Beschreibung:

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Author: Gibbon, Edward Place: London Publisher: Printed for W. Strahan and T. Cadell Date: 1781-1788 Description: 6 volumes. (4to) all uniformly bound in modern paper boards. Mixed editions. Includes: Volume 1: A New Edition. vi, [14], 704 pp. Volume 2: The Second Edition. [24], 640, [1] errata pp. Plate of Gibbon; Folding maps of the parts of Europe and Asia adjacent to Constantinople, and of the Western Part of the Roman Empire. Volume 3: The Second Edition. [8], 640, [1] errata pp. Folding map of the Eastern Part of the Roman Empire. Volume 4: 1788. viii, [8], 620 pp. Volume 5: 1788. [8], 684 pp. Volume 6: 1788. [10], 646, [52] pp. Mixed edition set of all six volumes of the most celebrated historical work in English literature, considered a "masterpiece of historical penetration and literary style". It is the first modern history of ancient Rome, covering the empire from the age of Trajan to the fall of Constantinople. A clean, remarkably bright set. Printing and the Mind of Man 222. Rothschild 942. Gibbon wrote that it was in Rome on October 15, 1764 while “musing amidst the ruins of the Capitol, where the barefooted friars were singing vespers in the temple of Jupiter ... the idea of writing the decline and fall of the city first started into my mind.” It would not be until 1772, after his father’s death and Gibbon’s taking up independent lodging in London, that he would begin the masterpiece, an endeavor that would take him twenty years to complete. In a letter written shortly before his death, David Hume wrote to Gibbon praising the Decline and Fall but warning that it might not be well-received in England because “Your Countrymen, for almost a whole Generation, have given themselves up to barbarism and absurd faction, and have totally neglected all polite Letters.” Contrary to the dour Hume, the book was a sensation, and the first printing sold out within a fortnight. Additional shipping charges may apply Lot Amendments Condition: Light rubbing to boards and extremities; occasional light foxing; a few marginal notations; near fine. Item number: 323645