Metaphysics of Aristotle, Translated from the Greek First Edition - Aristotle - Bauman Rare Books

Metaphysics of Aristotle, Translated from the Greek

ARISTOTLE | Thomas TAYLOR

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Metaphysics of Aristotle, Translated from the Greek

Metaphysics of Aristotle, Translated from the Greek

“THE HIGHEST STEP IN ARISTOTLE’S SYSTEM”: 1801 FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH OF ARISTOTLE’S METAPHYSICS

(ARISTOTLE) TAYLOR, Thomas. The Metaphysics of Aristotle, Translated from the Greek… To Which is Added, A Dissertation. London: Printed for the author by Davis, Wilks, and Taylor, 1801. Large quarto, period-style full marbled calf gilt, red morocco spine label, marbled endpapers, uncut.

First edition of Aristotle’s Metaphysics, translated from the Greek by British classical scholar Taylor, a handsome wide-margined copy, beautifully bound.

“The Metaphysics forms the highest step in Aristotle’s system, and deals with the first principles of all existence. Here he grapples with the deepest questions of philosophy” (Peck, 130). Translated by Thomas Taylor, a leading English classicist of the day. “In his knowledge of Plato and Aristotle he has never been equaled by any Englishman, and he is still the most important disseminator of ancient philosophy in the history of English and American literature. Taylor went on to complete all the works of Aristotle, but his introduction and important ‘Dissertation’ [which appear here] were not included in the Works” (Axon, 11). “This edition contains some valuable matter by the translator, not reprinted in the ninth volume of his complete translation of Aristotle’s Works [the 1812 second edition]” (Lowndes, 69). With half title. Aermorial library bookplate with penciled shelf numbers.

Text generally fresh with first and last several leaves expertly cleaned.

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Aquatint Copperplate process by which the plate is “bitten” by exposure to acid. By changing the areas of the plate that are exposed and the length of time the plate is submerged in the acid bath, the engraver can obtain fine and varying shades of gray that closely resemble watercolor washes. Although the name contains the word “tint”, this is a black-and-white printing process; aquatint plates can often be hand colored, however.
Armorial Used to describe a binding bearing the coat of arms of the original owner, or with bookplates incorporating the owner’s arms.
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Boards Hard front and rear covers of a bound book which are covered in cloth, leather or paper. “Original boards” refers to cardboard-like front and back boards, from about 1700 to 1840, used as temporary protection for books before their purchasers would have them bound. Of particular value to collectors as evidence of a very early form of the book.
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Calf Binding material made from cowhide—versatile, durable, usually tan or brown in color, of smooth texture with no or little apparent grain. Readily marbled (“tree calf”), mottled, diced, colored, polished, tooled in gilt or blind, even scented (known as “russia”). Reverse calf, with a distinctive suede-like texture, is occasionally used.
Chromolithograph Lithograph printed in colors, typically three or more.
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Doublure Pastedowns made not of paper but of leather, for decorative purposes.
Duodecimo (12MO) Smaller than an octavo, typically less than six inches tall; smaller formats, such as 24mo and 32mo, are uncommon.
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Half Title Leaf preceding the title page that bears the book’s title, originally used to identify the unbound text block. The book’s binder would often remove and discard the half title at the time of binding. Remaining half-titles are therefore of interest to collectors.
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Japanese Vellum Expensive handmade paper often used in deluxe editions.
Lithograph Illustration produced by transferring an image drawn on a carefully prepared stone to paper. The process allowed illustrations to more closely resemble the original drawings, paintings or sketches, as it gave the lithographer a freedom of line impossible to achieve in earlier intaglio and relief processes. It does not require the same sort of pressure as an engraving to transfer the image, but still has to be printed on separate stock from the text
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