame, his most prestigious contribution was his book 'Theatrum Botanicum'.
This monumental work is considered to be the most complete and thorough English herbal, much in part to the more than 2,500 illustrated figures throughout. first published in 1640, this book contained descriptions of more than 3800 different plants many of which had never been included in a botanical anthology before.
Item number: #24716
Price: $4,950
PARKINSON, John
Theatrum botanicum: the theater of plants. Or, an herball of large extent: containing therein a more ample and exact history and declaration of the physicall herbs and plants that are in other authours
London:… Read More

1680 English Civil War Rushworth Papers Charles I Cromwell England FAMED MAP 7v
John Rushworth was a 17th-century English historian who is best remembered for his work covering the English Civil War. Colloquially known as the 'Rushworth Papers', 'Historical Collections' is one of the best accounts of the reigns of Kings Charles I and James I of England.
This particular set of folios contains reports on the proceedings in Parliament from 1618 through 1649. It is especially notable, not only being a first edition, but it contains the highly coveted folding map of England – a map printed over an illustration of the Battle of Prague.
Item number: #24468
Price: $3,950
RUSHWORTH, John
Historical collections of private passages of state, weighty matters in law, remarkable proceedings in five parliaments, beginning ... 1618 and ending ... 1649
London. Printed by J.A. for Robert Boulter, 1680-1701. 1st edition
Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages; 4 parts in 7 tomes
o Each part individually… Read More

A truly unique 17th Century Book with great historic significance.
Professionally rebound in brown calf with red and green title plates, gilt decoration, banding and title on the spine. In a protective box. Dimensions are for the box.
"AFTER SHAKESPEARE AND CHAUCER, JOHN MILTON IS THE MOST EMINENT POET IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE": SCARCE 1673 EDITION OF MILTON'S POEMS, ISSUED ONLY ONE YEAR BEFORE HIS DEATH.
This copy includes a First Edition of Paradise Regained along with the prominent work of Samson Agonistes accompanied by Poemata.
This book is lovingly restored by Brian Cole from papers found in an old repository in Hull, Yorkshire.The interior pages are restored with light expert cleaning; along with expert restoration to board extremities.
BELOW FLOWS A BRIEF OUTLINE OF MILTON'S LIFE & MAJOR WORKS
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem Paradise Lost, written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of… Read More

1688 Inca PERU 1ed South America Garcilaso Vega Spanish Conquistadors ENGLISH
Garcilaso de la Vega was a 16th-century Spanish author, who, after moving to Peru, became one of the best-known historians on the Incan Empire. His best work, 'History of the Incas', focused on the culture of Incan society and is considered to the best the best and most accurate representation of the Incan people and their customs. Vega also covers the Spanish conquest of Peru and the Incas.
This impressive 1688 first English edition of Vega's masterpiece is entirely complete! Titled "The Royal Commentaries of Peru", this edition was translated from the original by Paul Rycaut and is considered one of the foremost authorities on the history of Peru in English. Note the exquisite full-page illustrations depicting scenes of Inca people – the views of torture scenes are especially noteworthy!
Item number: #25097
Price: $4,950
VEGA, Garcilaso de la
The royal commentaries of Peru in two parts, the first part treating of the… Read More