Welcome to this second installment in my three-part essay series on new editions of 17th-century women writers. This second essay discusses Alice Eardley's edition (2014) of an unusual, uncanonical literary manuscript attributed to Lady Hester Pulter of Broadfield Hall, Hertfordshire. The Pulter manuscript is a bound book (8" x 5") of 168 inscribed folios ~ poetry, "emblemes" (emblem poems), and an unfinished prose narrative on sexual violence. The book was acquired by Leeds University Library in 1975 at Christie's sale of the property of Sir Gilbert Inglefield, architect and Lord Mayor of London (1967-1968). But due to a cataloguing error, the book languished, unused and unappreciated, for two decades; it was saved from obscurity by an alert scholar in 1996. Since its recent discovery, Pulter's book has excited much attention from book historians and literary specialists. Calling herself "the nobel Hadassas" (Hebrew, "Esther"; variant, "Hester"), Pulter writes in a domestic vein as a mother of fifteen children; she also writes as an ardent Stuart royalist. But the best of her work exists in a wholly different dimension, as when she explores the astral plane of comets, planets, and (yes) extraterrestrials ("Mee thinks I play at football withe the stars"). It was this thrilling attachment to other worlds and meta-realities (the New Astronomy) which evidently saved Hester Pulter from debilitating depression. This essay will also discuss Eardley's editorial methodology and challenges as she transferred a dedicated body of writings from the manuscript medium into quite another: print. A Gallery of Images is included. Displayed here, alongside the top board of Pulter's book, is a contemporary woodcut of the curious Su creature of Patagonia, praised in Pulter's ["Poem 57"]. < Click here for essay. >
formerly the
Americana Exchange
Americana Exchange
US / Canada Toll Free
(877)-323-RARE [7273]
(877)-323-RARE [7273]
Rare Book Monthly
-
Sotheby's Fine Books & Manuscripts
Available for Immediate PurchaseSotheby’s: Balthus, Emily Brontë. Wuthering Heights, New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1993. 6,600 USD.Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens. Complete Works, Philadelphia & London: J.B. Lippincott Company & Chapman & Hall, LD, 1850. Limited Edition set of 30 volumes. 7,500 USD.Sotheby’s: John Lennon, Yoko Ono. Handwritten Letter from John Lennon and Yoko Ono to their Chauffer. 1971. 32,500 USD.Sotheby’s: Winston Churchill. First edition of War Speeches, Cassell and Company, Ltd., 1941. Set of 7 volumes. 5,500 USD.Sotheby’s: Andy Warhol, Julia Warhola. Holy Cats First Edition, Signed by Andy Warhol. 1954. 30,000 USD. -
Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 11. Blaeu's Superb World Map on a Polar Projection (1695) Est. $5,500 - $7,000Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 36. Schedel's Ancient World Map with Humanoid Creatures (1493) Est. $14,000 - $17,000Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 49. One of the First Lunar Globes to Show the Far Side of the Moon (1963) Est. $1,000 - $1,300Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 5. The First World Map with Lavish Allegorical Vignettes of the Continents (1594) Est. $15,000 - $17,000Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 55. Anti-British Propaganda Map with Churchill as an Octopus (1942) Est. $2,000 - $2,300Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 197. One of the Most Influential Maps of Westward Expansion (1846) Est. $9,500 - $12,000Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 10. Scarce Pitt Edition of Carte-a-Figures Map of the World (1680) Est. $9,500 - $11,000Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 220. A Fine, Early Rendering of San Francisco (1874) Est. $2,200 - $2,500Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 707. Hand-Colored Image of the Presentation of Jesus with Gilt Highlights (1450) Est. $1,600 - $1,900Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 80. One of the Most Important Maps Perpetuating the Myth of the Island of California (1680) Est. $3,250 - $4,000Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 725. Homann's Atlas Featuring 26 Folio-Sized Maps in Original Color (1715) Est. $4,500 - $5,500Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
Lot 169. One of the Earliest Maps to Show Philadelphia (1695) Est. $4,750 - $6,000 -
![<b>Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 11:</b> DALVIMART, Octavien ou d’ALVIMAR(T)]. CLARK. The Military Costume of Turkey](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/ca2d66a9-721d-4878-a2eb-51a7bb9a3889.jpg "<b>Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 11:</b> DALVIMART, Octavien ou d’ALVIMAR(T)]. CLARK. The Military Costume of Turkey")
Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 11: DALVIMART, Octavien ou d’ALVIMAR(T). The Costume of TurkeyGros & Delettrez, Feb. 11: DALVIMART, Octavien ou d’ALVIMAR(T)]. CLARK. The Military Costume of TurkeyGros & Delettrez, Feb. 11: HOMMAIRE DE HELL, Ignace-Xavier. LAURENS, Jules. Voyage en Turquie et en PerseGros & Delettrez, Feb. 11: POSTEL, Guillaume. De la République des TurcGros & Delettrez, Feb. 11: PREZIOSI, Amadeo. Stamboul. Souvenir d’Orient.Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 11: COSTUMES. EMPIRE OTTOMAN.Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 11: PRISSE D'AVENNES, Achille Constant T. Emile. L'Art ArabeGros & Delettrez, Feb. 11: PRISSE D'AVENNES. Histoire de l'art EgyptieGros & Delettrez, Feb. 11: BESANCENOT, Jean. Costumes et types du Maroc.Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 11: COSTUMES OTTOMANS. Suite de figures ottomanes à l’aquarelleGros & Delettrez, Feb. 11: LES MILLE ET UNE NUIT, contes arabesGros & Delettrez, Feb. 11: SCHLEGEL, Hermann et A. H. VERSTER van WULVERHORST. Traité de Fauconnerie - PlanchesGros & Delettrez, Feb. 11: THEVENOT, Melchisédec. Relation de divers voyages curieuxGros & Delettrez, Feb. 11: