![CHAUCER, Geoffrey (c.1345-1400). Canterbury Tales. [Westminster: William Caxton, late 1476-early 1477].](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/1998/CKS/1998_CKS_06055_0026_000(112211).jpg?w=1)
Details
CHAUCER, Geoffrey (c.1345-1400). Canterbury Tales. [Westminster: William Caxton, late 1476-early 1477].
Single leaf, chancery 2° (234 x 189mm). Folio 162, containing 58 lines of the 'Summoner's Tale'. 29 lines. Type: bastarda 2:135.
A leaf from the FIRST EDITION of the Canterbury Tales, the most important poetic work in the English language, with the exception of Shakespeare. William Caxton, England's first printer, set up his printing shop within the precincts of Westminster Abbey in 1476, and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales was his first substantial book. A copy of this edition recently made a world-record price for a printed book at auction, making this a leaf from the world's most expensive book (see Christie's, 8 July 1998, lot 2, £4.6 million). Duff 87; GW 6585; Goff C-431.
Single leaf, chancery 2° (234 x 189mm). Folio 162, containing 58 lines of the 'Summoner's Tale'. 29 lines. Type: bastarda 2:135.
A leaf from the FIRST EDITION of the Canterbury Tales, the most important poetic work in the English language, with the exception of Shakespeare. William Caxton, England's first printer, set up his printing shop within the precincts of Westminster Abbey in 1476, and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales was his first substantial book. A copy of this edition recently made a world-record price for a printed book at auction, making this a leaf from the world's most expensive book (see Christie's, 8 July 1998, lot 2, £4.6 million). Duff 87; GW 6585; Goff C-431.