THUCYDIDES (c.460-c.400) - photo 1
THUCYDIDES (c.460-c.400) - photo 2
THUCYDIDES (c.460-c.400) - photo 3
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THUCYDIDES (c.460-c.400)

Lot 127
10.07.2024 10:30UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 22 680
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1249799
Lot 127 | THUCYDIDES (c.460-c.400)
Estimate value
£ 20 000 – 30 000
THUCYDIDES (c.460-c.400)
Historia belli Peloponnesiaci. Translated by Laurentius Valla. [Treviso: Johannes Rubeus Vercellensis, 1483?]
The Sykes-Syston Park copy of the first appearance of Thucydides in print. A fresh example with provenance from Prime Minister William Gladstone (1809-1898) and two of the most celebrated British libraries of the 19th century. ‘The work that formed the standards for historiography and political science,’ this first edition precedes the first Greek edition by almost twenty years and became the standard translation throughout the Renaissance. In the introduction, Thucydides declares his history to be ‘not for the taste of an immediate public, but intended as a thing for all time.’ A pioneer of objectivity and critical analysis for the evaluation of history—or, perhaps, ‘in the subtle manipulation of data into evidence under the guise of objectivity’ (The Greek Book), Thucydides’ influence can be felt in the works of thinkers and politicians from Machiavelli to John F. Kennedy. It is fitting that the translator was Lorenzo Valla, one of the central figures of the humanist movement as well as a translator of Homer and Herodotus. HC 15511*; BMC VI 896; BSB-Ink T-340; Bod-inc T-203; IGI 9641; Klebs 971.1; Goff T-359; ISTC it00359000.

Chancery folio (299 x 200mm). 136 leaves. (Minor dampstain in upper margin of opening quire.) Early 19th-century straight-grained brown calf ruled in gilt, endleaves with watermark 1801 (short split at head of upper joint). Provenance: Sir Mark Masterman-Sykes, 3rd Baronet (1771–1823; gilt white leather bookplate, his sale, May 11 1824, lot 878, ms. reference to the Sledmere House catalogue by Henry John Todd, ‘Cat. V. 2, P. 713’) – Sir John Hayford Thorold, 9th baronet (1734-1815; Syston Park bookplate) – Sir John Hayford Thorold, 10th baronet (1773-1831; monogram bookplate; sold Sotheby’s, 12 December 1884, lot 1952) – William Ewart Gladstone, Prime Minister (1809-1898; Hawarden Castle library label) – by descent to the present owner.
Place of origin:Italy, Europe
Auction house category:Antiquarian books, Books and manuscripts, Printed books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
10.07.2024 – 10.07.2024
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
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