Földvári Books

The Scarcest Early Edition of Persiles

Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de

Los trabaios de Persiles y Sigismunda. Historia setentrional. […].

En Pamplona: Por Nicolás de Assiayn [Asiaín], Impressor de libros, y a su costa, 1629. In later cardboard, covered with marbled paper. Handwritten title label on spine in ink. Shelfmarks on front pastedown in pencil and ink, shelfmark vignette on rear pastedown. ff [1(title page)] [1]–296 [Complete, with several misnumberings to foliation and quire signatures]. Collation: 8º: 𝜋1 A–Z8 2A–2O8. Title page with loss at the upper corner no effect to text, tears at the upper and outer edges, affecting the text, but no loss, wormholes and damp stain at the gutter. Sporadic damp stains throughout, a brown stain on ff. 57v and 58r. Small defects of the paper occasionally with a tiny loss to text on f. 166r.

Extremely scarce, early Pamplona edition of Persiles, Cervantes’s last work. “Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda was Cervantes’s last work, finished four days before his death and published posthumously in 1617. Although it has been overshadowed by Don Quijote, Cervantes himself regarded Persiles y Sigismunda as his masterpiece: in his introduction to the Novelas ejemplares he describes Persiles as the book with which he would rival the great Greek writer Heliodorus”. (EMS, 2005) Persiles was first published in 1617 in Madrid by Juan de la Cuesta, and within the same year six others appeared. By 1629 ten editions were published, testifying the immense popularity of the author and his book, and after the present 1629 Pamplona-edition, which is by far the scarcest among all, there was no other issues until the 18th century. Extremely scarce. Rius had not seen any copies of this edition, quoting it from another source. IB (and USTC) lists only 2 copies in Italy (Biblioteca nazionale centrale, Florence) and Denmark (Det Kongelige Bibliotek, Copenhagen). No auction records on Rarebookhub.com. IB 24776; USTC 5033468; Palau 53903; Rius 355; Simón Díaz, v. 8, 943  Literature: [EMS, 2005] Persiles y Sigismunda. (2005, July 25). Early Modern Spain. http://www.ems.kcl.ac.uk/content/proj/cerv/pers/pro-cerv-pers.html.

Price: €16,000.00