Milestones of Science Books

CERVANTES, Miguel de.

The history of the most ingenious knight Don Quixote de la Mancha + A Continuation of the Comical History of the most Ingenious Knight, Don Quixote de la Mancha.

London: 1705.

Hardcover. Good. Item #001983

The history of the most ingenious knight Don Quixote de la Mancha : Written in Spanish By Michael de Cervantes Saavedra. Formerly made English by Thomas Shelton; now Revis'd, Corrected, and partly new Translated from the Original. By Capt. John Stevens. Illustrated with 33 Copper Plates curiously Engraved from the Brussels Edition. London: printed for R. Chiswell, S. and J. Sprint, R. Battersby, S. Smith, and B. Walford, M. Wotton, and G. Conyers, 1706. 2 vols., 8vo (189x114 mm). [20], 416, [4]; [2], 434, [6] pp., including 2 engr. frontispieces and 31 engr. plates in text. Spotting and browning (some leaves stronger), lacking title-page in vol. II, occasional offsetting of pages and plates caused trimming of some headlines, light dampstaining of plate to p.78 in vol. I, little marginal worming to last pages of vol. II. [IDEM] III. A Continuation of the Comical History of the most Ingenious Knight, Don Quixote de la Mancha. By the Licentitiate Alonzo Fernandez de Avellaneda / Being a third volume / never before printed in English / Illustrated with ceveral curious copper cuts / Translated by Captain John Stevens. London: printed for Jeffrey Wale and John Senex, 1705. 8vo (188x115 mm). [18], 437, [4:ads] pp., including engr. frontispiece and 12 engr. plates in text. Even light browning and occasional spotting of text.
Vol. I+II uniformily bound in contemporary panelled calf, spines rebacked to style with gilt morocco labels, vol. III with matching new boards and spine. Provenance: Edw. Levino (inscription "Edw. Levino, Jan. 2, 1730" to pastedown of vol. II); William Henry Brockett (ex-libris to pastedown of vol. III). ----

I+II: The second edition of the corrected text by John Stevens (first edition 1700 for vol. I, vol. II is dated 1706). The title page announces "Illustrated with 33 Copper Plates, curiously engraved from the Brussels Edition." These 33 plates, newly engraved by Michael van der Gucht after Savery (Dordrecht: Savery, 1657; Brusells: Mommarte, 1662) and Bouttats (Amberes: Verdussen, 1673), contain 32 chapter illustrations and a frontispiece (the frontis appears twice; once in each volume). Ashbee refers to 33 engravings and two frontis. Our copy has 31 illustrations and two frontis. in the first two vols. The two title pages are not illustrated. These engravings were reprinted in this second 1706 edition.
III. First edition and translation of Segundo tomo del Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Translated from the French version of A.R. Lesage (Cf. Brit. Mus. Cat.). Very rare. Worldcat list only 4 places (2 in the UK and 2 in the US). Apparently a complete copy with 12 engr. plates and the frontispiece matching the copy in the New York Public Library.

Sold