The Psalmes of David Translated into Lyrick-Verse, according to the scope, of the Original, and Illustrated with a Short Argument and a breife Prayer, or Meditation; before, & after, every Psalme
first edition Hardcover
1632 · Imprinted in the Neatherlands (Amsterdam?)
by WITHER, George (15881667)
Imprinted in the Neatherlands (Amsterdam?): Cornelis Gerrits van Breughel, 1632. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. M.DC.XXXII (1632). 16mo in 8s (110 x 75mm). Pagination: [16], 299, [1]pp. Signatures: A-T(8), V(6). Title within typographic ornamental border. With musical notation. Printed
catchwords throughout. Dedicated to Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King James I. 19th-century black morocco, ruled in gilt, spine gilt WITHERS PSALMES OF DAVID / 1632, inner gilt dentelles, all edges gilt; (title page supplied in expert facsimile, lightly browned at edges; lightest edgewear, very good and compact work rarely found). Formerly in the collection of British baronet Sir Thomas Brooke, FSA (18301908), his armorial bookplate (boars heads in the upper left and lower right quadrants, and a boars head and a caduceus above the coat of arms) on front pastedown indicating his library at Armitage Bridge House, near Huddersfield. Sir Thomas Brookes 19th-century library was one of the largest and most important collections in England at that time. In 1891, a two-volume catalogue of Brookes collection, indexed by author, was printed with Ellis and Elvey of London for private
circulation. Front flyleaf inscribed Extremely rare, no other edition known, see Bibliotheca Anglo Poetica No. 795 / Price Five Guineas.
First edition, very rare; no other edition is known. According to the preface, the Oxford-educated George Wither began his English translation of the psalms at the request of King James I, finishing it just before the Kings death in 1625. Wither believed the psalms were not only the greatest lyric poetry ever composed, but that they were educational and useful to society; he wanted to make the psalms as well known to the public as the popular ballads of his time. Withers translation first appeared as a companion to his Hymnes and Songs of the Church printed in London by Augustine Matthews in 1623 (with which it is sometimes bound). By 1632, Wither found himself boycotted by London publishers and printers owing to a patent for Hymnes and Songs. It appears the printing refusal led Wither abroad to seek out the patronage of Princess Elizabeth, the exiled Queen of Bohemia (to
whom he also dedicates this work), and he continued issuing the Psalmes of David from a press in the Netherlands. The imprint indicates Cornelis Gerrits van Brueghel as the publisher, who was active in the trade between 1631 and 1636 in Amsterdam, although ESTC notes that the place of publication is conjectured. An extremely rare, pocket-sized work with a complicated printing history (See more: Cyndia Susan Clegg, Press Censorship in Jacobean England (Cambridge University Press, 2004), pp. 45-51); at one time this copy was in Sir Thomas Brookes library at Armitage Bridge House. ESTC No. S102335 (Inventory #: WB16211)
catchwords throughout. Dedicated to Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King James I. 19th-century black morocco, ruled in gilt, spine gilt WITHERS PSALMES OF DAVID / 1632, inner gilt dentelles, all edges gilt; (title page supplied in expert facsimile, lightly browned at edges; lightest edgewear, very good and compact work rarely found). Formerly in the collection of British baronet Sir Thomas Brooke, FSA (18301908), his armorial bookplate (boars heads in the upper left and lower right quadrants, and a boars head and a caduceus above the coat of arms) on front pastedown indicating his library at Armitage Bridge House, near Huddersfield. Sir Thomas Brookes 19th-century library was one of the largest and most important collections in England at that time. In 1891, a two-volume catalogue of Brookes collection, indexed by author, was printed with Ellis and Elvey of London for private
circulation. Front flyleaf inscribed Extremely rare, no other edition known, see Bibliotheca Anglo Poetica No. 795 / Price Five Guineas.
First edition, very rare; no other edition is known. According to the preface, the Oxford-educated George Wither began his English translation of the psalms at the request of King James I, finishing it just before the Kings death in 1625. Wither believed the psalms were not only the greatest lyric poetry ever composed, but that they were educational and useful to society; he wanted to make the psalms as well known to the public as the popular ballads of his time. Withers translation first appeared as a companion to his Hymnes and Songs of the Church printed in London by Augustine Matthews in 1623 (with which it is sometimes bound). By 1632, Wither found himself boycotted by London publishers and printers owing to a patent for Hymnes and Songs. It appears the printing refusal led Wither abroad to seek out the patronage of Princess Elizabeth, the exiled Queen of Bohemia (to
whom he also dedicates this work), and he continued issuing the Psalmes of David from a press in the Netherlands. The imprint indicates Cornelis Gerrits van Brueghel as the publisher, who was active in the trade between 1631 and 1636 in Amsterdam, although ESTC notes that the place of publication is conjectured. An extremely rare, pocket-sized work with a complicated printing history (See more: Cyndia Susan Clegg, Press Censorship in Jacobean England (Cambridge University Press, 2004), pp. 45-51); at one time this copy was in Sir Thomas Brookes library at Armitage Bridge House. ESTC No. S102335 (Inventory #: WB16211)