The Theater of Honour and Knight-Hood. Or a Compendious Chronicle and Historie of the Whole Christian World. By Andrew Favine. London: William Jaggard, 1623.
FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH OF THIS MONUMENTAL HISTORICAL WORK OF THE WORLD AND ITS RULERS, INCLUDING DISCUSSIONS OF KNIGHTS, JOUSTS, COMBATS, CEREMONIES, HERALDRY, AND
THE KNIGHT'S TEMPLAR!
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A fascinating work printed the same year and by the same printer as William Shakespeare's first folio. The University of Iowa writes of this book: "This elaborate and beautiful book includes many images and is printed in both red and black ink. It is a far more sophisticated production than [Shakespeare's] First Folio. Jaggard started production on the Theater at about the same time as work on the First Folio commenced, early in 1622. The two books shared a similar schedule... and they were finished late in 1623, just after William Jaggard had died."
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Provenance:
Bookplate of "John Fenwick of Newcastle Upon Tyne. Attorney at Law." The bookplate was designed by Lamberts Sculpt. The bookplate is mentioned in the Catalogue of British & American Book-Plates by Augustus Wollaston Franks (1906) which dates the bookplate at 1827 and notes other later bookplates; one of which has the following information added to it, "Born at Hexham, 14 April, 1787, married at Alnwick, 9 June, 1814".
John is also mentioned in Men of Mark 'twixt Tyne and Tweed by Richard Welford where his lineage and history is noted. The book mentions that he was a Baptist who was involved with the leading nonconformist movements. He was active in promoting piety and benevolence.
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Size: 230 x 336 x 75 mm (approx.)
Condition:
[(2), title, 14pp., 12 plates, 572pp.]; [pp.1-32, pp.35-406, *1-*2, **1-**6, 2M1, pp.407-538pp, (2)]
Full calf binding, intricate gilt tooling between raised bands, retaining tooled red morocco label to upper spine. Binding a little rubbed and scuffed with minor losses, a little more so to the head and foot of spine as typical. Joints a little rubbed but with both boards fully attached, the binding secure and without shelf lean. Top page edge dulled as typical but edges generally very good. Hinges reinforced with cloth and leather a little raised at the top rear joint. A little shelf wear and loss to corners.
Edge toning to endpapers as commensurate with the full calf binding. Bookplate to front pastedown with a small sticker at the foot. Mildly toned throughout the text block without any writing throughout. Some minor damp staining to the last few leaves. Plate 8 with a bit of loss to bottom outer corner, just touching lower part of image. A few closed tears throughout. In volume two F2 and F10 are bound twice. After pp.406 the collated unpaginated gatherings lack four leaves total before resuming at 2M1. A few mispaginations and lacks leaf C5 in volume two else collates as complete through the text blocks.
[STC 10717; ESTC S121368; OTA A00580].
