Chaucer Complete Works 1602 Speght Edition Folio RARE

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Offered is the great 1602 complete edition of the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, the second and best edited by Thomas Speght, printed in folio at London for Adam Islip. Included in this edition are 'The Canterbury Tales,' 'The Romance of the Rose,' 'Troilus and Cressida,' and Chaucer's translation of Boethius' 'Of the Consolation of Philosophy,' amongst numerous other works. This edition is beautifully printed in black letter (gothic type) throughout, and includes a very nice engraved title page and a wonderfully medieval woodcut illustration at the beginning of the Knight's Tale. This copy was owned by a J.W. Morris, Esq, F.L.S., as a nicely designed bookplate attests on the front endpaper; his students gave the book to the Bath Public Library in his memory, as another bookplate attests. Speght's 1602 edition, offered , is a distinct improvement upon his 1598 edition. It is the first edition to attempt systematic punctuation, includes two works ('Jacke Upland' and 'Chaucer's A.B.C., or 'La Priere de Nostre Dame') not present in the 1598 edition, is corrected in numerous places from ancient manuscripts, contains a significantly augmented 'Life of Chaucer,' contains a table showing the signification of old and difficult words, including basic etymologies, and contains another table translating the Latin and French not translated by read more