Sethos. Histoire ou Vie tirée des Monumens anecdotes de l'ancienne Egypte. Traduite d'un Manuscrit Grec
Paris, Jacques Guerin, 1731.
Duodecimo, three volumes, [iv], xxviii, 426, xii, [2] (errata, verso blank) pages plus a folding engraved map of Egypt; [iv], [427]-562, 322, [2] (errata, verso blank) pages plus a folding engraved map ('Carte des Voyages de Sethos'); and [iv], [323]-842, [2] (errata, verso blank), [4] 'Approbation' and 'Privilege du Roy') pages. Titles printed in red and black; decorative initials and headpieces (woodcut or from type ornaments); pagination skips 505-514 in the third volume, but the text is complete.
Contemporary full calf; spines gilt in compartments with morocco title-labels; gilt armorial stamp to all sides; edges coloured red, with marbled endpapers; leather a little crazed, marked and rubbed, with slight loss to the head of one spine, and a small patch of restoration to the leading edge of one board; front joints beginning to crack at the head (but still very firm); light tidemark to the inner margin of the flyleaves and the adjacent binder's blank leaf in all three volumes, the preliminaries in the first volume, and the last gathering in the third volume; minimal unobtrusive tidemarks to a small number of leaves elsewhere; last gathering of the second volume creased and lightly soiled (possibly a production blemish); neatly-sealed tear to the second folding map; early shelfmark ('V. 548') on the verso of each half-title; trifling signs of use and age; overall, an excellent set.
The first edition of this popular fantasy novel, which first popularised the concept of the 'Egyptian Mysteries' in Europe. This issue, with titles in red and black, carries the imprint of 'Jacques Guerin, libraire-imprimeur, Quay des Augustins'. Another issue exists, with the titles in black and the imprint 'Hippolyte-Louis Guerin, ruë S. Jacques, vis-à-vis S. Yves'. 'Terrasson's entirely fictional hero, a prince living a generation before the Trojan War, is born into an Egypt of high civilization, "mère des Sciences et des Arts" ... Neglected by his indolent father and hostile stepmother but trained in body, mind and moral sense by his tutor Amedès, he is guided by him to seek initiation as part of his preparation to become an enlightened ruler. The Great Pyramid, vaingloriously built by Cheops at vast expense, has been sagely adapted by a wise priesthood to serve as the entry to, first the scene of the candidate's trials, and then a whole further underground realm where the priests conduct their lives and arrange instructive shows' (Jay Macpherson: 'The Travels of Sethos' in 'Lumen', Volume 23, 2004, pages 235-254). The description of Prince Sethos' initiation was key to the development of Masonic ritual and symbolism and other esoteric traditions, even though the work was acknowledged as a work of fiction. More interestingly, Mozart and Schikaneder drew heavily on 'Sethos' for 'The Magic Flute', and it also inspired Flaubert's 'Salammbô'. The abbé Jean Terrasson (1670-1750) was a classicist and cleric, who also published a serious translation of the universal history of Diodorus Siculus, his principal source for 'Sethos'. [3 items].
Item #128009
Price (AUD):
$1,400.00