LXXX Sermons. WITH: Fifty Sermons. BOUND WITH: XXVI Sermons First Edition - John Donne - Bauman Rare Books

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LXXX Sermons. WITH: Fifty Sermons. BOUND WITH: XXVI Sermons

John DONNE

Item#: 126156 We're sorry, this item has been sold

LXXX Sermons. WITH: Fifty Sermons. BOUND WITH: XXVI Sermons

LXXX Sermons. WITH: Fifty Sermons. BOUND WITH: XXVI Sermons

LXXX Sermons. WITH: Fifty Sermons. BOUND WITH: XXVI Sermons

"THE SPOKESMAN BEFORE GOD OF A VIRILE, UNCONQUERABLE HUMANITY": RARE FIRST EDITIONS OF JOHN DONNE'S LXXX SERMONS (1640), FIFTY SERMONS (1649), AND XXVI SERMONS (1660), BOUND TOGETHER IN TWO HANDSOME FOLIO VOLUMES

DONNE, John. LXXX Sermons Preached by that Learned and Reverend Divine, John Donne… WITH: Fifty Sermons… BOUND WITH: XXVI Sermons. London: Printed for Richard Royston et al., 1640, 1649, 1660-61. Three volumes bound in two. Thick folio (9-1/2 by 13-1/2 inches), 19th-century half calf, elaborately gilt-decorated spines, raised bands, black morocco spine labels, patterned paper-covered boards.

Extremely rare first editions of the three separately published folio collections of sermons by "the outstanding preacher of his day" and one of the greatest poets in the language (Baugh, et al., 613)—the third, XXVI Sermons, one of only 500 copies printed, is "considerably rarer" than the first two (Keynes)—handsomely bound together in two volumes, with engraved additional title page by Merian featuring a portrait of Donne.

John Donne, Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, is remembered as "one of the most celebrated preachers of his age as well as its greatest non-dramatic poet" (Drabble, 283). "Thou shalt yield no precedence, but of time," wrote poet Thomas Carew on Donne's death. In 1919, T.S. Eliot praised Donne for possessing "uncommon dignity and beauty—a style which gives at times what is always uncommon in the sermon, a direct personal communication… [He was] an artist doing the traditional better than any one else had done it… putting into the sermon here and there what no one else had put into it" ("The Preacher as Artist"). Of Donne's estimated 180 sermons, 160 survive, "and they demand reading and study not just as the major productions of his maturity but also as intricate and beautiful pieces of prose… [They demonstrate that] his concern during his ministry was most often to seek edification—of his auditors and of the English church—and, while criticizing those whom he regarded as sectarians, both Puritan and Roman Catholic, to find some form of accommodation with elements of both. As Donne preaches to congregations ranging from the inhabitants of Blunham to the members of the courts of James I and Charles I, he can be seen to be mapping out a middle way that offers at the same time a strong vision of a church still seeking identity and a voice with which its ministers can speak both with and to authority" (DNB). "The sermons are not only rich in learning and curious lore: they are characteristically personal and powerful in their phrasing… At his most characteristic, [Donne] is the spokesman before God of a virile, unconquerable humanity" (Norton Anthology, 918). Donne's sermons "are now very rare" (Allibone, 513).

LXXX Sermons is the first of three folio volumes issued after Donne's death by his son between 1640 and 1660. Prefixed to LXXX Sermons is the first appearance in print (later published separately in expanded form) of Izaak Walton's account of Donne's life, which describes him as a "Preacher in earnest, weeping sometimes… preaching to himself like an Angell from a cloud." Donne's son delayed the publication of the second volume, Fifty Sermons, "apparently for fear of persecution from the Commonwealth government" (Grolier Club 64); it is "a considerably scarcer book than the LXXX Sermons" (Keynes 30). It includes Sermon XLIII, the powerful and controversial "Gunpowder Plot" sermon. Donne preached it in St. Paul's on November 5, 1622—only a year after his appointment as Dean—to mark the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in which Catholic conspirators attempted to assassinate King James I. The sermon represents a potent tension in Donne's career: raised by a mother passionately committed to the Catholic faith, Donne struggled to reconcile that upbringing with hopes of a diplomatic career under a monarchy that contested papal authority. This volume also collects "sermons which he delivered at Lincoln's Inn [that] are among the most ingenious and thoughtful of any which have come down to us… They will always rank as among the noblest examples of pulpit oratory which the 17th century has bequeathed to posterity" (DNB).

The third volume, XXVI Sermons, issued well after the first and second volumes, is bibliographically complex. XXVI Sermons "was very carelessly edited and printed. It actually contains only 23 instead of 26 sermons; sermon nine is left out altogether, but two of the sermons are printed twice over, numbers 16 and 17 being merely repetitions of numbers five and three [as issued]. The collation… will be seen to be very erratic… The pagination is very faulty, although the right number of pages, 411, is finally arrived at… There are in addition several minor misprints in the pagination. There are also variable irregularities in some of the signatures… a large number of corrections were made while the book was passing through the press… also note a change in the type after sheet Aa… [indicating] that the two parts of the book were printed simultaneously at two different presses… The book was printed by Thomas Newcomb and was twice reissued with new title pages in 1661 (see Keynes numbers 32 and 32a)." With ornamental woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces. Without initial and final blanks. Engraved additional title page is in second state as usual, with "Aetat: 42" in the oval around Donne's portrait. Regarding XXVI Sermons, "the statement that only 500 copies were printed explains the fact that the XXVI Sermons is considerably rarer than the two volumes of 1640 and 1649" (Keynes). This copy of XXVI Sermons is from the large-paper issue, likely to allow it to be bound uniform with the first two volumes, as in the present copy, though the "To the Reader" bifolium has been inserted after A2 from another copy of the regular-paper issue. STC 1738; Wing D1862. Keynes 29, 30, 31. Grolier Club 62, 64. Lowndes, 660.

Very faint dampstain along lower and outer edge of both volumes, text generally quite clean. Fifty Sermons title page darkened and stained, with a minor repair and creasing. XXVI Sermons with marginal tear to G3, not affecting text; final two leaves with some larger marginal repairs, affecting a few words on just the last leaf. A very good and handsome, tall copy.

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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.
Association Copy copy that belonged to someone connected with the author or the contents of a book.
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.
Book-Plate Label, generally affixed to the front pastedown, identifying a book’s owner.
Broadside Sheet printed on one side, typically for public display, usually larger than folio size (a folio being a broadside-size sheet printed on both sides and folded once, to make four pages).
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.
Collation Process by which the contents of a book are inspected for completeness, checking against internal evidence, the table of contents and/or plate list, and reference works. Also a shorthand bibliographical description of a book’s composition by its leaves and signatures, rather than its pages. A-C, for example, would indicate a quarto volume composed of three signatures or gatherings of eight pages each for a total of 24 pages.
Colophon Printed note at the end of a text containing information about the printing of the book.
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.
Edition Print-run from a single setting of type without substantial change. Depending on demand, any number of printings can be made from a setting of type For example, a first printing might consist of 1000 copies, followed by a second printing of 2500 copies; in which case the book would have a first edition, first printing of 1000 copies, and a first edition, second printing of 2500 copies.
Endpapers Extra leaves—plain, colored or decorated—with which a bookbinder covers the insides of the book’s boards, therefore not part of the actual text block. The part of the leaf pasted to the inside of the front board is the front “pastedown,” while the other part of the leaf that forms the first page of the book is the “front free endpaper”; the same applies to the rear pastedown and rear free endpaper.
Engraving Illustration produced by carving lines into a metal plate. This is an intaglio process, in which ink is poured over the plate, then wiped from the surface, leaving ink only in the recesses made by the engraver’s tools. The image is then transferred by pressing thick dampened paper against the metal plate with great force—requiring engravings to be printed on a separate stock and separate press from any text.
Errata List of mistakes and corrections noted after printing, often compiled on a separate sheet or slip and inserted into the text block.
Flyleaves Additional blank leaves following or preceding the endpapers.
Folio Book composed of sheets that are folded once and printed on both sides, making two leaves and four pages. Typically above 14 inches tall. Oblong folios are produced the same way but bound at the short edge, producing a book typically more than 14 inches deep.
Fore-Edge Edge of the book furthest from the spine. Occasionally the text of a book will be put into a specialized book press and painted, often with a scene from the book or a landscape, so that the painting is invisible when the book is closed but visible when somebody bends the text and fans the pages—known as a fore-edge painting.
Foxing Light brown spots that naturally appear on some papers due to oxidation as they age.
Frontispiece An illustration facing the title page of a book.
Gathering Single sheet of paper that has been printed and folded to form the pages required by the book’s format. A single gathering of a quarto book, then, would be a sheet folded twice, containing four leaves, eight pages of text.. Gatherings are identified by a letter, symbol or number in the lower margin of the first page (the “signature”) to make it easy for the printer to stack them in proper order for sewing.
Gilt Edges The three exposed edges of a book have been smoothed and gilded.
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.
Illuminated Decorated by hand. Typically early printed books and especially manuscripts.
Imprint Satement of place, publisher and date of publication on a book’s title page.
Incunable From the cradle of printing, i.e., any book printed before 1501.
Issue A group of books issued by the publisher as a discrete unit. At times, issue refers to timing, such as the “first issue” being offered to the public at an earlier date than the “second issue.” At other times, it refers to specially planned different batches, such as the “trade issue” (widely available) in opposition to a “signed limited issue” (limited to a small amount of copies differing somehow from the trade issue and not widely available).
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
Marginalia Handwritten notes made in the margins by a previous owner.
Mispaginated Printer’s error in pagination, typically skipping, transposing or repeating page numbers. Not uncommon in older, larger books, it is not considered a defect, so long as all integral leaves are present.
Modern Recently accomplished, when used to describe a book’s binding that is not the original casing. Some books bound recently are bound using techniques, tools and styles of the period of the book’s original issue; when done well this is called a period-style binding, a term that implies “modern” as well.
Morocco Binding material made from goatskin—versatile, durable, with a distinctive pebbled texture and visible grain. Readily stretched (“straight-grain”), crushed (flattened smooth), tooled in gilt or blind, inlaid with leathers of different colors. So-called because much of the raw material originally came from the tanneries of North Africa (other types of goatskin bindings denoting regions of origin include levant, turkey, niger).
Offset The unintended transfer of ink from one printed page to an adjacent page.
Period-Style binding executed with materials, tools and techniques to approximate the look of a contemporary binding from the period of the book’s publication. The term implies that the binding is modern, or recent, unless otherwise specified.
Plate Full-page illustration printed separately from but bound with the text.
Point Variation in text, illustration, design or format that allows a bibliographer to distinguish between different editions and different printings of the same edition, or between different states or issues of the same printing.
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Reback To supply a worn binding with a new spine, usually made of the same material as the rest of the binding and decorated to match. When feasible the binder may preserve the original spine and affix it to the new material, described as “rebacked with the original spine laid down.”
Recase To reattach a text block to its binding when it has become loose from its covers.
Recto The front side of a leaf. The back side is known as the “verso.”
Trade Edition Printing or printings of a book made available for purchase by the general public on publication day (as opposed to a limited edition, often available only by subscription).
Uncut When the edges of the text block (most apparent at the fore and lower edges) have not been trimmed to a uniform size, and are therefore characterized by a ragged or deckle edge. A book may be uncut but opened—i.e., with a paper-knife—but all unopened books (see below) are by nature uncut as well.
Unopened When the folds of the sheets of paper making up the text block have not been trimmed away or opened with a paper-knife. While this makes it impossible to read all of the pages, it also indicates a probability that the text block has not been altered since leaving the printer.
Vellum Binding material made from specially treated calfskin—durable, with a distinctive ivory color and smooth appearance. Can be tooled in gilt or blind. So-called Japan vellum (or Japon) is a type of thick paper that has been polished smooth and given a glossy finish to resemble vellum.
Verso The back or reverse side of a leaf or page. (See “recto.”)
Woodcut Illustration or textual decoration made by cutting away from the surface of a block of wood until the reverse of the image is left in relief; this is then inked and pressed to the paper to leave the image. The woodblock, or multiple blocks, can be fit into the page along with the type, allowing text and illustrations to be printed in the same print run and share the same page (not possible with engravings, which require thicker, damp paper and much more force; nor with lithographs, which require a different printing process altogether). Woodcuts preceded moveable type and are the earliest known printing technology.
Wood-Engraving Engraving made with the graver or burin on the cross-section of a piece of boxwood; the harder wood and finer tools allow for more delicate, finely detailed images, while the block can still be set in the page alongside text and printed on the same stock as the text. While much older, wood engravings enjoyed an important renaissance in the late eighteenth century through Thomas Bewick and continued in popularity thorugh the nineteenth century.
Wormhole Tiny pinhole-sized trails left by bookworms as they eat through a text block. Much more common in older books printed on handmade papers with a high rag content than in books printed on manufactured papers made from wood pulp with a higher acidic content.
Wrappers Paper coverings—plain, marbled or printed—attached by stitches, staples or glue to a text block to identify it and afford it some protection (though much more fragile than a binding in plain, cloth or leather-covered boards). More typical of slim and/or inexpensive volumes such as pamphlets. “Self wrappers” are leaves, blank or printed, that are integral to the text block, conjugate with other leaves and from the same stock. “Original wrappers,” those attached at the time of issue, are scarce and extremely desirable to most collectors.