Books

Octavo. 207, [1, colophon], 8 (publ. ads)pp. Later crushed morocco, spine with raised bands (lightly sunned), lettered in gilt; top edge gilt; inner dentelles; marbled endleaves. Covers rubbed at bottom edges; slight bump at fore-edge of seven leaves; advertisements lightly foxed. A very good, clean copy, in a handsome signed binding by Stikeman. First edition of the most widely read book by the British philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill (1806-73). A classic in political theory, it represents the final stage in the growth of utilitarian doctrine. "A draft paper on liberty had been sketched out in 1854, in response to The Sphere and Duties of Government, a translation of the work by Alexander von Humboldt originally published in the 1790s; but it was while travelling in Italy and Greece early in 1855 that Mill conceived the idea of a more ambitious work. Mill's On Liberty aroused a stir of comment on publication and, perhaps more than any other of his works, has been viewed by posterity as the kernel of his social philosophy" (ODNB). "Mill realized that the 'greatest good' of the community is inseparable from the liberty of the individual. Hitherto, liberty had always been considered relative, in relation to tyranny or oppression: Mill extended tyranny to include a custom-ridden majority, and declared that 'the sole end for which mankind is justified in interfering with liberty of action is self-protection. He was the first to recognize the tendency of a democratically elected majority to tyrannize over a minority, and his warning against it has a contemporary ring: 'We can never be sure that the opinion we are endeavoring to stifle is a false opinion; and, if we were sure, stifling it would be an evil still'" (PMM). Lovingly dedicated to his wife, Harriet, ". who was the inspirer, and in part the author, of all that is best in my writings -- the friend and wife whose exalted sense of truth and right was my strongest incitement, and whose approbation was my chief reward." (p. 5). Binding: "[B]eyond Bradstreet's, few binders in the United States possessed the craftsmanship and artistry of their British and French contemporaries. Henry Stikeman of Stikeman & Co. was amongst the exceptional few. Stikeman trained with American art bookbinding founding father William Matthews, eventually taking over Matthews' firm. Stikeman's career arc followed the growth and establishment of art bookbinding in America as the 19th century ended and the new century began. Stikeman bindings from the 1880s through the second decade of the twentieth century represent the best work of the firm, and Stikeman bindings have become quite collectible" (Gertz). Provenance: Bookplates of Katherine Mackay (front paste-down), Luella and Sam Maslon (front endleaf); owner's ink entry at top margin of the title-page. References: J. Harris, "Mill, John Stuart" [in:] ODNB; MacMinn, Hainds & McCrimmon, p. 92; Printing and the Mind of Man 345. S. Gertz, "American Rare Book Trade Ads from 1902" [in:] Booktryst blog, July 23, 2012.