The Most Delectable History of Reynard the Fox

[Bound together with:] The Most Pleasant and Delightful History of Reynard the Fox. The Second Part. Containing Much Matter of Pleasure and Content. Written For the Delight of young Men, Pleasure of the Aged, and Profit of all. To which is added many Excellent Morals. London: Printed by A.M. and R.R. for Edward Brewster, 1681. [And:] The Shifts of Reynardine, The Son of Reynard the Fox, Or a Pleasant History of His Life and Death. Full of Variety, &c. And may fitly be applied to the Late Times. Now Published for the Reformation of Mens Manners. London: Printed by T.J. for Edward Brewster, and Thomas Passenger, 1684. Three parts in one small quarto volume (7 5/16 x 5 9/16 inches; 186 x 141 mm.). [156], [2, table of contents], [2, publisher's advertisements]; [111], [1, publisher's advertisements]; [8], 160 pp. Mostly black letter, with titles and side notes in roman letter. Sixty-two woodcuts in the first part, printed from thirty-nine blocks, and fifteen woodcuts in the second part, five repeated, all repeats from the first part. Most cuts signed "E.B." (Edward Brewster). Woodcut on C1 recto (Part I) printed upside down. Some browning, occasional light damp staining and soiling. Part I with tiny puncture marks in the lower blank margin through gathering I, just touching one letter in the imprint on the title-page, six small holes in I3 and one tiny hole in I4, causing loss of a couple of letters. Part III with paper flaw in the upper blank corner of A3 and A4, tiny tear (1/4 inch) in the lower blank margin of F4, and paper flaw in the lower blank corner of I2, none affecting text. Contemporary sprinkled sheep. Covers ruled and decoratively tooled in blind, spine decoratively tooled in gilt in compartments with two red morocco gilt lettering labels. Some expert restoration to joints and corners. Armorial bookplate of Gloucester on front free endpaper. Bookplate of Hugh Cecil Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale (1857-1944) on front pastedown (his sale, 12 July 1937, lot 445). An excellent copy. Housed in a felt-lined quarter brown morocco clamshell case, spine with five raised bands, decoratively tooled and lettered in gilt in compartments. Reynard the Fox, "hero of several medieval European cycles of versified animal tales that satirize contemporary human society. Though Reynard is sly, amoral, cowardly, and self-seeking, he is still a sympathetic hero whose cunning is a necessity for survival. He symbolizes the triumph of craft over brute strength, usually personified by Isengrim, the greedy and dull-witted wolf. . The main literary tradition of Reynard the Fox descends from the extant French 'branches' of the Roman de Renart (about 30 in number, nearly 40,000 lines of verse). The facetious portrayal of rustic life, the camel as a papal legate speaking broken French, the animals riding on horses and recounting elaborate dreams all suggest the atmosphere of 13th-century France" (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature). There is some variation in chapter number within the early editions: From "Caxton's first edition (1481) to Thomas Gaultier's only edition (1550), the story is divided into 43 chapters" while the anonymous edition (1560-1585) has 58 chapters (Varty). By the 17th century when the text is titled The Most Delectable History of Reynard the Fox, it appears with only 25 chapters and maintains its image cycle. Early 17th century editions also maintained this "picture cycle" through Edward Brewster's 1662 edition, but at this point the Wynkyn de Worde blocks were extremely worn and new set was created (Varty). Forty images were used for his second edition (1671) and all contain his initials EB. "He published further illustrated editions in 1676, 1681, 1694, and 1701. in 1672 he grafted new life onto the old story with A Continuation, Or Second Part of the Most Pleasant and Delightful History of Reynard the Fox" (Varty) for which he eventually created an additional 15 illustrations. In 1684 he would produce an additional. …