Burton - The Book of the Sword, 1st ed., Chatto and Windus, 1884, finely bound

Description: The Book of the Sword Sir Richard Francis Burton London: Chatto and Windus, 1884 First edition Condition: Fine binding, Very Good contents This is a finely bound first edition of Burton’s famous work on the sword. The binding is half brown Morocco goatskin over marbled paper-covered boards, the spine featuring raised, blind-ruled spine bands, and gilt-decorated compartments, the covers featuring double blind rule transitions. The binding is in fine condition, square and tight with no appreciable wear, fading, or soiling. The contents are clean, with no spotting or previous ownership marks, though age-toned, the page edges likewise clean but toned with a few small fore edge chips, and with the first preliminary blank, half-title, and title pages brittle at the gutters. The original cloth covers and spine are bound in at the rear. Perhaps best known as an explorer and the translator of the Arabian epic The Thousand Nights and a Night, diplomat Sir Richard Burton (1821-1890) was also an accomplished swordsman. Burton originally began work on this history in 1850 when, on a sojourn in France, he began a serious regimen of fencing, eventually earning the coveted title of Maître d’Armes Breveté de Pointe. His biographer Edward Rice notes that Burton’s “mastery of the sword became legendary not only among the English but also among the French, and when it was known that he was about to put on an exhibition at Boulogne’s Salle d’Armes, dozens of onlookers would come to watch.” Burton’s Book of the Sword “was to be his great work, covering—in three volumes—the sword in all countries from the earliest times… [the first volume taking] the reader over some 300 pages from the sword’s origins to the early Roman Empire” (Richard Cohen, By the Sword). To this end, Burton “collected a great deal of literature, and inspected the armouries of Europe and India. To his encyclopedic mind the subject began with the first weapon fashioned by the simian ancestors of man, started afresh with the invention of metallurgy (which he assigned to the Nile Valley), henceforth coincided with the history of military prowess until the introduction of gunpowder, finally ending with the duello when the sword became a defensive weapon” (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography). Although he left manuscript notes for the second and third volumes of the work, Burton finished only the first volume, and the title page does not indicate that it is Volume I of a larger work. As early as 1923, Burton bibliographer Norman Penzer noted that the book had become “very scarce.” Reference: Penzer 107-112. Ref #: 008071 CHURCHILL BOOK COLLECTOR We are Churchill Book Collector, a professional bookseller specializing in books and other published works by and about the great twentieth century statesman and acclaimed writer, Sir Winston Churchill. We offer both a singular inventory and approachable expertise. The integrity of our inventory is backed by our membership in the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA), the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), and the Independent Online Booksellers Association (IOBA). Churchill's official biographer, Sir Martin Gilbert, rightly called Churchill's long life "remarkable and versatile". Statesman, soldier, war correspondent, ardent social reformer, combative cold warrior, painter - Churchill was many things, but perhaps above all a master wordsmith. We’re here to help Churchill’s words find your shelves. Our extensive inventory features some of the rarest material offered – including fine first editions and inscribed copies – as well as reading copies and works about Churchill’s life and time. While we specialize in Churchill, our inventory also includes noteworthy first and collectible editions by other authors, ranging from Xenophon to T. E. Lawrence, spanning exploration and empire to twentieth century fiction. We are able to help with anything from finding individual books to assembling full collections, working closely with individual collectors to identify and accommodate their preferences and budget. We are also able to commission preservation cases and fine bindings. Please contact us if you have books to sell. We buy, and in some cases consign, fine and collectible individual items, as well as whole collections.

Price: 1750 USD

Location: San Diego, California

End Time: 2024-12-05T19:43:51.000Z

Shipping Cost: 20 USD