Beautiful Leather Bound Books

London: William Pickering, 1846. 2 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. An exquisite late Victorian crushed morocco by Ramage, with gilt raised bands and superb gilt tooling to the panels and the boards in the form of a Cambridge panel. Gilt dentelles and all edges. With the label of George Sherriff. This fine printing for William Pickering also contains a reprint of the 1647 edition of Herrick's 'Noble Numbers: or, His Pious Pieces'. Robert Herrick was a great 17th century English lyric poet and theologian.

London: Suttaby et al., 1815. 2 volume set, 5 inches tall. A delightful little set in Regency full red straight grain morocco, bound with gilt bands, titles and ornate gilt tooling to the panels. A gilt fillet and roll frame the boards. All edges gilt. Engraved title pages and frontispieces. The literal and historical sense of each psalm is explained by George Horne, The Lord Bishop of Norwich. An exceptionally bright and clean set.

c. 1850. Full morocco, 24 inches tall. A magnificent and colossal full morocco by the great firm of Leighton of Brewer Street, with their ticket. A unique deluxe copy from the Rothschild library at Exbury. Bound with gilt raised bands, natural calf label and absolutely superb gilt tooling to the panels, a fabulous series of huge gilt rolls to the boards, gilt dentelles and all edges. Illustrated with an engraved title page, a dedication leaf and 50 India proof engraved plates, each with an accompanying leaf of text. Some foxing in to the preliminaries and the margins, rather than the actual images, then clean. A stunning and unique example of this very rare complete deluxe edition.

London: Peter Jackson, Late Fisher, Son & Co., c.1860. 3 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. An elegant mid Victorian full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and ornate gilt tooling to the panels. Armorial bookplate of Alfred Dent and a neat ink inscription to him 'On leaving Eton Christmas 1862' on the first blank. Embellished with 3 engraved frontispieces, 3 engraved titles and a further 43 engraved portraits and views. Complete, as listed. Slight foxing to, and facing, the plates as usual. A particularly attractive set of this much admired biography.

London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1897. 6 volume set, 7 1/4 inches tall. A sparkling late Victorian half calf bound with gilt raised bands, twin olive labels and ornate gilt tooling to the panels. Embellished with folding plans and maps. Still considered one of the classic histories of this controversial event. A splendid set.

Paris: Baudry's European Library, 1835. Full calf, 8 1/2 inches tall. A superb full calf by the Parisian binder Auguste Petit (1807-1877). Bound with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels, twin labels and extraordinarily fine and precise gilt lettering. Triple gilt fillets frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. A splendid copy of this edition by Baudry, as part of their 'European Library', printed in English on hand-made paper. Set in Athens in the 3rd century A.D., 'The Epicurean' claims to be a translation of an ancient Greek manuscript found in the Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great in Egypt around 1800.

Berlin: Photographische Gesellschaft, 1895. Full morocco, 26 inches tall. A magnificent and colossal full morocco by the great firm of Leighton of Brewer Street, but without their ticket. A unique deluxe copy from the Rothschild library at Exbury. With gilt titles and tooling on a smooth back, a fabulous series of huge gilt rolls to the boards, gilt dentelles and all edges. Embellished with 27 superb photogravures. Some foxing in particular to the preliminaries and the margins, rather than the actual images, but a stunning and unique example of this very rare edition.

Edinburgh: Cadell and Co. and London: Simpkin & Marshall, 1829-1852. 48 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. A splendid set and perhaps the most popular and influential titles in the 19th century in neat Victorian half calf. Bound with wide gilt raised bands, maroon labels and gilt and blind pallets. There is foxing to, and facing, the engraved frontispieces, mostly light but occasionally heavy, otherwise a clean complete set without a hint of any loss or splitting.

London: John Murray, 1818. Full morocco, 8 3/4 inches tall. A remarkable and beautiful Regency binding in full straight grain citron morocco. Gilt raised bands, twin labels and superb blind and gilt tooling to the panels. A series of blind and gilt rolls and fillets, fan corner tooling and inked tooling (typical of this period) embellish the boards. All edges gilt. With the grand martial bookplate of Stewart, Lord Londonderry, from the library of Wynyard Hall, the magnificent family home of the Vane-Tempest-Stewart family, Marquesses of Londonderry, until 1987. This volume contains the fourth Canto, comprehensive notes as well as 'Other Poems'. (This binding is more yellow than our other Londonderry Byron, though has the same tooling). A beautiful Regency binding.

London: J.M. Dent & Sons, 1911 & 1913. 3 volume set, 7 1/2 inches tall. A charming set of the "Breakfast-Table" series uniformly bound by Bayntun in splendid half calf with gilt raised bands, smart gilt tooled panels and twin labels. Gilt top edges. Illustrated throughout by H.M. Brock. A delightful set.

London: J.F. and C. Rivington, 1785. Half calf, 6 1/2 inches tall. A neat later half calf with gilt raised bands, gilt pallets and centre tools. A pristine example of the second edition.

London: Blackie & Son, 1878. Full calf, 8 1/2 inches tall. A very good looking Victorian full calf with gilt raised bands, label and ornate gilt tooling to the panels. Blind and gilt fillets frame the embossed gilt stamp of Cheltenham College on the upper board. There is a neat prize bookplate on the reverse of the front board. Vignettes and full page engravings. A superb example of this scarce title.

London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1875. 5 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A very handsome set in Victorian half calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and elaborate gilt tooling to the panels. Illustrate with engravings as frontispieces to each volume and further full page plates in the text. There is foxing to the tissues which has affected most plates, otherwise clean. A splendid set of this classic history of Prince Albert, Prince Consort to Queen Victoria.

London: Orr & Co., 1838. Full calf, 9 inches tall. A splendid copy of the first edition bound in full calf by Riviere with gilt raised bands, twin labels and fine gilt floral tooling to the panels. Gilt top edge and dentelles. Some foxing to and facing the plates but overall a very smart copy. With 24 humorous engraved plates by "Phiz" and others. A selection of entertaining tales of London, with such titles as 'Debtor's Prisons'; 'Penny Theatres'; 'Lunatic Asylums'; 'Gaming-Houses and Gamblers'.

London: The Berlin Photographic Company, New Bond Street, c.1900. Full morocco, 27 inches tall. A magnificent and colossal full morocco by the great firm of Leighton of Brewer Street, and with their ticket. A unique deluxe copy from the Rothschild library at Exbury. With gilt tiles and tooling on a flat back, a fabulous series of huge gilt rolls to the boards, gilt dentelles and all edges. Embellished with '27 photogravures reproduced directly from the Original Paintings in Possession of H.I.H The German Emperor'. Some foxing but a stunning example of this very rare edition.

London: Chatto & Windus, 1928. Half morocco. 8 3/4 inches tall. A fine copy in a smart half morocco with gilt raised bands and gilt framed panels. All edges gilt. A pristine copy of the first edition of this 'Tragic History' of the extraordinary romance between Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Devereux, the 2nd Earl of Essex, by a founding member of the Bloomsbury Group.

Milano: Dalla Società Tipografica de' Classici Italiani, 1821. 5 volume set, 8 1/4 inches tall. A splendid half calf on a flat back with a contrasting label and flamboyant gilt tooling. Engraved portrait. The armorial bookplate of William Ferrand. Sporadic foxing, overall a fine set of the Selected Works of this great Venetian dramatist and critic. In the original Italian.