6.25" H x 4.25" W x 1" D
A handsome Victorian Macmillan printing of Francis Bacon’s Essays and “Colours of Good and Evil,” edited with notes and a glossarial index by W. Aldis Wright (Trinity College, Cambridge). Dated London: Macmillan and Co., 1881, this volume was produced for serious readers and students who wanted Bacon’s sharp, quotable wisdom in a reliable, annotated form. Bacon’s essays are short, punchy, and surprisingly modern, covering ambition, friendship, truth, adversity, power, revenge, and the art of living well, all written in that cool, observant voice that made him one of the great minds of early modern England. This edition also nods to the historic roots of the text by including an early title-page reference to the 1625 expanded printing, connecting your shelf directly to the era when Bacon’s final version took shape.
Collectors also love this one for the look: full blue leather binding with an elegant gilt-tooled spine, red title label, and marbled endpapers and marbled text block edges that glow with that classic Victorian “cabinet library” feel. There is also a charming contemporary gift inscription dated May 1884, adding a little human story to the book’s journey through time.
Language: English
Title: Bacon’s Essays and Colours of Good and Evil (with Notes and Glossarial Index)
Author: Francis Bacon (Francis, Lord Verulam; Viscount St. Alban)
Editor: W. Aldis Wright, M.A. (Trinity College, Cambridge)
Publisher: Macmillan and Co.
Place of Publication: London
Publication Date: 1881
Edition/Series: Golden Treasury Series
Volume: Single volume
Binding: Full blue leather binding
Features: Gilt-tooled decorative spine, red spine title label, gilt border framing on boards, marbled endpapers, marbled text block edges
Illustrations/Plates: Frontispiece. Not illustrated
Provenance: Gift inscription dated May 1884 (“Maria from Mrs P”)
Condition: The blue leather binding remains solid and attractive, with visible surface rubbing, scuffs, and handling marks consistent with age, especially on the boards and at the edges and corners. The spine shows decorative gilt tooling and a red title label, with expected wear but still presents very nicely on the shelf. Internally, the pages are clean and readable with scattered age toning and foxing, most noticeable on the preliminary leaves. Marbled endpapers and marbled text block edges are present and add strong decorative appeal. A period gift inscription dated May 1884 is present at the front.
