Lot 168
Circa 1880s Brainard Publishing Deluxe Limited Edition: 498 of 1,000. Diary and Correspondence of Samuel Pepys, F.R.S. Secretary to the Admiralty in the Reign of Charles II and James II. The Diary Deciphered by Rev. Smith, A.M. from the Original Shorthand Ms. Life and Notes by Richard, Lord Braybrooke. Edition De Luxe. The C.T. Brainard Publishing Company, Boston and New York. No publication date on any of these Brainard volumes; however, I estimate they are circa 1888 or possibly earlier. Complete in 4 volumes. Edition De Luxe limited to 1000 numbered sets and all 4 volumes are numbers 498. Beautiful gilt edges on top of books. Marbled, brown boards. The detailed private diary that Pepys kept from 1660 until 1669 was first published in the 19th century and is one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. It provides a combination of personal revelation and eyewitness accounts of great events, such as the Great Plague of London, the Second Dutch War, and the Great Fire of London. Historians have used it to gain insight into everyday life in London in the 1660s. Pepys 1633-1703 was an administrator of the Navy of England and Member of Parliament who is most famous for the diary that he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man. Pepys had no maritime experience, but he rose to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under both King Charles II and King James II through patronage, hard work, and his talent for administration. On 1 January 1660 Pepys began to keep a diary. He recorded his daily life for almost ten years. This record of a decade of Pepys' life is more than a million words long and is often regarded as Britains most celebrated diary. Pepys has been called the greatest diarist of all time due to his frankness in writing concerning his own weaknesses and the accuracy with which he records events of daily British life and major events in the 17th century. Pepys wrote about the contemporary court and theatre (including his amorous affairs with the actresses), his household, and major political and social occurrences. Historians have been using his diary to gain greater insight and understanding of life in London in the 17th century. Pepys wrote consistently on subjects such as personal finances, the time he got up in the morning, the weather, and what he ate. He talked at length about his new watch (which had an alarm, a new thing at the time) which he was very proud of, a country visitor who did not enjoy his time in London because he felt that it was too crowded, and his cat waking him up at one in the morning. Pepys's diary is one of the only known sources which provides such length in details of everyday life of an upper-middle-class man during the seventeenth century. We describe all items to the best of our ability as we are not experts on everything. Please ask specific questions on details, condition, and shipping prior to bidding, ALL ITEMS ARE SOLD AS IS, and bidder will be responsible for payment. We box and ship what we can to keep costs low, and use USPS and UPS. Large items, extremely fragile, and high value items will be packed by UPS. Quotes available on request.
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Condition:
- Outer book are in poor condition but interiors are good to excellent. OUTER: Brown marbled boards are attached on the front to 3 of the 4 volumes and all show wear. Volume Ones front board is completely detached and the back board is completely missing. Spine material/identification is missing on all volumes. INTERIORS: Good to excellent interiors. Gorgeous front page with vivid colors under onion skin paper. A few dark, age toned pages a few have the owners name written neatly on front page. All pages accounted for, not creased and tightly bound. Wonderful illustrations in excellent condition.
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| From: | To: | Increments: |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $49 | $5 |
| $50 | $99 | $5 |
| $100 | $199 | $10 |
| $200 | $499 | $25 |
| $500 | $999 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $2,999 | $100 |
| $3,000 + | $250 |