December 2012 Auction Ends Tuesday, December 18th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/18/2012
Very rare 1649 copy of ''Eikon Basilike'' or, ''Royal Portrait,'' written anonymously as an autobiography of King Charles I. Initially published just days after the King was beheaded in 1649 by Parliament in the aftermath of the English Civil War, the book became immensely popular, undergoing over thirty printings by various entities in England that year, with conflicting opinion about what order the printings were issued. First sold expensively to elite royalists, the ''King's Book'' combines diary-style entries with a series of prayers, painting a picture of Charles as a noble martyr. While it reads as though written by Charles himself, it is now often credited to John Gauden, Bishop of Worcester. Considered treason to own a copy during the Roundhead period, the text even began circulating in miniature editions that were easy to conceal on a person. Scholars credit the tome with laying the groundwork for the Restoration by redeeming Charles I's image in the eyes of the public, even to the extent that it is thought his life may have been spared by public demand had the book been published before his execution. The famous engraving of ''Charles at Prayer'' frontispiece is intact. Book is bound in dark leather with a gilt royal cipher to front and back. All edges gilt. Some small holes in the leather and binding is separating, as expected with age. Overall in very good condition.
Rare 1649 Edition of King Charles I Purported Autobiography, Published 10 Days After His Beheading -- With Incredibly Scarce Allegorical Frontispiece Intact
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