The Commentaries. being diverse pieces of service, wherein he had command, written by himself in way of Commentary. Published by William Dillingham.

VERE, Francis.

Edité par Cambridge: John Field, 1657

A propos de cet article

First edition. Vere (1560-1609), described by Clements Markham, ever with an eye on the British imperial project, as "the first great English general in modem history", commanded the Anglo-Scots forces assisting the Dutch republic. Commentaries is "not only a key source for Vere's life, but one of the major sources for the history of England and the Netherlands in this period" (ODNB). Known for his "calculated rashness" and outstanding bravery, Vere "became famous in Elizabethan England's great war against Spain, and was the mentor for a generation of English soldiers, many of whom went on to command in the civil wars of the 1640s". The Commentaries, which doubled as memoir and practical military text, circulated widely in manuscript and was intended for "family, friends, and a circle of admiring veterans". And it was the copy owned by the distinguished parliamentarian general Philip Skippon which first drew the attention of William Dilligham, a Cambridge academic. Dillingham oversaw publication of this handsome quarto, adding narratives of Nieuwpoort and the parley at Ostend by Sir John Ogle, "and extracts from some of the publications of Henry Hexham, Vere's page at Ostend and, by the 1630s, a noted writer on military subjects". Printing was timely, as in 1657 the country was embroiled in the Anglo-Spanish War of 1654-60, with troops engaged in Flanders, as they had been in Vere's day. Provenance: Samuel Wegg (1753-1802), governor of the Hudson's Bay Company (1774-99), and treasurer of the Royal Society (1768-1802), with his fine engraved "bookpile" bookplate; see R. I. Ruggles, "Governor Samuel Wegg: Intelligent Layman of the Royal Society", Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 32, No. 2, Mar., 1978. ESTC R219854. Clements R. Markham, The Fighting Veres, 1888. Quarto (283 x 180 mm). With 3 engraved portraits (Francis and Horace Vere, Sir John Ogle), folding plate of Francis's monument in Westminster Abbey, engraved by Richard Gaywood, 6 maps or plans (double-page or folding), 3 by Robert Vaughan; title page with woodcut device of Cambridge University Press; commendatory verse printed on half-title verso. Contemporary panelled calf, spine with gilt dog-tooth border to each compartment framing gilt foliate motifs, deep orange label, blind wave-and-dot edge roll, red speckled edges. A little rubbed, some craquelure to spine, which has been neatly repaired, front hinge restored, touch of pale damp staining at head of first few leaves, some old ink scribbles to verso of last leaf, showing through, but overall a clean, crisp copy: very good.

N° de réf. du vendeur 160326

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: The Commentaries. being diverse pieces of service, wherein he had command, written by himself in way of Commentary. Published by William Dillingham.
• Éditeur: Cambridge: John Field, 1657
• Édition: Edition originale