Skip to content
AUTHENTICITY GUARANTEED | EXPERT ADVICE
AUTHENTICITY GUARANTEED

[Utopia].

A frutefull pleasaunt, and wittie worke, of the beste state of a publique weale, & of the newe yle, called Utopia...

Stock Code 112741

Waltham Saint Lawrence, Berkshire, The Golden Cockerel Press, 1929

Original price £2,250.00 - Original price £2,250.00
Original price £0.00
£2,250.00
£2,250.00 - £2,250.00
Current price £2,250.00
Onlaid brown morocco by Bayntun-Riviere. A finely bound example of The Golden Cockerel Press edition of Thomas More's important contribution to English philosophy which coined the term utopia.

Number 452 from a limited edition of 500 copies printed by The Golden Cockerell Press, which follows the text of the first English translation made by Ralph Robinson (1520-1577) for the private use of his friend, George Tadlow, a City of London haberdasher. A loose rendering, Robinson initially resisted calls for publication before the work was printed in 1551. Nevertheless, his translation is now regarded 'among the treasures of our literature' (Arber) as an imaginative piece of sixteenth-century prose.

The tale begins when More encounters the fictional character Raphael Hythloday, a traveller who has just returned from voyages with Amerigo Vespucci. Hythloday tells More of a distant island called Utopia, where all property is held in common and gold and silver are used not as currency but as the material for making shackles and chamber pots. However, all is not as it seems, and the paradoxes in the names of Hythloday ('the nonsense speaker') and Utopia ('nowhere') reveal a more complex story.

Limited edition, number 452 of 500 copies; 4to (270 x 200 mm); title printed in black & blue, floreated initials by Eric Gill; bookplate to verso of front free endpaper, silk doublures; full brown morocco by Bayntun-Riviere, green leaf frame onlaid to panels within single gilt filet border, gilt spine in 6 compartments, alternating onlaid green leaves and gilt lettering, top-edge gilt, others uncut, with brown cloth solander box, green morocco lettering piece to spine, slight spotting to final few ff, otherwise internally clean, near fine; [2], xiii, 137, [3]pp.

Chanticleer 65.
Provenance

Provenance: Captain Richard Campbell, OBE, RN (bookplate).

Delivery

We offer secure and express delivery on all local and international orders of rare books, maps and prints placed through this website.

About us

Shapero Rare Books is an internationally renowned dealer in antiquarian & rare books and works on paper.

Our Bookshop and Gallery can be found in the heart of Mayfair at 106 New Bond Street, where most of our stock is available to view and on public display.

We exhibit at major international art fairs, including TEFAF (Maastricht and New York), Frieze Masters, Art Miami and Masterpiece London, as well as antiquarian & rare book fairs including New York, Paris, London, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Hong Kong.

Read more

Ask us a question

[Utopia].

[PHILOSOPHY]. MORE, Sir Thomas; GILL, Eric (illustrator).

Stock code: 112741

£2,250.00

THE BOND STREET EXPERIENCE

An exceptional experience in the heart of London’s Mayfair for not only seasoned collectors but those considering purchasing their first rare book or print.

Guaranteed Authenticity
GUARANTEED AUTHENTICITY
International Delivery
INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY
Meet Our Booksellers
MEET OUR BOOKSELLERS
Free Gift Wrapping
FREE GIFT WRAPPING

BOOK COLLECTING IDEAS

Your cart is empty

Continue shopping

Basket