Démocrite

1628 · rif. 347 — Oxford England: Henry Cripps 1628. 3rd Edition. Contemporary sheep with rebacked modern calf. Very Good. Christof Le Blon. One of the most popular books of the 17th century and one of the most celebrated books of all time. The book is ostensibly a medical treatise about depression but it is really a genre-defying tour-de-force. It branches into many diverse categories including self-help psychology philosophy history astronomy geography humor and various aspects of literature. Burton wrote it under the pseudonym Democritus Junior as a reference to the Ancient Greek "laughing philosopher" Democritus. Condition: Very Good. Textually complete including colophon leaf without errata leaf as is common. Contemporary sheep spine rebacked with modern calf. BOOK INFO The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton Published in 1626 in Oxford by Henry Cripps. Third edition corrected and augmented by the author originally published only a few years earlier in 1621. In contemporary sheep covered boards with single fillet in blind paneling. Modern rebacked calf spine with raised bands separating compartments ruled in blind a gilt-lettered red morocco spine label in compartment two. Endpapers refreshed circa early 1800s. Small folio 11" x 7 6/8". Collated: viii 77 7 208 but really 210 4 209-374 but really 373 2 375-646 10 Table of Contents and Colophon leaf. This is the first edition to feature the famous engraved title page with 11 separate vignette rectangular panels including the portrait of Robert Burton Democritus Jr. Numerous engraved woodcut initials and chapter head-and-tail pieces along with some vignette headers. Commentary in Latin along gutter and fore-edge margins. CONDITION REPORT Very good for nearly a 400-year-old folio. Spine rebacked in modern calf recornered in matching calf. Refreshed endpapers. Exterior and binding: Very firm hinges and joints tight pages sharp corners. Worn boards but in quite lovely condition overall given its sheep and the age of the binding. Light rubbing to edges. Spine is colorful and supple. Interior: Most of the pages are gently toned with occasional sections of darker toning or browning/oxidization. First dozen leaves with ink spills mostly along the margins with some drips on title page. Infrequent spots of foxing. The occasional smudge a few bent corners. Large water dampening stains in pages 197-208 and 219-250. A few other areas with some smaller and lighter water dampening. Professional tear repairs at foot of title and dedication pages on blank versos. Tear at bottom of 73-74 k1 Tear within header-piece leaf following page 77 of preface slight loss to corner off 455-456 Mmm 4 bottom of 625-626 or Llll2 with some slight loss none affecting text. Provenance and numerous areas of antiquarian writing: 1. John Harper signs his name with a date of 1748 on the title page dedication page and colophon. 2. J.B. Pooley neatly signs his name with a date of 1835 on FFEP and includes a famous quote from Dr. Samuel Johnson: The only book that ever took one out of bed two hours sooner than I wished to rise 3. Vignette bookplate of James S. Burra noted 19th century bibliophile and collector who had an impressive library of important books and manuscripts on front pastedown and his signature in pencil on FFEP. Burra interacts with the text throughout in pencil but lightly - underlining or marking passages along the margin sometimes writing a word or two of commentary. He also has notes in pencil on rear blanks including listing the pages works of Shakespeare are referenced etc. Numerous pagination errors as called for: page 79 is listed as 77 and 80 as 78. Pagination is off 2 until. when page 362 is misnumbered as 363 and pagination is off by one henceforth. Most importantly catch words align page-to-page and register is continuous. CONTENT & INFLUENCE Much of Anatomy was inspired by Burton's own struggles with depression. Anatomy starts with a roughly 200-page-long satirical introduction "Democritus to the Reader" narrated by Burton's pseudonym Democritus Junior. The main body of the book is divided into three partitions. The first partition is The Causes of Melancholy the second partition is The Cure of Melancholy and the third partition is Love-Melancholy and Religious Melancholy. The book regularly quotes biblical ancient and medieval medical authorities and literary sources. The Anatomy of Melancholy inspired countless writers of the following centuries including Samuel Johnson John Milton and Laurence Sterne and modern authors like Philip Pullman. Romantic poet John Keats claimed Anatomy was his favorite book. Burton's numerous anecdotes which tackle melancholy with both sobriety and humor as well as the overarching influence of his personal sadness on the book are often cited as making Anatomy his one truly great work. . Henry Cripps unknown