SECRET MEMOIRS RENAISSANCE POPE Folio Society PIUS II

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SECRET MEMOIRS OF A RENAISSANCE POPE: THE COMMENTARIES OF AENEAS SYLVIUS PICCOLOMINI PIUS II Please See All Pictures! London, England: The Folio Society, 1988. Thick 8vo / Hardcover w/slipcase / 383 pp / Illustration / Near mint / Beautifully designed Folio Society edition of this unique Papal memoir. Please see our other eBay auctions this week! BUY A BUNCH - We combine shipping for multiple auction winners! We Ship Worldwide! Pope Pius II , born Enea Silvio Piccolomini ( Latin Aeneas Sylvius ; October 18, 1405 – August 14, 1464) was Pope from August 19, 1458 until his death in 1464. Pius II, "whose character reflects almost every tendency of the age in which he lived", was born at Corsignano in the Sienese territory of a noble but decayed family. His longest and most enduring work is the story of his life, Commentaries , which is the only autobiography ever written by a reigning Pope. The Folio Society is a publisher of fine books, and also a species of book sales club , based in London.The Folio Society was conceived by Charles Ede (1921–2002), who had been inspired by private press publishers, including Golden Cockerel Press and Nonesuch Press . Indeed, Ede persuaded Christopher Sandford , then partner in the Golden Cockerel Press, to become a founding partner in Folio with Ede and Alan Bott, and several early publications (including the 1952 publication of Thomas Jefferson Hogg 's Memoirs of Prince Alexey Haimatoff ) were realisations of projected GCP publications. Folio and the Golden Cockerel Press shared premises in Poland Street until 1955. The Folio Society was, however, never intended to compete in the very exclusive private press market and Ede aimed instead to produce 'a poor man's fine edition' – a well-designed, printed and bound book to which the common man could aspire.The Folio Society issued its first three titles in 1947. In October of that year Tolstoy 's Tales went on sale for sixteen shillings, and it was followed in November and December by George du Maurier 's Trilby and a translation of Aucassin et Nicolette , establishing a pattern of monthly publication that was retained for many years.In 1971 Folio was purchased by John Letts and Halfdan Lynner, although editorial continuity was ensured by the retention of Brian Rawson, Editorial Director from 1956. In the subsequent decades, the Society developed the technique of publishing series such as the collected novels of Dickens , Trollope , Hardy , Elizabeth Gaskell and Conrad , over several years as a means of attracting and retaining members.Between 1987 and 1991, Folio produced a number of 'Folio Fine Editions', printed by letterpress , and subsequently it has introduced a series of deluxe, limited edition publications at substantially higher prices, often facsimiles published in conjunction with The British Library . These are priced on a volume-by-volume basis, but at least one publication per year is made in the £500–£900 range. In 2007 the Society began publishing a new letterpress limited-edition of Shakespeare's plays in the same price-range.In 1994 Folio moved to its current offices at 44 Eagle Street, Holborn . The current chairman and owner of the Society is Lord Gavron .Until 1954 most Folio books were issued with printed dust jackets , but during the latter half of the 1950s coloured card slip cases were introduced, to protect the books and retain focus on the decorative bindings. Solander boxes are generally used to protect the deluxe editions.Folio publications are printed in a range of formats (in 1951, for example, these included Royal Octavo , Medium Octavo, Crown Octavo and Demy Octavo) and custom sizes are also common. Use of materials also varies greatly, with occasional innovations such as the use of aluminium foil for Aldous Huxley 's Brave New World in 1971 and vegetable parchment for Voltaire 's The Calas Affair in 1994. Marbled papers (often produced by hand by Ann Muir ) have been used... read more

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