MONTAIGNE. The Essays by Michel Seigneur de Montaigne. - Lot 226

MONTAIGNE. The Essays by Michel Seigneur de Montaigne. An excellent edition, with a preface by Marie de Gournay, Montaigne’s “daughter-in-law,” who explains in the preface that she has modernized a few passages. Paris, Published by the Widow of Rémy Dallin, 1625. Sturdy in-4 volume, full brown sheepskin, ribbed spine, panels decorated with a repeating gilt garland, combed edges. 22 ff.n.ch., 101 and 1039 pp. and 1 f.n.ch. Normal wear and tear, small scuffs and stains on the binding, rare foxing, and some water stains on the upper margin. A new edition published jointly by fourteen booksellers. It is a copy, with a few modifications, of the 1617 edition. Marie de Gournay, Montaigne’s “daughter-in-law,” states in the preface that she modernized the text under pressure from the booksellers. The Latin quotations translated into French occupy the first 101 pages. Curiously, the notice to the reader is placed on the last leaf, which suggests this is a first printing. On the title page: ex-libris “Bibliotheca Joannis Gravier presbyteri” and a wet monogram stamp. [Tchemerzine VIII, 424.] A fine copy in a sturdy 19th-century binding.