by Plato; Jowett, B., translator; Demos, Raphael, introduction

Published in 1937 by Random House, New York
Binding: Hardback
Condition: Very good
Comments: If you want to understand Western—indeed, world—philosophy, you have to get a handle on Plato, and if you want to get a handle on Plato, you have to read his “Dialogues.” This handy two-volume, yet unabridged, edition of what was originally a five-volume translation is a good way to do that. Current students say it that it still stands up, despite being well over a hundred years old. Benjamin Jowett—Regius Professor of Greek at Oxford University, clergyman, theologian, university AND Indian Civil Service administrator and reformer, and great friend of Florence Nightingale—continually revised his original work, and indeed this version of his translation, which originally came out in 1892, just a year before his death, was actually his third edition. By the time our copy was published in 1937, MacMillan had originally published the 1892 version and the Oxford University Press had renewed its own copyright in 1920. (Random House, in fact, says the two-volume edition is published “by special arrangement” with the Oxford publishing house.) What makes this edition different than Jowett’s original, besides the size, is that it includes his own notes in the margins as well as Plato’s words, so that readers get a commentary on Plato while they read Plato himself. They also get an fresh introduction by Ralph [Raphael] Demos, professor of philosophy at Harvard, written especially for the Random House release. The second volume ends with an index to the complete set that runs to 116 pages long.

Both of our two volumes are structurally sound and show little in the way of aging one might expect in books 88 years old. The binding is in excellent condition and perfectly tight and square, with no loose or missing pages. In fact, the pages themselves have no writing or notes or tears and, though they show some general tanning as is normal for their age, are actually quite bright. There is even surprisingly little shelfwear to the dark red buckram covers, with only a little scuffing to the corners and the top and bottom of the spine. The title, translator’s name, and Random House’s colophon are stamped in gilt on a black background over the dark red buckram spine and still show up nicely; however, the color of the fabric on the spine is slightly faded, and that means the stamping of the publisher’s name and volume number at the bottom has also faded. These volumes come from the personal library of a former headmaster of Chauncey Hall School, and the name of the school is stamped at the top and bottom of the text blocks of each volume. His name and a small doodle are written on the front pastedown of each book, and there are the barely perceptible remains of where a bookplate was removed on the front flysheets. See our photos for details.

Seller Inventory #: 0000521