17th Century Books
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Books Literature Ancient England Sciences 1600-1800 Physics Astronomy
Chronology : 1620-1629 1640-1649 1680-1699
See also : Books Literature Ancient England Sciences 1600-1800 Physics Astronomy
Chronology : 1620-1629 1640-1649 1680-1699
1613 Hortus Eystettensis
2016 SOLD for £ 1.93M by Christie's
The plant is the basic element of the apothecary. Medical universities maintain gardens to analyse their features. Naturalists are then interested in their variety and undertake classifications. The first flower gardens designed for sole pleasure appear around 1600.
The prince-bishop of Eichstätt is passionate about flowers. His garden has eight sections or terraces where plants are grouped according to their origin. He entrusts the maintenance of the garden and the drawings of the plants to a botanist-apothecary based in Nuremberg, Basilius Besler.
Besler prepares 366 plates with an average of three plants per page. They are classified by season and the reader can compare the phases of a plant including bulb, flower and fruit. The Hortus Eystettensis is issued in 300 copies in 1613, in a very large format 54 x 42 cm. The deluxe version is only printed on one side to avoid the shadow of the back, and hand colored. It may be the most expensive book of its time.
A few copies began circulating in Rome in the circle of the Accademia dei Lincei. This academy is one of the earliest scientific societies in the modern sense of that wording. Its goal is to understand nature from an objective observation. In 1611, the Accademia welcomes into its ranks Galileo and also Faber, the director of the papal botanical garden.
It was known that one of the last sets of uncolored plates of the Hortus Eystettensis was purchased for the use of Faber in 1617. We did not know more. It is probably this one that has just surfaced.
On July 13, 2016, Christie's sold that deluxe copy for £ 1.93M from a lower estimate of £ 800K, lot 173. It is complete of Besler's 366 plates, without the additional botanical text. Before it got its binding, this copy was supplemented with fifteen drawings and one print of a rare plant that was the pride of the garden of Cardinal Farnese. This 1619 dated plate is dedicated to Faber. The whole book was colored by a single hand.
Let us comment the considerable interest of the Roman Catholic aristocracy for flowers. The preparation of the Hortus Eystettensis is indeed contemporary to the artistic study of flowers executed throughout the summer of 1606 by Jan Brueghel from the incitement of the Cardinal Archbishop of Milan.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's :
The prince-bishop of Eichstätt is passionate about flowers. His garden has eight sections or terraces where plants are grouped according to their origin. He entrusts the maintenance of the garden and the drawings of the plants to a botanist-apothecary based in Nuremberg, Basilius Besler.
Besler prepares 366 plates with an average of three plants per page. They are classified by season and the reader can compare the phases of a plant including bulb, flower and fruit. The Hortus Eystettensis is issued in 300 copies in 1613, in a very large format 54 x 42 cm. The deluxe version is only printed on one side to avoid the shadow of the back, and hand colored. It may be the most expensive book of its time.
A few copies began circulating in Rome in the circle of the Accademia dei Lincei. This academy is one of the earliest scientific societies in the modern sense of that wording. Its goal is to understand nature from an objective observation. In 1611, the Accademia welcomes into its ranks Galileo and also Faber, the director of the papal botanical garden.
It was known that one of the last sets of uncolored plates of the Hortus Eystettensis was purchased for the use of Faber in 1617. We did not know more. It is probably this one that has just surfaced.
On July 13, 2016, Christie's sold that deluxe copy for £ 1.93M from a lower estimate of £ 800K, lot 173. It is complete of Besler's 366 plates, without the additional botanical text. Before it got its binding, this copy was supplemented with fifteen drawings and one print of a rare plant that was the pride of the garden of Cardinal Farnese. This 1619 dated plate is dedicated to Faber. The whole book was colored by a single hand.
Let us comment the considerable interest of the Roman Catholic aristocracy for flowers. The preparation of the Hortus Eystettensis is indeed contemporary to the artistic study of flowers executed throughout the summer of 1606 by Jan Brueghel from the incitement of the Cardinal Archbishop of Milan.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's :
1623 SHAKESPEARE First Folio
Intro
Shakespeare : Meaning, inspiration and Influence of his work on the advancement of Literature, Drama and overall on Civilization and Culture. Psychological evaluation. How did he promote his own work ? Detail the posthumous project and edition of his First Folio by outstanding followers.
William Shakespeare: An Overview
William Shakespeare (1564–1616), often hailed as the Bard of Avon, was an English playwright, poet, and actor whose works have profoundly shaped human expression and thought. His canon includes 39 plays, 154 sonnets, and two long narrative poems, produced during the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Shakespeare's inspiration drew from classical sources like Greek and Roman drama, contemporary events, folklore, and the human condition itself, blending tragedy, comedy, history, and romance to explore universal themes such as love, power, ambition, jealousy, and mortality.
Meaning and Inspiration in Shakespeare's Works
The core meaning of Shakespeare's oeuvre lies in its deep humanism: a Renaissance synthesis of Christianity, classicism, and inquiry into the self. He portrayed characters as complex beings driven by internal conflicts, societal pressures, and fate, emphasizing that human nature is neither wholly good nor evil but a blend subjected to scrutiny. His inspiration stemmed from diverse sources, including ancient texts (e.g., Ovid for Venus and Adonis, Plutarch for Julius Caesar), English history chronicles like Holinshed's, and the vibrant London theater scene. Shakespeare fused native English folk traditions with classical structures, innovating plot, language, and characterization to create timeless narratives. For instance, his tragedies often draw from Senecan revenge plays but infuse them with psychological depth, while comedies borrow from Italian commedia dell'arte yet add witty wordplay and social commentary.
Influence on Literature, Drama, Civilization, and Culture
Shakespeare's impact on literature is immeasurable; he coined or popularized around 1,700 words (e.g., "assassination," "bedazzled," "swagger") and phrases like "star-crossed lovers" that permeate modern English. He pioneered tropes such as tragic flaws, soliloquies for inner monologue, and genre-blending, influencing writers from Dickens to Faulkner and Stoppard. In drama, he elevated theater from elite entertainment to a populist art form, building the Globe Theatre and performing for diverse audiences, which democratized storytelling and inspired global stage traditions.
On civilization and culture, Shakespeare embodies Western values—adherence to tradition mixed with critical inquiry—while transcending them, with his works studied and performed in non-Western contexts like China and India. His plays have shaped moral and spiritual visions, influencing politics (e.g., leadership in Henry V), psychology, law, and popular culture, from films (The Lion King as Hamlet) to music and advertising. His brand persists in empire-building, education, and commerce, making him a cultural export that outlasted British colonialism. Globally, he remains the most performed playwright, fostering empathy and debate on human experiences.
Psychological Evaluation of Shakespeare's Works
Shakespeare's plays serve as early psychological case studies, revealing characters' hidden thoughts, emotions, and motivations through dialogue and soliloquies. Researchers have identified a unique "psychological signature" in his writing, marked by categorical thinking (analytic, formal) and thematic depth in emotions, family, and perception. Freud famously analyzed Hamlet as exhibiting an Oedipus complex—unresolved maternal attachment leading to paralysis—while Othello depicts jealousy escalating to rage, and Macbeth explores obsessive-compulsive guilt and ambition's toll. Characters like Richard III embody psychopathy, driven by hatred and trauma, analyzed through Freudian and Lacanian lenses for unconscious desires and inner conflicts. Soliloquies expose the psyche's gaps and silences, showing how intuition overrides reason, prefiguring modern psychology's dual-process theory. Plays like King Lear depict mental illness (e.g., madness from grief), offering insights into depression, post-traumatic stress, and human resilience. Overall, Shakespeare's intuitive grasp of the mind—nature vs. nurture, conscious vs. unconscious—has informed psychoanalysis and continues to expand understandings of mental health.
How Shakespeare Promoted His Own Work
Shakespeare promoted his work through performance and patronage rather than modern marketing. In 1594, he joined the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later King's Men), a prominent acting troupe that performed at court and built the Globe Theatre in 1599, drawing diverse crowds and ensuring wide exposure. His narrative poems, like Venus and Adonis (1593), became overnight best-sellers, reprinted multiple times and alluded to widely for their erotic appeal. Plays were not published by him personally—he focused on scripts for the stage—but some appeared in quarto editions during his life, boosting fame (e.g., Henry IV, Part 1 went through multiple printings). He cultivated relationships with patrons like the Earl of Southampton, dedicating works to them for financial support and prestige. By 1599, anecdotes circulated about him, and his talent drew crowds, making him a celebrity in London's theater scene. Word-of-mouth and repeat performances amplified his reach, with plays like Hamlet gaining rapid popularity through public acclaim.
The Posthumous Project: The First Folio and Its Editors
Seven years after Shakespeare's death in 1616, his colleagues compiled and published Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies—known as the First Folio—in 1623, preserving 36 plays, 18 of which (including Macbeth, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night) appeared in print for the first time, saving them from potential loss. This groundbreaking anthology, the first of its kind for dramatic works, was a tribute orchestrated by outstanding followers: actors John Heminges and Henry Condell, who edited and compiled from scripts, drafts, and promptbooks. Printed in folio format by William and Isaac Jaggard (with Edward Blount as a key bookseller), it included commendatory verses by Ben Jonson and others, dedicating it to the Earls of Pembroke and Montgomery.
Around 750 copies were produced between February 1622 and November 1623, entered in the Stationers' Register on November 8, 1623. Heminges and Condell urged readers to spread the word, framing it as a memorial to Shakespeare's "living art." The project reflected political undercurrents, like pro-Spanish alliances via contributors' ties, and solidified his legacy amid the "deafening silence" following his death—no immediate eulogies emerged until this volume. Today, about 233 copies survive, underscoring its enduring cultural value.
William Shakespeare: An Overview
William Shakespeare (1564–1616), often hailed as the Bard of Avon, was an English playwright, poet, and actor whose works have profoundly shaped human expression and thought. His canon includes 39 plays, 154 sonnets, and two long narrative poems, produced during the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Shakespeare's inspiration drew from classical sources like Greek and Roman drama, contemporary events, folklore, and the human condition itself, blending tragedy, comedy, history, and romance to explore universal themes such as love, power, ambition, jealousy, and mortality.
Meaning and Inspiration in Shakespeare's Works
The core meaning of Shakespeare's oeuvre lies in its deep humanism: a Renaissance synthesis of Christianity, classicism, and inquiry into the self. He portrayed characters as complex beings driven by internal conflicts, societal pressures, and fate, emphasizing that human nature is neither wholly good nor evil but a blend subjected to scrutiny. His inspiration stemmed from diverse sources, including ancient texts (e.g., Ovid for Venus and Adonis, Plutarch for Julius Caesar), English history chronicles like Holinshed's, and the vibrant London theater scene. Shakespeare fused native English folk traditions with classical structures, innovating plot, language, and characterization to create timeless narratives. For instance, his tragedies often draw from Senecan revenge plays but infuse them with psychological depth, while comedies borrow from Italian commedia dell'arte yet add witty wordplay and social commentary.
Influence on Literature, Drama, Civilization, and Culture
Shakespeare's impact on literature is immeasurable; he coined or popularized around 1,700 words (e.g., "assassination," "bedazzled," "swagger") and phrases like "star-crossed lovers" that permeate modern English. He pioneered tropes such as tragic flaws, soliloquies for inner monologue, and genre-blending, influencing writers from Dickens to Faulkner and Stoppard. In drama, he elevated theater from elite entertainment to a populist art form, building the Globe Theatre and performing for diverse audiences, which democratized storytelling and inspired global stage traditions.
On civilization and culture, Shakespeare embodies Western values—adherence to tradition mixed with critical inquiry—while transcending them, with his works studied and performed in non-Western contexts like China and India. His plays have shaped moral and spiritual visions, influencing politics (e.g., leadership in Henry V), psychology, law, and popular culture, from films (The Lion King as Hamlet) to music and advertising. His brand persists in empire-building, education, and commerce, making him a cultural export that outlasted British colonialism. Globally, he remains the most performed playwright, fostering empathy and debate on human experiences.
Psychological Evaluation of Shakespeare's Works
Shakespeare's plays serve as early psychological case studies, revealing characters' hidden thoughts, emotions, and motivations through dialogue and soliloquies. Researchers have identified a unique "psychological signature" in his writing, marked by categorical thinking (analytic, formal) and thematic depth in emotions, family, and perception. Freud famously analyzed Hamlet as exhibiting an Oedipus complex—unresolved maternal attachment leading to paralysis—while Othello depicts jealousy escalating to rage, and Macbeth explores obsessive-compulsive guilt and ambition's toll. Characters like Richard III embody psychopathy, driven by hatred and trauma, analyzed through Freudian and Lacanian lenses for unconscious desires and inner conflicts. Soliloquies expose the psyche's gaps and silences, showing how intuition overrides reason, prefiguring modern psychology's dual-process theory. Plays like King Lear depict mental illness (e.g., madness from grief), offering insights into depression, post-traumatic stress, and human resilience. Overall, Shakespeare's intuitive grasp of the mind—nature vs. nurture, conscious vs. unconscious—has informed psychoanalysis and continues to expand understandings of mental health.
How Shakespeare Promoted His Own Work
Shakespeare promoted his work through performance and patronage rather than modern marketing. In 1594, he joined the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later King's Men), a prominent acting troupe that performed at court and built the Globe Theatre in 1599, drawing diverse crowds and ensuring wide exposure. His narrative poems, like Venus and Adonis (1593), became overnight best-sellers, reprinted multiple times and alluded to widely for their erotic appeal. Plays were not published by him personally—he focused on scripts for the stage—but some appeared in quarto editions during his life, boosting fame (e.g., Henry IV, Part 1 went through multiple printings). He cultivated relationships with patrons like the Earl of Southampton, dedicating works to them for financial support and prestige. By 1599, anecdotes circulated about him, and his talent drew crowds, making him a celebrity in London's theater scene. Word-of-mouth and repeat performances amplified his reach, with plays like Hamlet gaining rapid popularity through public acclaim.
The Posthumous Project: The First Folio and Its Editors
Seven years after Shakespeare's death in 1616, his colleagues compiled and published Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies—known as the First Folio—in 1623, preserving 36 plays, 18 of which (including Macbeth, The Tempest, and Twelfth Night) appeared in print for the first time, saving them from potential loss. This groundbreaking anthology, the first of its kind for dramatic works, was a tribute orchestrated by outstanding followers: actors John Heminges and Henry Condell, who edited and compiled from scripts, drafts, and promptbooks. Printed in folio format by William and Isaac Jaggard (with Edward Blount as a key bookseller), it included commendatory verses by Ben Jonson and others, dedicating it to the Earls of Pembroke and Montgomery.
Around 750 copies were produced between February 1622 and November 1623, entered in the Stationers' Register on November 8, 1623. Heminges and Condell urged readers to spread the word, framing it as a memorial to Shakespeare's "living art." The project reflected political undercurrents, like pro-Spanish alliances via contributors' ties, and solidified his legacy amid the "deafening silence" following his death—no immediate eulogies emerged until this volume. Today, about 233 copies survive, underscoring its enduring cultural value.
1
2020 SOLD for $ 10M by Christie's
The Globe Theatre is created in 1599. It is managed by the actors of the Lord Chamberlain's Men company in the form of a share capital. William Shakespeare has little stake in this business but he is the principal author of the plays which are performed there.
This man of the stage died in 1616 without having paid attention to the literary value of his own works. Half of his plays were unpublished. The others had been issued as poor quality booklets of which we can be assume that they were not verified by the author.
John Heminges and Henry Condell, who owned overall half of the shares of the Globe Theatre, judiciously decided to reconstruct with the best possible accuracy the whole of Shakespeare's dramatic work. They knew 36 plays of which 18 had never been published. They will have to buy back the publishing rights to some of them and to retrieve the partial manuscripts that had been entrusted to the actors to perform their own role.
The print is of the top luxury, in relation to the literary magnificence of the work. What would later be called the First Folio is a superb volume of 454 leaves 32 x 21 cm, printed in 1623 by Jaggard and Blount. It is forever used as the top reference for any Shakespearean scholarship.
The production run of the First Folio is estimated at around 750 copies. About 220 survive today. 56 are complete, of which only 5 are in private hands. All but six are from the third issue when the content was frozen and the error of a redundant page has been corrected.
Shakespeare is the greatest success in English literature and editions are multiplying. Garrick puts Shakespeare still higher in fashion and Edmond Malone devotes his life to the study of his work. Malone proposes in 1778 a chronology of the plays, observes the literary greatness of the First Folio and has a new edition published in 1790.
On October 14, 2020, Christie's sold a complete copy of the First Folio for $ 10M from a lower estimate of $ 4M, lot 12. In 1809 its owner had submitted it to Malone's appreciation just before having it bound. The expert's autograph letter is joined to the volume. Malone found it to be a fine, genuine copy of the First Folio. A few small repairs will be carried out according to his recommendations. This copy has retained the cleanliness observed by Malone more than 200 years ago.
This man of the stage died in 1616 without having paid attention to the literary value of his own works. Half of his plays were unpublished. The others had been issued as poor quality booklets of which we can be assume that they were not verified by the author.
John Heminges and Henry Condell, who owned overall half of the shares of the Globe Theatre, judiciously decided to reconstruct with the best possible accuracy the whole of Shakespeare's dramatic work. They knew 36 plays of which 18 had never been published. They will have to buy back the publishing rights to some of them and to retrieve the partial manuscripts that had been entrusted to the actors to perform their own role.
The print is of the top luxury, in relation to the literary magnificence of the work. What would later be called the First Folio is a superb volume of 454 leaves 32 x 21 cm, printed in 1623 by Jaggard and Blount. It is forever used as the top reference for any Shakespearean scholarship.
The production run of the First Folio is estimated at around 750 copies. About 220 survive today. 56 are complete, of which only 5 are in private hands. All but six are from the third issue when the content was frozen and the error of a redundant page has been corrected.
Shakespeare is the greatest success in English literature and editions are multiplying. Garrick puts Shakespeare still higher in fashion and Edmond Malone devotes his life to the study of his work. Malone proposes in 1778 a chronology of the plays, observes the literary greatness of the First Folio and has a new edition published in 1790.
On October 14, 2020, Christie's sold a complete copy of the First Folio for $ 10M from a lower estimate of $ 4M, lot 12. In 1809 its owner had submitted it to Malone's appreciation just before having it bound. The expert's autograph letter is joined to the volume. Malone found it to be a fine, genuine copy of the First Folio. A few small repairs will be carried out according to his recommendations. This copy has retained the cleanliness observed by Malone more than 200 years ago.
Only five complete copies of the 'First Folio' remain in private hands, and on 24 April in #NewYork, Christie’s will offer the first complete copy to come on the market in almost two decades during our #ExceptionalSale. https://t.co/orNUeX30H0 pic.twitter.com/k90SszIXD0
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) February 25, 2020
2
2001 SOLD for $ 6.2M by Christie's
On October 8, 2001, Christie's sold a copy of the First Folio for $ 6.2M, lot 100. It is complete and is considered one of the two finest copies in private hands.
Happy birthday #WilliamShakespeare! Here's the #FirstFolio we sold in 2001: http://t.co/5AT12N7jFV #otd #rarebooks pic.twitter.com/jNbnSAuScH
— Christie's Books (@ChristiesBKS) April 23, 20153
2006 SOLD for £ 2.8M by Sotheby's
On July 13, 2006, Sotheby's sold for £ 2.8M a complete copy in a mid-17th century binding. lot 95.
The image of the title page is shared by Wikimedia.
The image of the title page is shared by Wikimedia.
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#OnThisDay in 2006, Sotheby's sold Shakespeare’s First Folio in NYC for $5.2m. Having only previously been owned by two people, the First Folio is the first collected edition of plays, without which there may never have been a William Shakespeare. https://t.co/IMGeqgcaoI. pic.twitter.com/C89bgVNPHJ
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) July 13, 2021
4
2022 SOLD for $ 2.47M by Sotheby's
A copy of the First Folio was sold for $ 2.47M from a lower estimate of $ 1.5M by Sotheby's on July 21, 2022, lot 1002.
It has 16 leaves in facsimile. The names of five early owners, arguably Scottish, appear in manuscript prayers and clumsy poetry in the margins, nearly all of them uncorrelated with Shakespeare's text, for a total of 34 annotated pages. The 19th century morocco binding was made in Glasgow.
It has 16 leaves in facsimile. The names of five early owners, arguably Scottish, appear in manuscript prayers and clumsy poetry in the margins, nearly all of them uncorrelated with Shakespeare's text, for a total of 34 annotated pages. The 19th century morocco binding was made in Glasgow.
5
2016 SOLD for £ 1.87M by Christie's
For celebrating the 400th year from Shakespeare's death, Christie's devoted a full auction session to the first four Folios on May 25, 2016.
The example offered at lot 101 was not yet known to scholars. It is resurfacing from the descent of a prominent bibliophile who was also a scientist of the Enlightenment. Untouched for two centuries, the book has kept a remarkably fresh condition but the nine preamble leaves are missing and several repairs are announced in the catalog. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
The Second Folio, published for the first time in 1632, is very close to the First Folio with respect to the Shakespearean corpus and the bibliophile had perhaps not desired to own it. The copy sold at lot 102, printed circa 1641, comes from another source.
The other two books were in the same collection as lot 101. The Third Folio was published in 1664. This edition is very rare. At lot 103, its copy has an exceptionally fresh preservation.
Lot 104 is the Fourth Folio, dated 1685.
The First Folio was sold for £ 1.87M from a lower estimate of £ 800K, the Second Folio for £ 195K, the Third Folio for £ 360K and the Fourth Folio for £ 47K.
The example offered at lot 101 was not yet known to scholars. It is resurfacing from the descent of a prominent bibliophile who was also a scientist of the Enlightenment. Untouched for two centuries, the book has kept a remarkably fresh condition but the nine preamble leaves are missing and several repairs are announced in the catalog. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
The Second Folio, published for the first time in 1632, is very close to the First Folio with respect to the Shakespearean corpus and the bibliophile had perhaps not desired to own it. The copy sold at lot 102, printed circa 1641, comes from another source.
The other two books were in the same collection as lot 101. The Third Folio was published in 1664. This edition is very rare. At lot 103, its copy has an exceptionally fresh preservation.
Lot 104 is the Fourth Folio, dated 1685.
The First Folio was sold for £ 1.87M from a lower estimate of £ 800K, the Second Folio for £ 195K, the Third Folio for £ 360K and the Fourth Folio for £ 47K.
6
2010 SOLD for £ 1.5M by Sotheby's
The quest for the exactitude of the text was extremely careful. The printing of the First Folio was suspended over a hundred times to make corrections so that one cannot find two identical books.
On December 7, 2010, Sotheby's sold for £ 1.5M a First Folio in very good condition, lot 13. It has the rare feature of being complete as regards to the texts of all the 36 collected plays.
On December 7, 2010, Sotheby's sold for £ 1.5M a First Folio in very good condition, lot 13. It has the rare feature of being complete as regards to the texts of all the 36 collected plays.
1640 Bay Psalm Book
2013 SOLD for $ 14.2M by Sotheby's
The Puritans fleeing the England of the Stuarts built in Massachusetts Bay the communities that could meet their religious and social ideals. One of the villages, named Cambridge in 1638, specifically had a cultural vocation. Harvard College was founded there in 1636.
The singing of the psalms is a strong element of their liturgy, linking together the first parishioners of that region still in wilderness. Their scholars do not want to use the available British translations. Their new version in English verse takes the excuse of a need to be closer to the original Hebrew text. It was actually a remarkable collective work, and the first sign of their independence from the Church of England.
They now have to publish this text. In London, Josse Glover supports the project and in turn leaves to America in 1638. He did not reach it, but he was accompanied by Stephen Day (or Daye), a locksmith who will be the first printer in New England.
Currently known by the nickname Bay Psalm Book, The Whole Booke of Psalmes Faithfully Translated into English Metre is printed by Day in 1640 in Cambridge and sold by the earliest bookseller of New England, Hezekiah Usher.
The original edition consisted of 1700 copies. For a century, the book was highly successful and often reprinted. Because of its liturgical use, most copies were damaged and destroyed.
The arrival at auction of a copy in good condition of the 1640 edition is an event of the utmost importance for American bibliophiles and patriots. In 1947, one of them went to be more expensive than the Old Testament of the Gutenberg Bible.
Another one is estimated $ 14.2M by Sotheby's on November 26, 2013. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's. The seller is the Old South Church in Boston which keeps another copy in a similar condition.
The singing of the psalms is a strong element of their liturgy, linking together the first parishioners of that region still in wilderness. Their scholars do not want to use the available British translations. Their new version in English verse takes the excuse of a need to be closer to the original Hebrew text. It was actually a remarkable collective work, and the first sign of their independence from the Church of England.
They now have to publish this text. In London, Josse Glover supports the project and in turn leaves to America in 1638. He did not reach it, but he was accompanied by Stephen Day (or Daye), a locksmith who will be the first printer in New England.
Currently known by the nickname Bay Psalm Book, The Whole Booke of Psalmes Faithfully Translated into English Metre is printed by Day in 1640 in Cambridge and sold by the earliest bookseller of New England, Hezekiah Usher.
The original edition consisted of 1700 copies. For a century, the book was highly successful and often reprinted. Because of its liturgical use, most copies were damaged and destroyed.
The arrival at auction of a copy in good condition of the 1640 edition is an event of the utmost importance for American bibliophiles and patriots. In 1947, one of them went to be more expensive than the Old Testament of the Gutenberg Bible.
Another one is estimated $ 14.2M by Sotheby's on November 26, 2013. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's. The seller is the Old South Church in Boston which keeps another copy in a similar condition.
1687 Principia by NEWTON
Intro
Isaac Newton was the most brilliant scientific innovator of all time. Late in his life he laid down the rules that had guided his unprecedented method. One of these rules summarizes in a simple sentence how he created the modern physics : to the same natural effects we must, as far as possible, assign the same causes.
One of his outstanding skills was to develop mathematical methods of high complexity to analyze and support his own physical theories. Even before he was 30, he compared the motion of the planets and the fall of the bodies. Essentially preoccupied with his own understanding of the mechanism of the universe, he published reluctantly.
One of his outstanding skills was to develop mathematical methods of high complexity to analyze and support his own physical theories. Even before he was 30, he compared the motion of the planets and the fall of the bodies. Essentially preoccupied with his own understanding of the mechanism of the universe, he published reluctantly.
1
2016 SOLD for $ 3.7M by Christie's
In 1684 in London, the scientists of the Royal Society challenged themselves to find the mathematical formulation of the law of motion of the planets described by Kepler. All failed. Halley visits Newton in Cambridge. He is stunned : Newton knows the solution but has lost his calculation notes. The orbital movement of a celestial body is an ellipse whose position of the other body is one of the foci.
The scientific stake is highly important and Halley manages to persuade Newton to disclose in their entirety his results concerning the law of universal gravitation. Edited and financed by Halley, Newton's Latin book entitled Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica is published in 1687 with the imprimatur of the Royal Society.
The book is difficult in the opinion of the author himself and the circulation probably did not exceed 300 copies but it is of such scientific importance that Halley and Newton took care of organizing their sale through booksellers. One of them named Samuel Smith is more specifically entrusted to the supply onto the Continent and receives about 50 copies for that purpose.
On December 14, 2016, Christie's sold one of the Smith 'Continental' presentation copies of the Principia for $ 3.7M from a lower estimate of $ 1M, lot 167. It is bound in its original unrestored morocco with gold and red inlays. The recipient is not identified.
The scientific stake is highly important and Halley manages to persuade Newton to disclose in their entirety his results concerning the law of universal gravitation. Edited and financed by Halley, Newton's Latin book entitled Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica is published in 1687 with the imprimatur of the Royal Society.
The book is difficult in the opinion of the author himself and the circulation probably did not exceed 300 copies but it is of such scientific importance that Halley and Newton took care of organizing their sale through booksellers. One of them named Samuel Smith is more specifically entrusted to the supply onto the Continent and receives about 50 copies for that purpose.
On December 14, 2016, Christie's sold one of the Smith 'Continental' presentation copies of the Principia for $ 3.7M from a lower estimate of $ 1M, lot 167. It is bound in its original unrestored morocco with gold and red inlays. The recipient is not identified.
Newton's deluxe "Principia" far surpasses $1 million @ChristiesBKS today, reaching $3.7 million! https://t.co/V3Bwq6aGsu pic.twitter.com/4xardPPXsM
— Fine Books Magazine (@finebooks) December 14, 2016
2
2013 SOLD for $ 2.5M by Christie's
A Royal copy of the Principia in its original morocco luxury binding was sold for $ 2.5M by Christie's on December 6, 2013 from a lower estimate of $ 400K, lot 170.
It had been presented by Halley to King James II, patron of the Royal Society. The Royal bindings from that reign are extremely rare.
It had been presented by Halley to King James II, patron of the Royal Society. The Royal bindings from that reign are extremely rare.
