Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None

London: Henry & Co, 1896. First edition, first issue. Octavo. Original first issue blue cloth with gilt lettering to front and spine and eight pages of advertisements. Light toning to spine, extremities slightly rubbed; prior owner blindstamp, ink signature, and bookplate of John Farquhar McLay, bookplate of H.G. Plimmer to front pastedown. A rare and excellent example of this true first English issue of Nietzsche's masterwork.. Scarce true first English edition, first issue of Friedrich Nietzsche's (1844-1900) masterwork Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None (translated by Alexander Tille), published by Henry & Co. in 1896. Originally published in German in four parts between 1883 and 1885, Nietzsche's towering work was born out of profound philosophical insights that Nietzsche experienced while walking extensively throughout the Swiss Alps in the early 1880s. What followed was a concentrated burst of creative activity that produced a truly revolutionary work of philosophical literature. It is in Zarathustra that many of Nietzsche's enduring and (in)famous concepts are given poignant and profound expression, including early articulations of the eternal recurrence, the Übermensch, the "death of God" and Nietzsche's critique of religion, and his insights into nihilism and the will to power. As enigmatic as it was pathbreaking, Zarathustra continues to inspire and challenge proponents and detractors alike. Often considered a watershed moment in modern philosophy, Zarathustra stands as a masterful work of anti-foundationalism whose impact continues to challenge and shape moral, religious, and philosophical thought. Nietzsche himself believed Zarathustra stood apart from his other works as the book that "speaks out across the ages." The book's English publication would find devotees throughout Europe and the US and exercised an outsized influence on many of the most influential scholars of the twentieth century. This true first issue represents volume 8 of a projected 11-volume set of Nietzsche's works in English and was translated by Alexander Tille, then Lecturer of German Literature at the University of Glasgow. Bright and well-preserved, it is a remarkable example of this monumental work of modern philosophy. Scarce in this condition.