Principles of Critical Philosophy - Immanuel Kant - Bauman Rare Books

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Bauman Rare Books

Principles of Critical Philosophy

Immanuel KANT | James BECK

Item#: 76807 We're sorry, this item has been sold

Principles of Critical Philosophy

“OF ALL GREAT HUMAN PRODUCTIONS, I NEVER ADMIRED ANY SO MUCH AS THE INIMITABLE WORKS OF THE IMMORTAL KANT"

(KANT, Immanuel) BECK, James [i.e., Jakob] Sigismund. The Principles of Critical Philosophy. London, Edinburgh and Hamburg: J. Johnson, W. Richardson; P. Hill, Manners and Miller; B.G. Hoffmann, 1797. Octavo, contemporary boards rebacked with half brown straight-grain morocco, uncut and largely unopened.

First edition in English (published the year after the first German edition) of this introduction to the philosophy of Immanuel Kant by one of his most fervent disciples, Jakob Sigismund Beck. A fine copy, uncut in contemporary boards.

Kant's status "as the greatest philosopher of the last 300 years is well assured… It is not too much to say that all modern epistemology, metaphysics and even ethics is implicitly affected by the [philosophical] architecture he created" (Blackburn, 206). After studying under Kant, Jakob Beck went on to teach philosophy himself at Halle and Rostock. "He devoted himself to criticism and explanation of the doctrine of Kant, and in 1793 published [a three-volume] compendium of Kantian doctrine… [Later,] he published the Grundriss der krit. Philosophic (1796), containing an interpretation of the Kantian Kritik," and here first translated into English, by John Richardson (Britannica). Lowndes, 1252. Graesse IV:4. See Edwards I:268.

Scattered faint foxing. Minor marginal restoration to half-title, particularly toward gutter. An outstanding copy in fine condition, scarce and most desirable in contemporary boards.

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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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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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