“I write of melancholy by being busy to avoid melancholy”

“I have read many books, but to little purpose for want of method; I have confusedly tumbled over divers authors in our Libraries, with small profit, for want of art, order, memory and judgement”

BURTON, Robert (1577-1640). The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton. Edited By The Rev. A. R. Shilleto, M. A. With An Introduction By A. H. Bullen. [The Anatomy Of Melancholy What It Is, With All The Kinds Causes, Symptomes, Prognostickes, & Several Cures Of It. In Three Partitions, With Their Several Sections, Members And Sublections, Philosophically, Medicinally, Historically, Opened & Cut Up by Democritus Junior]. London & New York: George Bell & Sons. 1893.

 [Printing of the 6th Edition which was originally published in 1651 with a new introduction]. Three Volumes 4to (230 x 145mm) xxxi + 505pp [1], 302pp [1], 541pp [1]. Illustrations of the author and of the famous original frontispiece.  Original binding, green cloth (imtex or buckram) with beautiful elaborate gold gilt decoration on the spine featuring book title, publisher and volume number. Top edge is also gold gilt, but the side and bottom edges are uncut paper. 

Good. Minor knocks to the boards rubbing to the green cloth on the corners. Green cloth on the spine is slightly sun-faded when compared to the front boards, there is also significant bleaching to the right hand side of Volumes I and II. Foxing is present on the front and rear pages of all volumes, but remarkably this hasn’t spread to the rest of the textblock, which is otherwise clean and in excellent condition. There is a certain “looseness” to the feel of the spine of Volume III, on inspection it proves to be completely structurally sound but this is just something to bear in mind while handling.

Front endpage of all volumes contact a beautiful Ex-Libris sticker for T C Abbott.

A book so significant we named ourselves after it! The Anatomy of Melancholy is the defining work on depression, initially published in 1621, its some 500,000 words are regarded as compassing not only all medical aspects of depression but also providing philosophical perspectives and a contextual landscape that keeps the reader both amused and engaged. It is a fascinating read, from the satirical introduction at the beginning of the text, all the way through the semi ‘stream of consciousness’ style writing Burton engages. This edition, published by Bell & Sons in 1898, is a reissue of the 6th edition with an additional introduction from the founder of the Shakespeare Head Press, Arthur Bullen. This is a beautiful book with a gloriously decorated spine in particular.