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THE CANTERBURY TALES
by Chaucer, Geoffrey
- Used
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Waltham Saint Lawrence: The Golden Cockerel Press, 1929. With wood engravings by Eric Gill. Four volumes: Pp. [iv]+152+[iv]+190+[iv]+198+[iv]+222(last colophon, verso blank), numerous woodcut marginal decorations and other illustrations by Gill, several initials printed in red or blue; small f'cap. folio; bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe in qr. brown niger morocco, spines lettered in gilt, with raised bands, patterned papered boards, top edges of boards slightly browned, the fore-corners lightly worn, spines of first three volumes a trifle faded; t.e.g., others uncut; pencilled signature (C. M. Piggott) on upper free endpaper of Volume I, book label of David Levine, Sydney, on all upper pastedowns, a few of the outer blanks slightly foxed; The Golden Cockerel Press, Waltham Saint Lawrence, 1928-1931. One of 485 numbered sets, printed on Batchelor hand-made paper with Cockerel watermark. Chanticleer 63. *The native-dyed niger morocco often varies in hue, but this set is well-matched. Loosely inserted is an ALs, dated 24 September 1932, from Eric Gill to the archaeologist Stuart Piggott, whose wife's signature is on the upper free endpaper of Volume I. In the letter, Gill refers to cave paintings and Bushman drawings: 'I think the point is that however beautiful in hue or colour ul weulnone find them, they were not conceived of by their authors as being more than "magically" life like'.
Synopsis
Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London, the son of a wine-merchant, in about 1342, and as he spent his life in royal government service his career happens to be unusually well documented. By 1357 Chaucer was a page to the wife of Prince Lionel, second son of Edward III, and it was while in the prince's service that Chaucer was ransomed when captured during the English campaign in France in 1359-60. Chaucer's wife Philippa, whom he married c. 1365, was the sister of Katherine Swynford, the mistress (c. 1370) and third wife (1396) of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, whose first wife Blanche (d. 1368) is commemorated in Chaucer's ealrist major poem, The Book of the Duchess . From 1374 Chaucer worked as controller of customs on wool in the port of London, but between 1366 and 1378 he made a number of trips abroad on official business, including two trips to Italy in 1372-3 and 1378. The influence of Chaucer's encounter with Italian literature is felt in the poems he wrote in the late 1370's and early 1380s – The House of Fame , The Parliament of Fowls and a version of The Knight's Tale – and finds its fullest expression in Troilus and Criseyde . In 1386 Chaucer was member of parliament for Kent, but in the same year he resigned his customs post, although in 1389 he was appointed Clerk of the King's Works (resigning in 1391). After finishing Troilus and his translation into English prose of Boethius' De consolatione philosophiae , Chaucer started his Legend of Good Women . In the 1390s he worked on his most ambitious project, The Canterbury Tales , which remained unfinished at his death. In 1399 Chaucer leased a house in the precincts of Westminster Abbey but died in 1400 and was buried in the Abbey.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Kay Craddock Antiquarian Bookseller
(AU)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 172350
- Title
- THE CANTERBURY TALES
- Author
- Chaucer, Geoffrey
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- The Golden Cockerel Press
- Place of Publication
- Waltham Saint Lawrence
- Date Published
- 1929
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
Terms of Sale
Kay Craddock Antiquarian Bookseller
Unless otherwise described, all books are in the original cloth or board binding, are demy or crown octavo in size, and are published in London. All books are in very good, or better, condition with defects, if any, fully described. Traditional trade terms apply. Items are offered subject to prior sale. All orders will be confirmed by email or facsimile.
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order hasn't arrived, you're eligible for a refund within 30
days of the estimated delivery date.
About the Seller
Kay Craddock Antiquarian Bookseller
Biblio member since 2022
Melbourne, Victoria
About Kay Craddock Antiquarian Bookseller
The bookshop has an impressive but informal salon style and an open-door policy. It is situated in the heart of Melbourne's premier street and is hailed as one of Australia's best bookshops.
Browsers are always welcome, and we are happy to provide personal service when required, including assistance in the selection of gifts for all occasions.
Browsers are always welcome, and we are happy to provide personal service when required, including assistance in the selection of gifts for all occasions.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Colophon
- The colophon contains information about a book's publisher, the typesetting, printer, and possibly even includes a printer's...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Morocco
- Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
- Verso
- The page bound on the left side of a book, opposite to the recto page.
- Raised Band(s)
- Raised bands refer to the ridges that protrude slightly from the spine on leather bound books. The bands are created in the...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
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