Sir Thomas Moore. The Common-wealth of Utopia: Containing a learned and pleasant discourse of the best state of a Publik...

Description

A Lovely Copy of More's Most Important and Famous Work

Sir Thomas More. The Common-wealth of Utopia: Containing a learned and pleasant discourse of the best state of a Publike Weale, as it is found in the Government of the new Ile called Utopia. London: Printed by B. Alsop & T. Fawcet, 1639. First edition. Twelvemo (5.325 x 3 inches; 136 x 76 mm). [4], 305, [1, blank] pages. With engraved title. Nineteenth-century straight-grain brown morocco, decorative borders rolled in blind, spine tooled in blind to a floral pattern in compartments separated by double-fillet gilt rules, gilt dark green morocco lettering piece, moss green endpapers, all edges speckled red. Binder's ticket affixed to front pastedown. Near-contemporary owner's signature on title-page; early twentieth century library stamp (Carmathen Presbyterian College) to upper title, and the same stamp, faded, to outer edges of engraved title, M7r, and H11r. Engraved title mounted on stubs. A few leaves trimmed close. Very light shelfwear to extremities. Late twentieth century notation in blue-green ink on title-page. Overall a very good copy.

A lovely copy of this important treatise on government and society and Sir Thomas More's most famous work. Of course, the name of More's fictitious commonwealth translates to "no place," but shortly after being published in the middle seventeenth century, "Utopia" entered the English language to designate any ideal society.