“ALL THE GLORIES OF THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH I”: RALEIGH’S HISTORY OF THE WORLD, 1628, WITH EIGHT ENGRAVED MAPS, HANDSOMELY BOUND
(RALEIGH, Walter). The History of the World. London: Printed for H. Lownes, G. Lathum, and R. Young, 1628. Thick folio, contemporary full speckled calf, raised bands, brown morocco spine label.
Early edition (1628) of Raleigh’s important and influential history, with splendid engraved allegorical frontispiece and eight double-page engraved maps and plans, handsomely bound.
James I imprisoned Raleigh in the Tower between 1603 and 1616, during which time Raleigh wrote his great last work. He completed only the first volume, which began with the Creation and ended at 130 B.C. “The success of Raleigh’s History… can perhaps be explained by the very fact that it is not a work of history in the academic sense but a political tract of immediate applicability. Its author was listened to… because he embodied all the glories of the reign of Elizabeth I… the History provided an arsenal of political ammunition to the Englishmen who overthrew the absolutism of the Stewarts at home and laid the foundations of New England beyond the seas… Sir Walter Raleigh can be taken as the epitome of the Elizabethan idea of courtier and politician, sailor and explorer, writer and poet… He was among the first Englishmen to envisage clearly that the Americas should be the principal goal of English overseas expansion” (PMM 117). The beautiful engraved title page by Renold Elstrack serves as a pictorial allegory of the work as a whole, including a world map incorporating several important allusions to Raleigh’s career. Facing the title page is a poetical explanation of the images, attributed to Ben Jonson. The eight large double-page maps are the work of “one of the earliest English engravers,” William Hole (Tooley, 88). The first edition saw print in 1614. STC 20640. Brushfield 223E. Armitage 41. Old owner signature to engraved title page. Occasional old underlining and marginalia. Armorial bookplate. Old dealer description affixed to front pastedown. Both boards with small, blind-tooled monogram.
Text and maps generally clean and fresh with a few minor tears, contemporary binding very handsome with only light age-wear. A handsome volume in near-fine condition.