A rare first edition copy of Machiavelli’s infamous political treatise ‘The Prince’ is up for auction

For years, historians knew of only ten copies of Niccolò Machiavelli’s first edition The Prince– the controversial 16th century political treatise – all in the hands of institutions.

However, they recently learned that an eleventh copy was in the hands of a private collector, which is now going to auction. Sotheby’s will be selling the book soon Books and manuscripts auction in London, where it could fetch as much as $375,000.

The book was printed in 1532, five years after the author’s death. The dominant text inside is actually Machiavelli’s Florentine Historiesa long chronicle of Florence commissioned by Pope Leo. But experts are more interested in the book’s inclusion The PrinceMachiavelli’s most famous work, which he wrote around 1513.

“We were not aware of any other examples in private hands, and this is the first example that we are aware of that has come to auction, certainly in recent decades.” Gabriel HeatonSotheby’s books and manuscripts specialist, says CNN‘s Amarachi Orie. He adds that this particular copy is in the first edition of The Princewith an Italian connection from the early 17th century, is ‘very interesting’.

According to a statement from Sotheby’s, The Prince is “one of the most infamous and influential books of all time.” In the early 16th century the author was a civil servant in the city Florentine Republic. But in 1512 the infamous Medici family regained control of Florence. Machiavelli was that imprisoned and tortured on suspicion of conspiring against the Medicis, and while exiled to his father’s estate south of Florence, he wrote The Prince– what some consider the First modern treatise on political science.

The Prince is essentially a ‘handbook for statesmen’ that provides guidance on ‘how political rulers can stay in power’ NPRSylvia Poggioli wrote on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the treatise in 2013. One of the work’s most famous lines is: “My opinion is that it is desirable to be loved as well as feared; but it is difficult to achieve both, and if either must be lacking, it is much safer to be feared than loved.”

Machiavelli dedicated The Prince Unpleasant Lorenzo di Piero de’Mediciwho ruled Florence between 1513 and 1519. The text circulated in manuscript when Machiavelli was alive, and historians know that at least seven copies were made before its official publication in 1532said Sotheby’s. In 1559 the Catholic Church was banned The Prince; it would not be published again in Italy until 1630.

Since The Prince‘s publication, Machiavelli’s name has become “synonymous with political deceit, cynicism and ruthless use of power,” as NPR wrote, though some scholars have argued that the philosopher does not deserve this reputation. Today the term “Machiavellian‘ is often used to describe deceitful actions taken in an attempt to gain power.

“We have one of the greatest works of political theory of all time, one of the most famous books of the 16th century, and it’s a very first edition,” Heaton told CNN. Sotheby’s is “delighted” to offer the “incredibly rare book,” he added.

This copy is also lightly annotated. An anonymous reader included a parenthetical passage in chapter 18 that contains “some of.” The Prince‘s most strikingly modern statements about the need for a clever politician to manipulate the gap between appearance and reality for his own purposes,” the statement said.