Books

An exceptional ensemble of lifetime editions, pairing the second printing of the second part (published only months after the first), with an early edition of the first part, with text corrections, published six years after the first. The first part was originally published in Madrid by Juan de la Cuesta in 1605; the second part was first published by Cuesta in 1615, the year before Cervantes's death. The first complete edition of Don Quixote, combining both parts with the same date, did not appear until 1617, in Barcelona. The first part here is the second Brussels edition, succeeding the first of 1607. It was published by Rutger Velpius, official printer to the court in Brussels, and his son-in-law Hubert Anthoine, who worked together from 1601 onwards. Based on the second Cuesta edition, it corrected several obvious errors in the text, although, astonishingly, only two of those corrections found their way into the third Cuesta edition of 1608. Velpius died around 1614-15, leaving Hubert Anthoine to succeed him. Anthoine's edition of the second part was published only a few months after the princeps by Cuesta and follows it closely. Brussels was a natural locus for publication of Don Quixote in northern Europe, as it was then under Hapsburg suzerainty as one of the capitals of the Spanish Netherlands. Don Quixote is a landmark of Western literature and one of the most-translated books in the world. "It was the variety, the liveliness, and the gibes at the famous, which won it instant fame.... Within months Don Quixote and Sancho Panza had become legendary... Don Quixote is one of those universal works which are read by all ages at all times, and there are very few who have not at one time or another felt themselves to be Don Quixote confronting the windmills of Sancho Panza at the inn" (PMM). READ MORE 2 separately published parts, octavo (vol. I, 163 x 103 mm; vol. II, 163 x 93 mm). Early 18th-century calf, decorated in similar style but not exactly matching, both with raised bands with elaborate gilt tooling in compartments, twin red morocco labels added sometime later (one since renewed), covers of vol. II bordered with a single gilt rule and board edges gilt, vol. II with French curl pattern marbled endpapers, edges sprinkled red. Housed in a dark brown quarter morocco solander box by the Chelsea Bindery. Woodcut historiated and floriated initials, head- and tailpieces. Title page of vol. I with bookplate of the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, Paris, and ownership inscription "德金" ("De Jin"), probably the French orientalist Joseph de Guignes (1721-1800); the pair latterly in the extensive library of André Gutzwiller (fl. 1958-1994), Swiss banker and bibliophile, with his bookplate to front pastedowns. Frequent annotations in French in ink, pencil, and red crayon (different hands) to both vols. Bindings square and firm, joints of both vols and two corners of vol. I skillfully repaired, a little loss of calf on the edge of the rear board of vol. I, title pages laid down on a later sheet, vol. I with a closed tear to the margin of three leaves and one margin with crude early repair (loss of an initial letter on 11 lines), four small ink burns with loss of a few letters, occasional marks to contents, otherwise generally clean. An attractive set. Salva 1551 & 1553; Ruis 10 & 13; see Printing and the Mind of Man 111 (first ed. Madrid 1605).

"Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes is a seminal work in Western literature, often regarded as the first modern novel. Published in two parts, the first in 1605 and the second in 1615, it tells the story of Alonso Quixano, a middle-aged gentleman from the region of La Mancha in central Spain. Obsessed with the chivalric romances of the Middle Ages, he loses his sanity and decides to become a knight-errant, renaming himself Don Quixote. He chooses a simple farmer, Sancho Panza, as his squire, promising him the governorship of an island. The duo embarks on a series of adventures, with Don Quixote seeking to right wrongs and bring justice to the world, driven by his absurdly outdated moral code and understanding of reality. The novel is famous for its satirical examination of the discrepancy between Quixote's fantasy world and the actual world of 17th-century Spain. This theme is most famously illustrated in the episode where Don Quixote fights windmills, mistaking them for giant monsters. Throughout their journeys, the pair encounters thieves, prostitutes, a chain gang, and various other characters, often causing more harm than good in their attempts to help. "Don Quixote" explores themes of truth and justice, the transition from the old world to the new, and the idea of madness versus sanity. Cervantes employs a narrative structure that includes stories within stories, allowing him to critique the social and literary conventions of his time. The novel has had a profound influence on the development of prose fiction and is considered a precursor to the modern novel. It is celebrated for its humor, moral integrity, and its deep humanity, offering a complex reflection on the nature of reality and the importance of empathy.