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THE HISTORY OF COMINES.
(London: Published by David Nutt, 1897). 210 x 152 mm. (8 1/4 x 6"). Two volumes. Englished by Thomas Danett.
VERY ATTRACTIVE BROWN CRUSHED HALF MOROCCO BY BICKERS & SON (stamp-signed on verso of front endpaper), smooth russet linen sides, spines gilt in ruled compartments, raised bands decorated with double rules and small tool at either end, top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed. Publisher's original buckram covers bound in at rear. Decorated title page, initials, printer's devices. Title pages printed in red and black; front pastedowns with bookplate of Sir James Dunn. ◆Hint of rubbing to bottom edges, upper covers with a handful of small, lights scratches and tiny nicks, half-title in volume I a little loose, but in excellent condition, the contents pristine and obviously never read.
In the introduction to the present edition, Whibley says that the translation "is a masterpiece untouched by age"--a description equally applicable to the book itself, whose contents have scarcely been touched. The French courtier Comines (ca. 1445 - ca. 1511) chronicles the reign of Louis XI and the Italian expedition of Charles VIII, covering most of the three decades beginning in 1464. The work comprises the first critical and philosophical history to be written after antiquity, and it earned for Comines the appellation of "father of modern history." Britannica says that "the graphic style of his narrative and above all the keenness of his insight into the motives of his contemporaries, an insight undimmed by undue regard for principles of right and wrong, make this work one of the great classics of history." Our translation by Danett, the first in English, was originally published in 1596, and the present edition uses the 1601 version, which includes a life of Comines. The introduction by Charles Whibley gives a biography of Comines and an analysis of his style and ideas. Danett (fl. 1566-1601) also translated from various authors a sequel to Comines' work, and an epitome of descriptions of the Low Countries drawn from the works of Guicciardini. (ST15557-17)
Price: $475.00