Folio (288 x 189 mm). Woodcut device on title-page. (Lacking initial blank and one other preliminary leaf, title browned and slightly frayed, A1 silked, some minor browning or spotting). 19th century half morocco (rebacked and repaired, old calf cover bound in).

FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH of La historia d'Italia, "undoubtedly the greatest historical work that had appeared since the beginning of the modern era. It remains ...the final triumph of the Florentine school of philosophical historians which included Machiavelli, Segni, Pitti, Nardi, Farchi, Francescto Vettori and Donato Giannotti " (J. A. Symonds). Guicciardini is regarded as the first "universal" historian, placing Italy within the larger context of the European system of states and demonstrating the interdependence of political events across the continent. ESTC S120755; STC 12458a.