The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh

London: Printed by W. Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret, 1622. Very Good. London: Printed by W. Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret, 1622. Mixed Edition per Gibson, published the same year as the first. Small folio; bound in early 20th century full dark brown calf with new endpapers; five raised bands and red leather label to spine; [4], 248pp., frontis portrait; lacking A1 blank, else collated and complete. Edgewear to boards; corners bumped; brief split and chipping to joints and crown; binding sound; early writing to preliminaries; contemporary ownership inscription to title page; occasional marginalia including manuscript "corrections" to some errata; brief chipping to first 10 leaves with no loss of meaning; tide marks. This copy with all seven errata, or "Faults Escaped," from page 248 uncorrected. Many of Gibson's additional errors corrected, of which he notes, "There is... no certain means of determining their priority." A Very Good and sound copy often found lacking the frontis portrait.

Considered Bacon's most substantial work of history, his biography of Henry the Seventh was composed following his public and professional disgrace in 1621 culminating in twenty-three charges of corruption and spending a few days in the Tower. This history was written in part to pacify James I by providing him with a "flattering portrait of his ancestor," though it also successfully conveyed an accurate depiction of "the man [and] the real business of his reign. Every history which has been written since has derived all its light from this" (DNB, Vol. 1, p. 823).

Gibson 116A and 116B.