Cottoni posthuma : divers choice pieces of that renowned antiquary Sir Robert Cotton, knight and baronet : preserved from the injury of time and expos'd to publick light for the benefit of posterity

Cotton, Sir Robert Bruce, and James Howell, Esq. (1594?-1666), Cottoni Posthuma: Divers Choice Pieces of that Renowned Antiquary, Sir Robert Cotton, Knight and Baronet. Preserved from the Injury of Time, and exposed to the publik light, for the benefit of posterity, by J. H. Esq. London: Printed by M.S. for C. Harper and are to be Sold by W. Hensman ant T. Fox, at the Kings Arms, and at the Angel in Westminster-Hall, 1679.

Octavo, 4x6.5 in Third Edition, A-4, B-Z8. This book has been rebound in brown tooled calfskin and has gilt lettering on the spine. The leaf edges have been marbled (contemporary) and the leaves are in overall good condition with only slight browning and spotting.
Sir Robert Bruce Cotton:
An avid antiquary and an illustrious member of parliament and was well known for his valuable and large private library and for the many pamphlets he had penned. "It is regretted that [Cotton] did not concentrate his attention on some great historical work. […] His power of research was inexhaustible. Only two works, both very short, were printed in his lifetime, 'The Raigne of Henry II,' 1627 and 'The Dangers wherein the Kingdom now standeth,' 1628. But numerous other pamphlets were circulated in manuscripts. Many of his tracts were issued as parliamentary pamphlets at the beginning of the civil wars. In 1657 James Howell collected fourteen of Cotton's tracts, under the title of "Cottoni Posthuma, dedicated to Sir Robert Pye." This work includes such interesting tracts as 'A Discourse of the Legality of Combats, Duells, or Camp-fight,' 'Valour Anatomized in a Fancy' by Sir Philip Sidnet, 'The Life and Raign of Henry the Third,' and 'The Manner and Means how the Kings of England have supported and improve'd their States.' The extremely prolific writer and translator, Sir James Howell, was the editor of this work. Howell wrote poems, historical works, translated, wrote dictionaries and many letters. 'Howell is one of the earliest Englishmen who made a livelihood out of literature. He wrote with a light pen […]his pamphlets and his occasional verse exhibit exceptional faculty of observation, a lively interest in current affairs, and a rare mastery of modern languages, including his native Welsh.[…] Throughout the Commonwealth Howell's pen was busy. (All citations DNB) Wing C6487; TCI, 93