Letter to a Member of the National Assembly, in Answer to Some Objections to His Book on French Affairs

Letter to a Member of the National Assembly, in Answer to Some Objections to His Book on French Affairs Edmund Burke Limited Edition by Woodbank Press Published in February 1791, Edmund Burke’s Letter to a Member of the National Assembly followed closely upon his celebrated Reflections on the Revolution in France. Written in response to criticism of that work, the letter develops Burke’s attack on the intellectual foundations of the French Revolution and, in particular, upon the influence of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Burke regarded Rousseau not merely as a political theorist but as representative of a wider rejection of inherited manners, taste and social restraint. His criticism is characteristically severe, opposing the abstract doctrines of revolutionary politics to the accumulated experience, institutions and cultivated habits of European society. The work forms an important companion to the Reflections, offering a concentrated statement of Burke’s distrust of political systems founded upon abstract theory rather than experience, tradition and prescription. The Woodbank Press Edition Published by Woodbank Press in a strictly limited edition of 25 copies. This is copy no. 6. The text is set in Monotype Bulmer, a revival of the type associated with William Bulmer, one of the most distinguished English printers of the late eighteenth century. The sheets are printed on Fabriano Tiepolo, a pure cotton paper of substantial yet supple character, well suited to fine printing and traditional binding. Each copy is bound by hand in full brown leather, the covers ruled in gilt, with a contrasting black leather spine label lettered and decorated in gilt. The edges are marbled. The volume is housed in a hand-made slipcase covered in marbled paper. The restrained typography, cotton paper and traditional binding reflect the visual language of late eighteenth-century English printing and the private press tradition. Bibliographical Details Author: Edmund Burke Title: Letter to a Member of the National Assembly, in Answer to Some Objections to His Book on French Affairs Publisher: Woodbank Press Format: Octavo Edition: Limited to 25 copies Copy: No. 6 Type: Monotype Bulmer Paper: Fabriano Tiepolo, pure cotton Binding: Hand-bound in full brown leather, covers ruled in gilt Spine: Contrasting black leather label, lettered and decorated in gilt Edges: Marbled Case: Hand-made slipcase covered in marbled paper Condition: Brand new copy in fine binding About Woodbank Press Woodbank Press publishes books in strictly limited editions, combining classical typography, fine papers and traditional hand binding. Each volume is produced as an individual book rather than as a mass-market edition.