The Histories by Herodotus
Published by The Folio Society in 2020 as a luxurious, limited edition, now incredibly rare to be spotted in the wild.
The first great work of history, exquisitely bound in full-grain leather. "Historians often like to think that they follow in Herodotus' footsteps; but this magnificent volume is not just an inspirational book - it is a thing of beauty too." (Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads and Professor of Global History at Oxford University)
Herodotus’ The Histories combines an exhilarating account of the defeat of the mighty Persian empire by a shaky alliance of Greek city-states with entertaining digressions, astonishing facts and scurrilous gossip. It earned Herodotus the epithet ‘the father of history’ from Cicero and 2,500 years after it was written, this foundation work of Western literature remains a cornerstone of every library.
PRODUCTION DETAILS
- Limited to 750 hand-numbered copies and 20 lettered copies hors de commerce, out of which this is copy number N.
- Limitation tip blocked in gold foil signed by Robin Waterfield, Nick Hayes and Peter Frankopan.
- Bound in full-grain leather blocked in gold and black foils with a design by Nick Hayes.
- Translated by Robin Waterfield, introduced by Peter Frankopan and with editorial material by Carolyn Dewald.
- 824 pages set in Haarlemmer and printed on Abbey Pure paper.
- Frontispiece and nine two-colour illustrations by Nick Hayes, as well as two two-colour maps.
- Woodstock endpapers printed in gold with a design by Nick Hayes.
- Gilded page tops.
- Ribbon marker.
- 11½" x 8".
- Presented in a cloth-covered slipcase blocked with a design by Nick Hayes, with lining printed with a design by Nick Hayes.
The sumptuous full-grain leather of the binding was tanned using only vegetable products, aniline-dyed a magnificent teal and was meticulously hand-polished by Harmatan and Oakridge in Northamptonshire, the traditional heartland of British leather production. The experts at Smith Settle in Yorkshire undertook the binding and the text was printed not far away in Sheffield. The green of the two-colour printing complements the binding perfectly and the paper is of course FSC certified, sourced only from responsibly managed forests. In addition to the illustrations, binding and slipcase designs, Nick Hayes has coloured the two maps by Kevin Freeman, to make them both more beautiful and more legible, something which Herodotus himself would surely have appreciated, having complained that 'not one of all the people who have drawn maps of the world has set it out sensibly'. And Peter Frankopan’s engaging new introduction is exclusive to this edition.
CONDITION REPORT
Near-fine, almost-immaculate condition, with only the usual light wear around extremities due to the slipcase being slightly too tight for the book (as is the case with every copy of this limited edition that we have seen so far). Lovely, rounded spine with no forward lean, clean edges, straight corners and pristine pages. In a near-fine slipcase exhibiting only the lightest of shelf-wear.
Now a sold out book and, due to its limitation and high desirability, a very rare one to come across.
Please consult all photos before purchasing to make sure you are happy with the condition of the book(s). Should you have any questions or want more photos, please do not hesitate to reach out. All our books are stored in a smoke-free, climate-controlled library.
PACKING, SHIPPING AND RETURNS
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