The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
London: Printed for W. Strahan; and T. Cadell, 1777-78, 1777. First Edition. Full Leather. Quarto. Very Good Plus. Item #33693
Six volumes: all First Editions except volume I, the Third Edition. Large quarto. Pp. vi, [14], 704; [12], 640, [2] errata leaf; [12], 640, [2] errata leaf; [4], viii, [8], 620; [12], 684; [14], 646, [51] index, [1] errata. Engraved frontis portrait of Gibbon by John Hall after Joshua Reynolds, 3 folding maps. With half-titles in all volumes except volume I, and all errata leaves. Contemporary polished calf, recently rebacked, with gilt rules between raised bands, and original lettering pieces laid down. Minor scratches to covers, corners and edges moderately worn, very occasional toning and spotting to leaves, early signature on margin of title of volume I, later bookplates in all volumes. Overall, an excellent set, clean and crisp internally, in suitably restored bindings. This set is comprised of First Editions of all volumes, except for the first volume, which is from the Third Edition. Gibbon's masterful history of the Roman Empire was issued in six quarto volumes over the course of twelve years between 1776 and 1788. Modest expectations on the part of both author and publisher regarding the market for such an imposing work resulted in an initial printing of only 1000 copies of the original printing. This proved a serious miscalculation of the demand (and subsequently made complete sets of the first edition difficult to come by). Within a fortnight the first edition was completely sold out. "I am at a loss", wrote Gibbon in his Memoirs, "how to describe the success of the work without betraying the vanity of the writer. The first impression was exhausted within a few days; a second and third edition were scarcely adequate to the demand, and the bookseller's property was twice invaded by the pyrates of Dublin. My book was on every table, and almost every toilette; the historian was crowned by the taste or fashion of the day." (Gibbon, Miscellaneous Works and Memoirs. 2nd ed. London, 1814, Vol. I., p. 223). The third edition appeared in 1777, a year after the first and second printings. Issued in an edition of 1000 copies, it was more fully revised and corrected than the second (which merely incorporated the errata). At the suggestion of Gibbon's friend, David Hume, the copious notes which previously had been gathered in the rear of the volume, were now transferred to the bottom of the page. This improved format was continued throughout the remaining volumes. In combining the third edition of the first volume with the first edition of the remainder (as in the present case), a uniformly annotated set is thereby achieved. In 1780 the frontis portrait of Gibbon, engraved by John Hall after a painting of Joshua Reynolds, was issued by the publisher. With the publication of the second and third volumes in 1781, an enlarged table of contents was made available for the first volume, as well as 3 folding maps (all present in this copy). The map of Constantinople was frequently cropped to make it the same size as the printed page, and then bound in sideways. Fewer copies exist (among them, the present) where the wide margins were retained, and the map bound in folded and the right way up. Norton, J. E. A Bibliography of the Works of Ed. Gibbon. Oxford, 1940.
Price (CAD): $16,000.00