PBA Galleries

[6], 394 pp. Copper-engraved added pictorial title-page; woodcut ornament on printed title-page; woodcut initial & headpiece; folding table. (folio) 11½x7½, early blind-ruled mottled calf; custom cloth box. Second Edition.

Hobbes' influential work of political philosophy, holding that man, unlike the model of a naturally social being postulated by Aristotle, is a purely selfish creature, seeking only his own advantage and resisting the competing claims of others. The result is "confrontation, enmity, and war." Little has occurred in the last 350 years to cause one to dispute his postulate. This is the second edition, or issue, with the "bear" ornament on the title-page, and the misprint "Ckooke" for "Crooke" in the imprint. This copy purports to be that of Alexander Pope (1688-1744) with some manuscript verses in a similar hand on the fly-leaves. Wing H2247.