Froissart's Chronicles Jean Froissart

TITLE: Chronicles of England, France, Spain and the Adjoining Countries by Sir Joh Froissartm translated by Thomas Johnes, Esq., 2 volumes, George routledge and Sons (London), 1868. DESCRIPTION: 2 vols., thick octavo 8v., 10 x 7 1/4 inches (255 x 184 mm), Vol. 1 - 768 pages, Vol. 2 - 733 pages. Illustrated with 116 woodcut illustrations ad over 70 illuminated color plates taken principally. from the Bibliotheque Royale and British Museum manuscript editions, including color lithographed title pages. Custom vintage bindings of full red morocco with gilt lettering and tooling on the spines between five raised bands, gilt ruling surrounding each raised band with gilt decoration on the raised bands, front and rear covers with gilt ruling around the periphery and small tooled designs in each corner, elaborate tooled gilt designs around the leather turn-ins. Marbled endpapers and pastedowns. All edges of text block gilt as well. Both volumes protected with clear archival Grafix Dura Lar dust wrappers._____CONDITION: Light even soiling and rubbing along the edges of the binding covers of both volumes. Superficial tears along the papers of the front inner hinges for both volumes without affecting the binding's stability or stability of the pages. ext blocks firm and square, external hinges intact. No names, inscriptions ex-libris, etc. Remarkably free of the toning and foxing often seen in this edition. Overall, a clean, attractive set presented in full red morocco vintage bindings that have been well maintained and preserved._____DISCUSSION: This is an important edition with the finest 19th century English translation available. The famous 7-volume Shakespeare Head Press edition uses the antiquated translation by Lord Berners from 1525, a tedious unpleasant read that requires a translation for the translation. Although there are several modern twentieth century English translations, they are not available in a fine or private press edition. The Johnes translation was taken from the French editions with variations and additions from many celebrated manuscripts and it remains reasonably current and modern. This edition of the Chronicles is prefixed by "a life of the author (Froissart), an essay on his work, and a criticism in his history", giving a more complete picture of the age of Chivalry. The principal attraction of this edition, however, is the inclusion of over 100 medieval woodcuts and a magnificent collection of hand-colored plates taken from historic medieval manuscripts, greatly enhancing Froissart's vivid portrayal of 14th century life. The color plates have been exceptionally well reproduced from the originals and they bring Froissart's chronicles to life. Overall, an attractive set in a pleasing translation. _____NOTE: This is an extremely heavy, bulky set and will require an additional domestic shipping charge. International shipping cost to the United Kingdom and Europe is $75 U.S. dollars.