"THE MOST SUBSTANTIAL PROSE WORK PUBLISHED IN HIS LIFETIME": FIRST EDITION OF MILTON'S HISTORY OF BRITAIN, 1670

MILTON, John. The History of Britain, That part especially now call'd England, From the first Traditional Beginning, continu'd to the Norman Conquest. London: by J.M. for James Allestry, 1670. Small quarto, contemporary full brown calf, raised bands, red morocco spine label. $4250.

First edition, first issue, of Milton's electrifying historical chronicle, a work that "reads like a prose version of Paradise Lost," with engraved frontispiece portrait by Faithorne drawn from life by him for this edition.

"The most substantial prose work published in his lifetime… Milton's magisterial History of Britain" is increasingly regarded as a work ahead of its time. Begun in the late 1640s but not published until 1670, Milton's historical narrative "reads like a prose version of Paradise Lost, recounting a series of falls—invasions and occupations—holding out the promise of redemption… Derided in its day, fated to obscurity in the ensuing three centuries, History of Britain is a text for our time… lit up by an electrifying lyrical power unsurpassed in Milton's poetry (Maley, The Times). Milton weaves an authoritative narrative of historical events, ancient sources and early fables. Influenced by writers such as Holinshed and Camden, Milton expanded his historical reach by drawing on such original sources as Bede and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Bishop Warburton observed of Milton's History, "I never saw anything equal to this but the conclusion of Sir Walter Raleigh's History of the World" (Allibone, 1318). First issue, with Allestry named as the publisher; Allestry died November 3, 1670, and his successor Spencer Hickman substituted a cancel title with his name in the imprint. With engraved frontispiece portrait, signed "Gul. Faithorne" and dated 1670. With index and rear errata leaf. With leaf Vv2 signed Uv2, as noted in Pforzheimer. Wing M2119. Pforzheimer 710. Grolier Wither to Prior 609. Lowndes, 1566. Wickenheiser 333. Bookplate of Kenneth Rapoport, American bibliophile renowned for his library of rare scientific works. Pencil annotations to endpapers.

Interior exceptionally clean, front free endpaper with remnant of bookplate; handsome contemporary calf with expert restoration to joints, spine ends, and extremities. An excellent copy.