The Works of Francis Bacon, Lord Chancellor of England

London: William Pickering, 1834. First edition thus. Hardcover. Very Good+. 16 vol. For pagination, please inquire. Later (mid-nineteenth century) smooth calf with twin gilt borders on each board, gilt decorations to the boards' edges and turn-ins, spines in six compartments, a red and green morocco label lettered and decorated in gilt on each spine; all edges yellow. Marbled endpapers and pastedowns. Bound by F[rancis] Bedford. With a slip tipped in, stating "Subscription Copy No. 454." Text in English and in Latin. Volume one illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Bacon and a two-plate facsimile of Bacon's writing; volume two with a folding chart; volume four with a frontispiece portrait, beautifully engraved, and one additional plate; volumes five, six, and seven with a frontispiece; volume eight with a frontispiece and an additional illustration: a facsimile title page of Bacon's Opera from 1623; volume nine with a folding facsimile of a letter of Bacon's; volume ten with a facsimile title page of Bacon's works from 1638. A new edition by Basil Montagu. Kelly 1825.2. Keynes 51. Packer 15. Ramsden 36. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "Francis Bacon". The first edition of Pickering's Bacon. Our volume 16 with both parts of Montagu's Life of Bacon present, including his index and notes. An elegant, beautifully bound set of Bacon's writings. Lord Francis Bacon was a renaissance man: a lawyer, philosopher, scientist, social scientist, critic, and politician. He was fervently active during Queen Elizabeth I's reign and the beginning of King James I's reign, litigating and writing as his financial situation demanded. Bacon is credited with precipitating The Royal Society, and establishing a whole new humanistic dimension to science and the scientific method. He stands as a revolutionary figure in British history. Each volume with a charming bookplate, four joints neatly repaired, some of the leaves with light to moderate foxing. A few volumes show subtle wear to their joints, with the front joint of volume eight starting.