BROWNE, Thomas

Religio Medici

London, Andrew Crooke, 1642 [second unauthorised edition].

Octavo (140 × 85 mm), [ii] (engraved pictorial title by William Marshall), 159, [1] (blank) pages.

Later full polished morocco, spine gilt in compartments, with triple gilt rules on the sides, gilt inner dentelles, all edges gilt; first and last pages dusty and a little marked and thumbed, with the outer margin of the title leaf neatly strengthened; binder's blanks and the first and last few leaves a little foxed, with minimal light scattered foxing elsewhere; very light tidemark to the blank top margin of a few early leaves; minute traces of worming to the corner tip of five consecutive leaves near the end; early pencilled emphases and marginalia throughout, with a word in ink on four pages, three lines underlined on another, and an early ownership signature (George Dickinson) in one leading margin and upside-down on the last (blank) page; notwithstanding, a very agreeable copy with the ownership signature of 'E. Bridges 1731' at the head of the title page.

Garrison-Morton 6612.90 ('The most famous work of English literature written by a physician. Browne did not intend to have it published, but manuscripts of the work circulated privately. Two unauthorized and inaccurate editions were issued surreptitiously by the same publisher in the same year'). Keynes 2 ('The text of this edition has some minor changes from that of the first [unauthorised] edition, and these later readings are generally preferable. There is no reason, however, to suppose the author had any hand in a revision of the text'). Provenance: Dr Milton Roxanas (purchased in 1970 from Quaritch, with the receipt loosely inserted).