Meson del Mundo.

FIRST EDITION, title within border of woodcut ornaments, probably washed, paper repairs to to first 15 and last few leaves, occasionally a few others, mostly marginal but with the occasional loss of a letter or two, or folio number, cut a bit close in places, ff. [viii], 140, small 8vo, resewn (a bit tightly), and recased in old (?18th-century) sprinkled calf, red lettering piece on spine, rebacked, preserving most of the original spine. Very rare first edition of Ribera's late satirical novel, his most extensive prose work, with commendatory verses by Lope de Vega (who also provided the Censura) and Juan Pérez de Montalbán. USTC records a dozen copies, of which 4 are in the BNE, and only 4 outside the Iberian peninsula (no shelf mark given for the the Hispanic Society's copy, the only one in the US). No copy in RBH. Some copies are dated 1632: the Licence is dated November 1631. A modern edition is by Edward Nagy, New York, 1963. In the progression from the world as a labyrinth (Góngora, et al) to the world as a stage, the world as hostelry (or inn) is the third step. The novel is discussed in Chapter XVII of Joaquín Hazañas y La Rúa's Biografía del poeta sevillano Rodrigo Fernández de Ribera y juicio de sus principales obras, 1889, at the conclusion of which Hazañas reveals that he had only been able tolay hands on one copy of this 'tan precioso libro.' (Moreno Garbayo, 816; Palau 89645; USTC 5006263).…