Books

1840. London: John Thomas, 1840. Three volumes in Royal 8vo, bound at the time by Tout in Spanish marbled green calf with raised bands, richly decorated in gilt, inner dentelles gilt, green and gold marbled endpapers, top edge gilt; a remarkably illustrated edition in a stunning binding by one of the 19th century London master-binders. Highly illustrated By Tony Johannot and translated by Charles Jarvis (first published in 1742), this is one of the outstanding English editions of Don Quixote. Tony Johannot was born in Germany of Huguenot descent and provided publishers with sought-after illustrations in the mid-19th century. Charles Jarvis (1675 - 1738) was an Irish portrait painter and translator. In London he moved in the highest literary circles, which included Alexander Pope, Horace Walpole, Addison, Pope and Swift.

"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a series of adventures, with Don Quixote seeking to right wrongs and bring justice to the world, driven by his absurdly outdated moral code and understanding of reality.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.