About this Item
Unlike later Sammelband or modern rebinding examples, this copy retains its original early-eighteenth-century boards, professionally stabilized for institutional handling.? Institutions welcomed purchase. Private collectors, this is your small window to purchase a museum quality asset.
Condition
? Professionally restored spine and back board to maintain long-term stability
? Original early 18th-century boards retained
? Minor front board repair performed with respect for the original materials
? Moderate age wear expected for a 1702 volume
? Strong structural integrity following restoration
? Interior pages clean for age with typical toning
This is an early 1702 edition of The Remains of Sir Walter Raleigh, printed by Henry Mortlock in London. This volume captures the political thought, letters, and final writings of one of England?s most influential explorers and statesmen.
Why this book matters
1. Sir Walter Raleigh?s Legacy Makes Anything Connected to Him Collectible: Raleigh is one of the most mythic figures in early British and American history:
? Courtier of Queen Elizabeth I
? Explorer and colonizer
? Orchestrator of the Roanoke expedition
? Imprisoned in the Tower of London
? Executed in 1618 under King James I
His writings span political philosophy, history, colonial planning, and reflections on imprisonment and are among the earliest secular texts to influence English views of nation, empire, and the New World. Any early 1700s compilation of Raleigh?s writings contributes to this historiographical lineage.
2. Why the 1702 Edition Matters: This situates the book not just as a collectible but as a bridge between the Elizabethan age and the Enlightenment-era understanding of Raleigh
The 1702 Mortlock edition of Raleigh?s works is important because:
? It represents one of the earliest posthumous consolidations of Raleigh?s historical and political reflections.
? It was part of an early 18th-century movement to rehabilitate Raleigh?s reputation, shifting public opinion from ?convicted traitor? to ?imperial visionary.?
? The edition includes contextual materials added by Mortlock?s shop, which shaped scholarly interpretation for decades.
? Copies were read heavily, meaning survivors are rare, especially those with original boards intact.
3. Why U.S. Institutions Care: Although Raleigh never set foot in North America, his influence on colonization is foundational. Institutions in the United States maintain active Raleigh research collections specifically because:
? He funded the Roanoke Colony, the first English attempt at a permanent New World settlement.
? His writings framed early English colonial ambitions.
? Raleigh?s historical treatment informs early American identity, myth-making, and colonial narratives.
Because this edition is from 1702, the era in which American colonies were beginning to solidify English identity, it functions as a primary artifact of colonial-era historiography.
Seller Inventory # ABE-1765835171732
Contact seller
Report this item
