The Essayes

Lot 94
05.02.2026 10:00UTC +00:00
Classic
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Lieu de l'événementRoyaume-Uni, London
Commissionsee on Website%
ID 1540342
Lot 94 | The Essayes
Valeur estimée
$ 10 000 – 15 000
MONTAIGNE, Michel de (1533-1592). The Essayes or Morall, Politike and Millitarie Discourses. Translated by John Florio. London: Valentine Sims for Edward Blount, 1603.

First edition in English of Montaigne's Essays; in a binding stamped with Elizabeth I's arms. Innovative and experimental, the Essays invented a new mode of discourse, anticipating the modern essay as a literary form by blending personal reflection with philosophical inquiry in a way that was unprecedented at the time of writing. The influence of Florio's translation on English writers cannot be underestimated: diverse passages in late Shakespeare show its influence—notably Gonzago's description of the ideal state in The Tempest—as do works by Burton, Milton, Hobbes, and Locke. The stamp on the binding matches Elizabeth I's stamp 28 in the British Armorial Binding Database, which notes a copy in Windsor Library. Grolier Langland to Wither 102; Pforzheimer 378; ESTC 18041; see PMM 95 (first edition in French).

Three parts in one volume, folio (282 x 180mm). 3 letterpress title pages, 2 leaves of errata at end. (Some staining to title page; preliminary leaves with small losses in gutter; intermittent dampstain throughout, light and marginal in first half and more pronounced in second half; intermittent worming, mainly in margin but also to gutter of Y-Aa quires just touching a few words; Ee6 with closed tear extending into text, Rr3 with repaired marginal tear.) Contemporary polished calf (rebacked, tips renewed). Custom clamshell box. Provenance: early annotations to title page.
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Plus du Créateur

MONTAIGNE, Michel de (1533-1592), trad., et Raymond SEBON (1385-1436)
MONTAIGNE, Michel de (1533-1592), trad., et Raymond SEBON (1385-1436)
€30 000
MONTAIGNE, Michel de (1533-1592)
MONTAIGNE, Michel de (1533-1592)
£7 000
MONTAIGNE, Michel de (1533-1592)
MONTAIGNE, Michel de (1533-1592)
€1 200
MONTAIGNE, Michel Eyquem de (1533-1592)
MONTAIGNE, Michel Eyquem de (1533-1592)
€5 000
MONTAIGNE, Michel Eyquem de (1533-1592)
MONTAIGNE, Michel Eyquem de (1533-1592)
€22 000
MONTAIGNE, Michel Eyquem de (1533-1592)
MONTAIGNE, Michel Eyquem de (1533-1592)
€10 000
MONTAIGNE, Michel Eyquem de (1533-1592)
MONTAIGNE, Michel Eyquem de (1533-1592)
€1 000
MONTAIGNE, Michel Eyquem de (1533-1592)
MONTAIGNE, Michel Eyquem de (1533-1592)
€2 000

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