GIBBON, Edward.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. First edition of Gibbon's magnum opus, one of the great products of the Enlightenment, and among the most influential of all histories. This set is one of only 500 possible examples with the first volume in the first state.For the editors of Printing and the Mind of Man, "this masterpiece of historical penetration and literary style has remained one of the ageless historical works" (PMM). The initial print run for volume I was 500 copies, but popular anticipation led the publishers to double the run during production. 500 copies of the first 28 sheets had already been printed, complete with corrected cancel leaves at X4 and a4. When the extra 500 copies of these sheets were printed, these corrections were included in the text, eliminating the need for the original cancels. This set includes the original printings of the first 28 sheets, with cancel leaves at X4 and a4. The first volume was published with great fanfare in February 1776; the second and third were published in March 1781, and the final three in May 1788.

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