AREOPAGITICA
by Milton, John
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good++
- Seller
-
Williamsburg, Virginia, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: The Legal Classics Library / Gryphon Editions, 1992. lvii, 189 pages. 12mo. Facsimile reprint of the 1890 Grolier Club edition of the famous poet's 1643 defense of freedom of the press in England. Originally published in 1644, the book was a response to Parliament's 1643 Ordinance for the Regulating of Printing, but the principles espoused by Milton have been an important part of the opposition to censorship during the almost four centuries since. Beautifully bound in full blue leather decorated in gilt; 3 raised bands on the spine; all edges gilt. The book is an unread copy that is clean, bright, and tight--marred only by some incomplete gilding on the rear cover.. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. Very Good++. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. Book.
Synopsis
Areopagitica: A speech for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing to the Parliament of England is John Milton's famous tract against censorship. Published in 1644, Areopagitica is named after a speech by Isocrates, a fifth century BC Athenian orator. The work is counted as one of the most influential and inspired defenses of the right to freedom of expression in history. It is also a personal issue for Milton who was submitted to censorship himself when he tried to publish his defenses of divorce, radical works for the time that gained no quarter with censors. Distributed as a pamphlet, Milton's powerful arguments against 1643's Licensing Order note that classical Greek and Roman society was never subjected to such censorship, and he uses many classical and biblical references to reinforce his argument.
Reviews
My views are as nothing because of the established importance of this work over the centuries. I hope its precepts, the freedom to publish and print and almost the freedom to think will be observed, without these being whittled away as they may be in some countries and some establiched bodies even in the twenty-first century.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Tennyson Williams, Books and Fine Art
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- W1121
- Title
- AREOPAGITICA
- Author
- Milton, John
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good++
- Edition
- First Edition Thus
- Publisher
- The Legal Classics Library / Gryphon Editions
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1992
- Size
- 12mo - over 6¾" - 7&
- Bookseller catalogs
- Political Science & Law;
Terms of Sale
Tennyson Williams, Books and Fine Art
We hold books only for firm orders. Books may be returned within 7 days of receipt for refund of purchase price. We pay shipping costs only if we have made a significant error in description.
About the Seller
Tennyson Williams, Books and Fine Art
Biblio member since 2004
Williamsburg, Virginia
About Tennyson Williams, Books and Fine Art
Our office, located in historic Williamsburg, Virginia, is open by appointment or by chance. We are antiquarian booksellers who buy and sell carefully selected books for collectors and researchers in many genre. We also sell important autographs and photographs as well as original art, including wood engravings by Winslow Homer and J. J. Lankes; lithographs by Miró, Matisse, Calder, Wengenroth, and others; and works from the American Etching Revival. You can reach us by telephone: (757)378-5400; or by email: twbooks1@cox.net.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- 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...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Facsimile
- An exact copy of an original work. In books, it refers to a copy or reproduction, as accurate as possible, of an original...
- 12mo
- A duodecimo is a book approximately 7 by 4.5 inches in size, or similar in size to a contemporary mass market paperback. Also...
- 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...
- Reprint
- Any printing of a book which follows the original edition. By definition, a reprint is not a first edition.
- 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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