Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Maroon cloth, backed in gilt-stamped maroon morocco; 8vo; pp. [16], 28, 72. Backstrip heavily chipped; some leaves trimmed close. Bookplate of Joseph Lilienthal. ESTC, R19821; Macdonald, Dryden, 92; Pforzheimer, 321.
Seller: Sanctuary Books, A.B.A.A., New York, NY, U.S.A.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Description: Small 4to, [i-xvi], 28,72pp; unsigned binding of full red morocco in the manner or Riviere, titled in gilt on spine between two raised bands; marbled endpapers, a.e.g. The two leaves with prologue, epilogue, and dramatis personae are present but bound out of proper sequence. One of Dryden's last plays, the final act was partly written for him by Thomas Southern. Macdonald 92. Scattered spotting; front cover detached; bookplates of Bibliotecha Drydeniana and Albert Parsons Sachs
Seller: Locus Solus Rare Books (ABAA, ILAB), Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
DRYDEN, John. CLEOMENES, THE SPARTAN HEROE. , 1692.
Price: US$375.00 + shipping
Description: DRYDEN, John. CLEOMENES, THE SPARTAN HEROE. A Tragedy, as it is acted in the Theatre Royal. To which is prefixt The Life of Cleomenes. London: Printed for Jacob Tonson ., 1692. First edition. Quarto. A4,a2,*B-*C4,d-e4,B-K4. 21.5 x 16.5 cm. [12],28,[4],72 pp. In a shelfworn Roxburghe-style binding: black quarter leather with marbled paper sides, gilt-stamped spine title. One leaf (*C4, pp. 15-16 in `The Life') has a 9 cm horizontal closed tear near the bottom edge. The top of the running title on p. 43 (G2r) is shaved. Otherwise some mild age-staining and spotting throughout, and in very good condition overall. This was the next to the last of Dryden's plays to be produced. Owing to Dryden's illness, the fifth act of the play was completed by Thomas Southerne. The life of Cleomenes was translated from Plutarch by Thomas Creech. It is believed that the revival of some of Shakespeare's Roman plays about this time turned the attention of both playwrights and public to classical themes. (Macdonald 92; Pforzheimer 321; ESTC R19821).
Seller: Boston Book Company, Inc. ABAA, Boston, MA, U.S.A.
DRYDEN, JOHN. CLEOMENES, THE SPARTAN HEROE. A TRAGEDY. Printed for Jacob Tonson, London, 1692.
Price: US$520.00 + shipping
Description: 216 x 167 mm. (8 1/2 x 6 1/2"). 8 p.l., 28, 72 pp. Plain modern boards, reddish-brown leather spine with gilt lettering. Pastedown with book label of Marion C. Walker; verso of title and p. 51 with ink stamp of Selbourne Library; text with a couple of marginal notations and pen-trials in a contemporary hand, including the signature of John Warburton(?) on p. 63. Macdonald 92; Pforzheimer, 321; Wing D-2254; ESTC R19821. âLoss of a few letters because of tear at lower outer corner of e2, leaves trimmed a bit close at top (as very often), but without anything touched, paper lightly browned and with scattered faint foxing, ink stain to margin of a couple of leaves, other minor imperfections, but still an excellent copy overall--clean throughout, and in a binding with virtually no signs of use. Set in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy III, this heroic tragedy centers on the Spartan king Cleomenes, who has just fled his native Greece following a major defeat in Macedonia. While he seeks the pharaoh's aid to regain the throne of Sparta, Cleomenes spurns the advances of Ptolemy's mistress, Cassandra, and is thrown in jail. After breaking free from captivity, Cleomenes attempts to incite revolt in Alexandria, but his bid is unsuccessful, and the play ends in his suicide. The work was briefly banned by Queen Mary II for its perceived Jacobite sympathies following the Glorious Revolution. It was also one of the last works our author wrote for the stage; owing to his failing health, Dryden enlisted his friend and fellow playwright Thomas Southerne to help him complete the final act of the play.
Seller: Phillip J. Pirages Rare Books (ABAA), McMinnville, OR, U.S.A.