Erasmus | Apophthegmes, 1542, first edition in English

Desiderius Erasmus

[Apophthegmata]. Apophthegmes, that is to Saie, Prompte, Quicke, Wittie and Sentencious Sayinges. Translated from Latin by Nicholas Udall. London: Richard Grafton, 1542.

8vo (145 x 94 mm) gothic type, with some italic and Greek type, Grafton's woodcut device on title and colophon [McKerrow 91 and 88], woodcut initials, 19th-century paneled green morocco by W. Pratt, all edges gilt, a later mythological engraving bound at end, title cut round and mounted (some letters lost, others in pen facsimile), the following five leaves with lower margins renewed and with two upper corners renewed, other corners in gathering N and the last four leaves renewed, closely trimmed occasionally catching shoulder notes, without the terminal blanks, rubbing at ends of spine and corners

First edition in English, rarely seen in the market. Prepared for the moral education of the young Prince William of Cleves, this extensive text collects sayings and anecdotes from Greek and Latin literature, with Plutarch's ancient collection of apothegms a primary source. Frequent citations are made to Cicero, Diogenes, Julius Caesar, Demosthenes, Socrates, Plato and Alexander the Great.

PROVENANCE:

Jay Michael Haft, sold Sotheby's New York, 16 December 2022, lot 18

LITERATURE:

STC 10443; ESTC S105498 (only six copies in North America)