![MORE, Thomas (1477/8-1535). [Utopia:] Libellus vere aureus nec minus salutaris quam festiuus de optimo reip. statu, deque nova Insula Utopia. Edited by Desiderius Erasmus and Pieter Gillis. Louvain: Thierry Martens, [after 15 December 1516 - before 5 January 1517].](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2001/CKS/2001_CKS_06521_0034_000(035151).jpg?w=1)
Details
MORE, Thomas (1477/8-1535). [Utopia:] Libellus vere aureus nec minus salutaris quam festiuus de optimo reip. statu, deque nova Insula Utopia. Edited by Desiderius Erasmus and Pieter Gillis. Louvain: Thierry Martens, [after 15 December 1516 - before 5 January 1517].
4° (184 x 128mm). Roman type (text), gothic and Greek type (shoulder notes). 35 lines. Full-page woodcut depicting the island of Utopia on title verso, woodcut utopian alphabet, full-page Martens device on final verso, 3 woodcut ornamental initials, 3 lombard initials. (Single small wormhole in title, signature lightly washed from title, small smudges on second leaf.) 19th-century English blindtooled calf, spine lettered in gilt, marbled edges, modern brown morocco-backed solander case. Provenance: Albert R. Graves (19th-century bookplate).
[Bound with:]
ERASMUS, Desiderius (1466?-1536). Epistole aliquot illustrium virorum ad Erasmum Roterdodamum & huius ad illos. Louvain: Thierry Martens, October 1516. (Without final blank.) Roman and Greek type, lombard initials, woodcut ornamental initials from several sets. (Occasional light spotting.) Bibl. Erasmus I, 99; Nijhoff & Kronenburg 2939; not in Bezzel, Erasmus-Drucke.
FIRST EDITION OF MORE'S UTOPIA. As the title states, Utopia tells of the best order of society, the ideal commonwealth, which is to be found on the island of Utopia. Its protagonist is the Portuguese traveller Raphael Hythlodaye, who relates that he accompanied Amerigo Vespucci on three of his four journeys to the New World, including one on which he remained behind in order to explore further. Hythlodaye (whose name means 'one who is cunning in nonsense') then relates his experiences of the distant island (Utopia means 'nowhere land'; More and Erasmus also referred to it merely as Nusquam, or 'nowhere'), where all property is held in common ownership, where six hours a day are devoted to work and the rest to recreation, where gold and silver are used not as currency but as the material for making shackles and chamber pots, and slaves (criminals and prisoners of war) are treated fairly. The island bears a remarkable resemblance to England, providing a source of satire on contemporary life and government.
More entrusted the publication of Utopia to Erasmus, sending him the manuscript at the beginning of September 1516. Leading figures such as Jerome Busleyden, Gerhard Geldenhauer and John Desmarais wrote prefatory letters and verses, and More's good friend through Erasmus, Pieter Gillis, contributed a commendatory letter, the Utopian alphabet and some annotations. The full-page woodcut illustrating the island of Utopia is the work of an unidentified artist described as 'eminent' by Desmarais, who arranged for its creation. The success of Utopia was immediate, and four further Latin editions were published in More's lifetime, all but one through the offices of Erasmus. As in the Doheny and Morgan Library copies, quire b in the present copy consists of two half-sheets, whereas the other quires consist of a single full sheet. Gibson 1; PMM 47; Shaaber M-220; Nijhoff-Kronenberg 1550.
4° (184 x 128mm). Roman type (text), gothic and Greek type (shoulder notes). 35 lines. Full-page woodcut depicting the island of Utopia on title verso, woodcut utopian alphabet, full-page Martens device on final verso, 3 woodcut ornamental initials, 3 lombard initials. (Single small wormhole in title, signature lightly washed from title, small smudges on second leaf.) 19th-century English blindtooled calf, spine lettered in gilt, marbled edges, modern brown morocco-backed solander case. Provenance: Albert R. Graves (19th-century bookplate).
[Bound with:]
ERASMUS, Desiderius (1466?-1536). Epistole aliquot illustrium virorum ad Erasmum Roterdodamum & huius ad illos. Louvain: Thierry Martens, October 1516. (Without final blank.) Roman and Greek type, lombard initials, woodcut ornamental initials from several sets. (Occasional light spotting.) Bibl. Erasmus I, 99; Nijhoff & Kronenburg 2939; not in Bezzel, Erasmus-Drucke.
FIRST EDITION OF MORE'S UTOPIA. As the title states, Utopia tells of the best order of society, the ideal commonwealth, which is to be found on the island of Utopia. Its protagonist is the Portuguese traveller Raphael Hythlodaye, who relates that he accompanied Amerigo Vespucci on three of his four journeys to the New World, including one on which he remained behind in order to explore further. Hythlodaye (whose name means 'one who is cunning in nonsense') then relates his experiences of the distant island (Utopia means 'nowhere land'; More and Erasmus also referred to it merely as Nusquam, or 'nowhere'), where all property is held in common ownership, where six hours a day are devoted to work and the rest to recreation, where gold and silver are used not as currency but as the material for making shackles and chamber pots, and slaves (criminals and prisoners of war) are treated fairly. The island bears a remarkable resemblance to England, providing a source of satire on contemporary life and government.
More entrusted the publication of Utopia to Erasmus, sending him the manuscript at the beginning of September 1516. Leading figures such as Jerome Busleyden, Gerhard Geldenhauer and John Desmarais wrote prefatory letters and verses, and More's good friend through Erasmus, Pieter Gillis, contributed a commendatory letter, the Utopian alphabet and some annotations. The full-page woodcut illustrating the island of Utopia is the work of an unidentified artist described as 'eminent' by Desmarais, who arranged for its creation. The success of Utopia was immediate, and four further Latin editions were published in More's lifetime, all but one through the offices of Erasmus. As in the Doheny and Morgan Library copies, quire b in the present copy consists of two half-sheets, whereas the other quires consist of a single full sheet. Gibson 1; PMM 47; Shaaber M-220; Nijhoff-Kronenberg 1550.
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