SCOTTISH ARTIST & NOVELIST ALASDAIR GRAY’S COPY - The Enlightenment: An Interpretation. Volume II: The Science of Freedom.

Alasdair Gray’s copy, with an original manuscript poem in red ink and pencil to the half title page and continuing on the final index page. The poem (potentially a work in progress, as indicated by its numerous corrections) considers the nature of power and wealth, beginning: “The loneliness of power / self pity for the / many hearts you broke / neglect of friends / such bitter sauces make your feasts taste sweeter”, apparently inspired by his reading of the text, dealing as it does with the birth of modernity and the philosophical and political ideas and structures which have come to shape the present.

In addition to the poem, Gray – the influential and highly innovative Scottish painter, novelist, playwright, poet and editor – has also annotated the text itself, with his ink marginal lines and occasional single-word verbal annotations scattered throughout, revealing his typically close engagement with the text. Gray’s foremost interest appears to have been in the chapter regarding the politics of education, where most of the pages bear annotation, and where both of the detached pages reside.

The second volume of Peter Gay’s celebrated history of the Enlightenment, describing the ways in which the thought of the period was applied to various spheres, particularly the social sciences, including political economy, history, and sociology.

Paperback reprint. Publisher’s original laminated card wrappers. A good copy, the covers with light marking and wear to the extremities and with chipping to the spine ends. The contents with two detached text pages (which have a little associated wear to the edges) and the occasional minor mark are otherwise in good order.