Sylva Sylvarum: Or, A Natural History in Ten Centuries, and New Atlantis.

Small folio (11 ¼ x7 ½ ), modern calf spine and corners and marbled boards, morocco lettering piece, engraved title page from 1676 edition inserted, [2], 12, 2, 14, 215, [23], 221-228, [11], 64, 31 pp. Lacking original engraved frontispiece title but one from later edition inserted (some tears and chips along edges), additional original title present, light wear to edges, faint dampstain, and light foxing; otherwise very good. This is an interesting collection of the miscellaneous scientific writings and experiments of Francis Bacon (1561-1626), appended with his utopian work “A New Atlantis.” The book first appeared the year after his death, edited and published by William Rawley, but went through a number of editions reflecting the popularity of his writings. While Bacon would be well educated in his early years, as the youngest son in his family, he would be left without land, money or position upon his father’s death in 1579. However, thanks to his tremendous intellect and political skills, he would have a very successful political and intellectual career, and would prosper under James I. Among his many accomplishments would be obtaining the post of attorney general, but bribery charges would bar him from ever holding public office again. He would publish a good deal in his later years, and legend suggests that his intellectual curiosity would eventually cost him his life, when he caught chill after experimenting with the impact of cold temperatures on decaying meat. More recently, it has been suggested that his death was caused by “inhaling remedial substances” in an effort to improve his health. ODNB. STC 1173.