John Milton, 1669

MILTON, John (1608-1674). Paradise Lost in Ten Books. London: Printed by S. Simmons to be sold by T. Helder, 1669.

First edition of “one of the greatest works of the human imagination” (ODNB). Amory's third issue, comprising a reissue of the second with a new title. Milton is still unsurpassed as the greatest writer of English epic. The poem declares up front its aim to "justify the ways of God to man," but explores themes both universal and personal—with Satan's fascism, the surreal eroticism of the angels and the unknowable world of God, and Milton’s engagement with the science of his time continuing to captivate readers centuries later. Milton, who visited Galileo in Italy in 1638, was the first author to use the word "space" in our modern sense "outer space" and his cosmic epic takes place in an assuredly Copernican universe. Hugh Amory, "Things Unattempted Yet: A bibliography of the first edition of Paradise lost," in: The Book Collector, Spring 1983, pp. 41-66; Pforzheimer 718 (as the "fifth title (Lowndes' seventh)"; Wing M2142.

Quarto (182 x 110mm). Cancel title, gatherings Z and Vv in uncorrected setting (expertly repaired vertical tear through title page, with slight loss to a couple letters; a few mostly marginal repairs, one touching a few words). Red straight-grain morocco by Stikeman, gilt-panelled boards, gilt spine and dentelles, raised bands, all edges gilt. Provenance: John Bancker Gribbel, American industrialist and book collector, 1858-1936 (bookplate).