A most pleasant, fruitful, and witty work,of the best state of the public weal, and of the new isle called Utopia;... translated into English by Raphae Robinson, A. D. 1551.
London, Printed by William Bulmer at the Shakespeare Press, for William Miller, 1808
A finely printed example of one of the most important works of English philosophy; with Dibdin's Introduction, which was widely influential, not least because it is in this edition that 'the portraits of More are critically discussed' (Lowndes)
In Utopia, More argues against the new econmics of large enclosures and the destruction of the old common-field agriculture; at the same time pleading for religious tolerance and universal education. More also argues against the idea of a powerful autocracy as advocated in such works as Machievelli's Il Principe.
4to, large paper copy, edition limited to between 150 (Dibdin) and 250 (Lowndes) copies, clxxx, 464, [i] pp., title within woodcut border, frontispiece portrait of More, plate of the More family, this engraving not present in the ordinary edition, finely bound by Bedford in full crimson morocco gilt, covers with triple gilt fillet, spine in 6 compartments, gilt lettered direct in second, others richly gilt, raised bands with gilt fillets, broad inner gilt dentelles, top edge gilt, a fine copy.
Cf. PMM 47 (first edition).
In Utopia, More argues against the new econmics of large enclosures and the destruction of the old common-field agriculture; at the same time pleading for religious tolerance and universal education. More also argues against the idea of a powerful autocracy as advocated in such works as Machievelli's Il Principe.
4to, large paper copy, edition limited to between 150 (Dibdin) and 250 (Lowndes) copies, clxxx, 464, [i] pp., title within woodcut border, frontispiece portrait of More, plate of the More family, this engraving not present in the ordinary edition, finely bound by Bedford in full crimson morocco gilt, covers with triple gilt fillet, spine in 6 compartments, gilt lettered direct in second, others richly gilt, raised bands with gilt fillets, broad inner gilt dentelles, top edge gilt, a fine copy.
Cf. PMM 47 (first edition).
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