Books

London: Cassell, Petter and Galpin, [c.1864-1870].. Large 4to. (30 x 23 cm). pp.xxviii+737. Contemporary full russet morocco by Bumpus, sides ruled with two gilt fillets, spine with raised bands and richly gilt-decorated compartments, gilt lettering to two panels, gilt inner dentelles, marbled, all edges gilt. Title-page printed in red and black. Complete as called for with 118 full-page wood-engraved plates including frontispiece and numerous vignettes in the letterpress after Gustave DorÈ. An excellent copy in a superb binding by Bumbus. This book often appears in a half binding, rarely does one find it in such a high quality binding of full morocco as here. "Don Quixote was a text calculated to test even DorÈ. He was matching himself against Coypel and Tony Johannot among French artists, not to mention the Spanish illustrators of the great Ibarra edition published in Madrid in 1780. He met the challenge superbly...DorÈ visited Spain early in 1862 with his friend Baron‚Ķ

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series of adventures, with Don Quixote seeking to right wrongs and bring justice to the world, driven by his absurdly outdated moral code and understanding of reality.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