64 - MONTAIGNE (Michel de).

MONTAIGNE (Michel de). The Book of Essays by Michel, Lord of Montaigne. Divided into two parts. Latest edition, expanded with two very comprehensive tables of the most notable points contained therein. Lyon, Gabriel La Grange, 1593. Two parts in one volume. 8vo, (22) leaves, 829 pp., (1) blank leaf; 360 pp., (12) leaves, the last one blank. Ivory vellum (post.), author’s name handwritten on the spine, traces of lacing. Paper browned in places. Rare foxing or faint water stains. A very rare fifth edition of the Essays, the first posthumous edition, published the year following Montaigne’s death. This edition reproduces the text of the major Parisian edition of 1588, the last published during the author’s lifetime and the first to bring together all three books of the Essays. It precedes the important 1595 edition, compiled by Marie de Gournay from a copy corrected and expanded by Montaigne. It is notable in particular for the addition of two analytical tables, intended to facilitate consultation of the work. An interesting and rare transitional edition in the publishing history of the Essays, bridging the gap between the text published during Montaigne’s lifetime and its first major posthumous revision.