Nikolas August, An Exposition of Christian Truth from the Perspectives of Philosophy, Dogma, and History [1856]

Translation: A translation signed with the pseudonym “R. Michalski”—actually Edward Tomasz Massalski

Publisher: Published and printed by the XX Missionaries, Warsaw

Year of publication: 1856 (first edition)

Volume: [VIII] + 506 pages

Size: 27 cm

Binding: Period half-leather, with embossing on the spine

Auguste Nicolas (1807–1888), a French lawyer and apologist, defends Christian truths in this work from the perspectives of philosophy, dogma, and history, responding to the rise of materialism in the 19th century. He writes in a precise and matter-of-fact style, drawing on general history and the nature of human reason. The Polish translation was published in 1856 by the Warsaw-based Missionaries of the Holy Cross; the translator signed under the pseudonym “R. Michalski.”

Provenance: On the half-title page and the inside front cover, there are handwritten notes in pen reading “Library of the Kielce Seminary, 1873” with an illegible signature, as well as an entry from 1879. In addition, there are stamps reading “Seminary Library in Kielce” and “Library of the Higher Theological Seminary in Kielce – Issued from duplicates,” indicating that this copy was legally withdrawn from the collection. The book belonged to the Kielce Seminary library from at least the 1870s.

The block is intact. The paper shows even discoloration and minor foxing; the text is legible. The period half-leather binding holds the block firmly; there is a slight crack in the leather at the top of the spine, the gilt is partially worn, and the corners show some scuffing.

An item from the 19th Polish Antiquarian Book Auction.