PBA Galleries

[4], 35, [1] pp. ([A]2, B-K2). With woodcut armorial device and initial on license leaf facing title; woodcut initials and headpieces within.(folio) 29x18 cm (11½x7¼"), 20th century cloth. First Edition, state two.

John Ogilby secured exclusive publishing rights for Charles II’s coronation procession on April 11, 1661, just eleven days before the event occurred. He then had this simple, unillustrated text printed in time for the entry. It consists of descriptions of the four arches in the procession, their inscriptions, and the speeches and songs that formed the entertainment at each location. The text uses the present tense in its narration and description, thus seeming to relate the events as they are happening. In this first edition the heading on B1r is "ENTERTAINMENTS" and there is a six-line woodcut initial; the description on B1v begins with "MUNDAY"; G1r has a five-line woodcut initial; and on K1r "CAVALCADE" is spelled with a hyphen following the "L". The first and the second editions were each issued in two states: 1) with or 2) without leaves *a1 (a dedication to the Lord Mayor) and L1 (beginning with a list of names of the committee for arrangements appointed by the Common Council). The version catalogued here is the first edition, state 2.