Lot 491: DRAYTON, Michael (1563-1631). Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Rivers, Mountaines, Forests, and other Parts of this renowned Isle of Great Britaine . London: H[umphrey] L[ownes] for M. Lownes, J. Browne, J. Helme, J. Busbie,

DRAYTON, Michael (1563-1631). Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Rivers, Mountaines, Forests, and other Parts of this renowned Isle of Great Britaine. London: H[umphrey] L[ownes] for M. Lownes, J. Browne, J. Helme, J. Busbie, 1613. 2o (285 x 187 mm). Engraved allegorical frontispiece depicting Britannia, engraved full-length portrait of Prince Henry, both by W. Hole. 18 double-page engraved maps on guards. Contemporary English calf, covers with triple fillet border in blind and gilt and blocked in gilt at center with lozenge-shaped arabesque, spine in seven compartments with six raised bands, gilt-lettered morocco label in one, a repeated gilt ornament in the rest (joints starting, some rubbing and wear). (Some very minor marginal browning at extremes otherwise a very fine crisp copy.) Provenance: Raphe Wilbraham (early gift inscription from his brother-in-law Richard Minshull on front flyleaf); George Wilbraham (armorial bookplate); Jerome Kern (bookplate removed, his sale, January 1929, lot 438); acquired from John F. Fleming, 1967. FIRST EDITION, variant of the second state (STC 7227), with title dated 1613 and the portrait of portrait of Prince Henry captioned 'Henricus Princeps,' but all maps in the first state without page numbers. Each of the eighteen songs that form Drayton's poetic survey of Britain is accompanied by a map of the region celebrated, with personifications of rivers, mountains and towns. The notes to this first part are by John Selden (1584-1654). The second part, or a continuance of Poly-Olbion by Drayton was published in 1622. Grolier Langland to Wither 84; STC 7227; see Pforzheimer 308.

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