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MORE, Thomas (1477/8-1535). De optimo reip. statu deque nova insula Utopia. -Epigrammata. - Desiderius ERASMUS (1466?-1536). Epigrammata. Basel: Johann Froben, March 1518.
3 parts in one volume, 4o (200 x 141 mm). Roman, Greek and 'utopian' types. Woodcut historiated border to title of each part and to preface, the first by Ambrosius Holbein, the others by Hans Holbein, full-page woodcut of Utopia and half-page woodcut of John Clement, Thomas More, Raphael Hythlodaye and the dedicatee of Utopia, Pieter Gillies, by Ambrosius Holbein, a different woodcut printer's device at end of each part, woodcut historiated initials by A. and H. Holbein. 16th-century blind-tooled pigskin over wooden boards. Provenance: Jacob Fortis (ownership inscriptions dated 1578 on second and third titles; ?his occasional marginalia); Alfred Higgins (bookplate); Colin Maclaurin (1698-1746), Scottish lawyer who wrote with James Boswell "Songs in the Justiciary Opera," in 1816 (inscriptions on a2 and d1 dated 1800); acquired from William H. Schab, 1968.
THIRD EDITION, THE FIRST PRINTED BY FROBEN, WITH NEW REVISIONS BY MORE and the FIRST EDITION of More's Epigrammata. The tale begins with More's encounter with Raphael Hythlodaye, a traveller who has just returned from voyages with Amerigo Vespucci. Hythlodaye tells More of a distant island called Utopia, 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. In its geography and topography, the island bears a striking resemblance to England. On the surface Utopia tells of the ideal commonwealth, but it is constantly undercut. By seeing life in England and Europe through the eyes of the innocent stranger Hythlodaye (whose name means one who is cunning in nonsense), More is able to effect a deep satire on contemporary life and government.
Utopia was first published at Louvain, overseen by Pieter Gillies, its dedicatee; it was reprinted at Paris in 1517. Erasmus was then responsible for arranging publication of two editions in 1518 (March and December) by 'his' printer at Basel, Johann Froben, for which More revised his text. More's epigrams, published here for the first time, include the stinging verses on his fellow humanist, Germanius de Brie, which, after bitter exchanges between the two men, More excised from the next edition printed in 1520.
Two woodcuts were created specifically for this edition by Ambrosius Holbein, elder brother of Hans, one illustrating the island of Utopia, and the other showing the protagonists: More, Clement, Hythlodaye, and Gillies. In addition to designing borders, alphabets, and illustrations for the Froben press, Hans Holbein was, through Erasmus, later intimately connected with More, whose portrait he was to paint in London in 1527. Adams M-1756; Fairfax Murray German 304 (4th edition); Gibson More 3; Hollstein XIV, p.20; PMM 47 (1516 edition).
3 parts in one volume, 4o (200 x 141 mm). Roman, Greek and 'utopian' types. Woodcut historiated border to title of each part and to preface, the first by Ambrosius Holbein, the others by Hans Holbein, full-page woodcut of Utopia and half-page woodcut of John Clement, Thomas More, Raphael Hythlodaye and the dedicatee of Utopia, Pieter Gillies, by Ambrosius Holbein, a different woodcut printer's device at end of each part, woodcut historiated initials by A. and H. Holbein. 16th-century blind-tooled pigskin over wooden boards. Provenance: Jacob Fortis (ownership inscriptions dated 1578 on second and third titles; ?his occasional marginalia); Alfred Higgins (bookplate); Colin Maclaurin (1698-1746), Scottish lawyer who wrote with James Boswell "Songs in the Justiciary Opera," in 1816 (inscriptions on a2 and d1 dated 1800); acquired from William H. Schab, 1968.
THIRD EDITION, THE FIRST PRINTED BY FROBEN, WITH NEW REVISIONS BY MORE and the FIRST EDITION of More's Epigrammata. The tale begins with More's encounter with Raphael Hythlodaye, a traveller who has just returned from voyages with Amerigo Vespucci. Hythlodaye tells More of a distant island called Utopia, 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. In its geography and topography, the island bears a striking resemblance to England. On the surface Utopia tells of the ideal commonwealth, but it is constantly undercut. By seeing life in England and Europe through the eyes of the innocent stranger Hythlodaye (whose name means one who is cunning in nonsense), More is able to effect a deep satire on contemporary life and government.
Utopia was first published at Louvain, overseen by Pieter Gillies, its dedicatee; it was reprinted at Paris in 1517. Erasmus was then responsible for arranging publication of two editions in 1518 (March and December) by 'his' printer at Basel, Johann Froben, for which More revised his text. More's epigrams, published here for the first time, include the stinging verses on his fellow humanist, Germanius de Brie, which, after bitter exchanges between the two men, More excised from the next edition printed in 1520.
Two woodcuts were created specifically for this edition by Ambrosius Holbein, elder brother of Hans, one illustrating the island of Utopia, and the other showing the protagonists: More, Clement, Hythlodaye, and Gillies. In addition to designing borders, alphabets, and illustrations for the Froben press, Hans Holbein was, through Erasmus, later intimately connected with More, whose portrait he was to paint in London in 1527. Adams M-1756; Fairfax Murray German 304 (4th edition); Gibson More 3; Hollstein XIV, p.20; PMM 47 (1516 edition).