August 1, 2010
Printed in 1648/9: The famous Eikon Basilike in an extremely early rare issue.
The Most Influential Tract if the English Revolution
Charles, King of England; John Gauden . Eikōn basilikē The Povrtraictvre of His Sacred Maiestie in his solitudes and svfferings. Rom. 8. More then [sic] conquerour, &c. Bona agere, & mali pati, Regium est. [London, Richard Royston?, possibly H. Seile: London,] 1648 [i.e. 1649]. 8vo., 269 pgs. COMPLETE, contemporary calf, front hinge largely split, some 17th century annotations. Some browning and staining as usual, A2 with old margin repair. A VERY RARE and early issue of the famous Eikōn basilikē with only one variant copy listed by Worldcat of this edition. [$1800]
“Eikon Basilike, purportedly the meditations of King Charles before his beheading, has been something of a cause celebre since its first issuance by the renegade Royalist publisher Richard Roylston at the time of the King’s execution… Milton was the first of many to cast doubts on Charles’ authorship. Opinion swung back and forth , seeming to settle on the authorship of Dr. John Gauden, until the publucation in 1950 of Francis M. Madan’s A New Bibliography of the Eikon Basilike, which demonstrated that Gauden had worked closely from Charles’ own papers.” [ref: Christies]
