Beautiful Leather Bound Books

London: John Murray, 1854. 4 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. An exceptionally attractive Victorian full blue calf with gilt raised bands, triple labels including superb volume number labels and fine gilt tooling to the panels. With a portrait and 4 engraved title pages. There are some scratches to the boards and the spine is slightly faded, otherwise pristine. Irish born Oliver Goldsmith was one of the most popular writers of the Georgian era and is still admired for the humour and brilliance of his writing.

London & Glasgow: William Collins, 1846. 5 volumes, 7 1/4 inches tall. A pretty little run with gilt bands, two labels and extra gilt tooling to the panels. Portrait. Some rubbing and heavy foxing to the preliminaries, then clean. With the neat ink signature of George Henry Capron of Stoke Doyle , dated 1847, on the first blank. A good looking run of this classic work on the Protestant Reformation.

London: James Carpenter, 1807. Full calf, 6 1/2 inches tall. A beautiful Regency mottled calf in pristine condition. With extra gilt tooling on a smooth back with a label and extraordinary mottling to the boards within a fine gilt roll. With the Fothergill bookplate and the stenciled mark of the Earls of Belmore, one of the great Irish titles. Philip John Ducarel was born in Calcutta and became known as the poet of the Forrest of Dean, where he resided for the rest of his life.

London: John Murray, 1887. 2 volumes, 7 inches tall. Smart Victorian full calf with gilt raised bands, labels and neat gilt tooling to the panels. Gilt prize blocks to the upper boards and prize paper labels on the paste down end papers. Hugely influential works, Smiles was described as the 'New Plutarch' by George Bernard Shaw. 'Self-Help' was referred to as "the bible of mid-Victorian liberalism" raising Smiles to celebrity status on its publication.

Amsterdam: 1745. 2 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. An exquisite full crushed morocco binding by Reymann with gilt raised bands and exceptionally fine and delicate tooling to the panels. Triple gilt fillets frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. The whole work is remarkably bright and clean. There is a small black ink stain in the margin of pages 3-6 in volume one and no frontispiece to volume 2 was ever bound in. Embellished with an engraved frontispiece to volume 1, engraved vignettes to both title pages, Engraved tailpieces and 68 engravings illustrating the tales. In the original French.

London: George Routledge and Sons, c.1880. 3 volume set, 7 1/2 inches tall. A bright half calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and gilt tooling to the panels. Profusely illustrated throughout. A smart little set of this popular edition of one of the greatest biographies in the English language.

Chichester: Printed by W. Mason for T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1809. Full calf, 6 1/2 inches tall. An exceptionally pretty little Regency tree calf binding with gilt bands and extra gilt panels and contrasting red label. Speckled blue edges. The tree calf is framed within a Greek key pattern roll. With the Fothergill armorial bookplate. With an old previous owner's signature ", Elizabeth Hile, Spinster" on the first blank. A splendid copy of this work by the once highly popular English 18th century poet and biographer.

London: John Murray, 1833. 3 volume set, 9 inches tall. A handsome late Victorian binding in crushed half morocco by Hatchards with raised gilt bands and gilt framed panels and top edges. With the armorial bookplate of Charles Cammell and the signature of Chas. Cammell, dated 1913 on the first blanks. Slight foxing. Embellished with 44 engravings by the Findens from designs by Turner, Stanfield etc.. A good looking set of this fine edition.

Edinburgh: Adam & Charles Black, 1853. 60 volumes, 6 1/2 inches tall. A bright Victorian half calf with raised bands, twin labels and extra gilt panels. Each volume has an engraved title page and frontispiece. The occasion mark and minor scuff, overall in excellent condition with no loss or splitting. The Novels are complete in 48 volumes, the Poetical Works complete in 12 volumes, resulting in this superb uniformly bound collection. A splendid set of these classic works, some of the most influential writing of the 19th Century.

London: John Van Voorst, 1837. Full calf, 8 1/2 inches tall. Full early Victorian calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and dense gilt tooling to the panels. The spine is faded to gold, overall a delightful binding on a work of Natural History more whimsical than scientific. Illustrated with nearly 200 engravings in the text.

London: J. Nichols, F.C. and J. Rivington et al., 1813. 21 volumes, 9 1/2 inches tall. A remarkable and beautiful Regency full tree calf binding with gilt bands, triple labels, including charming olive volume number labels, and lovely gilt tooling to the panels. The striking tree calf boards are framed within a rather jaunty gilt roll. A name has been removed from the head of the title page of the first volume, there are a few scratches, a little superficial loss to the ubiquitous defunct insect and occasional light foxing but overall a splendid bright set in wonderful condition with absolutely no splitting. With notes by Samuel Johnson and George Steevens, revised by Isaac Reed with is a particularly respected edition with a large, highly readable text.

London: John Sharpe, 1825. 2 volumes bound in 1, 5 1/4 inches tall. A charming little Georgian full calf binding with gilt raised bands, label and fine embossed blind tooling to the panels and boards which are framed within triple gilt and blind fillets. All edges gilt. A neat ink inscription is on the first blank from a previous owner, Elizabeth Shyring (?), dated 1829. The 2 engraved frontispieces are foxed, otherwise clean.

London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1869. Leather spine and wooden Mauchline Ware boards, 7 inches tall. With raised bands and gilt tooling to the panels around a thistle centre tool. The front board bears in image of Queen Victoria seated in front of spinning wheel above some text, the rear board shows Dunkeld Cathedral. The volume is illustrated with the 6 engravings called for and numerous vignettes but also with 12 mounted original photographs. All edges gilt. There is a little foxing especially to the mounts of the photographs but overall in excellent condition, with no chipping to the boards.

Antwerp: Ex Architypographia Plantiniana apud Albertum Moretus, 1837. Full morocco, 15 3/4 inches tall. A huge tome in a superb full morocco with gilt raised bands and extra gilt tooling to the panels. The boards have splendid gilt tooling framing the monogram of the Greek spelling of Jesus, Iota Eta Sigma, the traditional Christogram symbol of Western Christianity. There are 7 silk finger tabs. All edges gilt. There are some marks and slight sporadic foxing but no splitting or loss. A very impressive example of this great Roman Catholic liturgical work containing the instructions, prayers, chants and responses of the Roman service in Latin.

London: John Murray, 1850. Full calf, 8 1/2 inches tall. A splendid binding with gilt raised bands, contrasting label and extra gilt panels. Some rubbing, foxing and slight fraying to the fore edge of one plate. With 12 colour plates and vignettes throughout.

London: Scott, Webster, & Geary, 1839. 4 volume set, 9 inches tall. In a magnificent Victorian full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and superb extra-gilt tooling to the panels. Twin gilt fillets frame the boards. With an engraved frontispiece and 22 engraved portraits. Slight foxing to the plates and the preliminaries, otherwise clean. From the library of George Capron of Southwick Hall. An extremely smart set of this classic history of the Reformation of the Church of England by this great historian, philosopher and theologian.

London: John Murray, 1830. 3 volume set, 6 inches tall. A curious set in full early Victorian diced calf with gilt raised bands twin labels and blind embossed tooling to the panels. With the ink signature of George H. Capron dated 1840, of Southwick Hall. A splendid little set of this scarce title fresh from an English Country House.

London and New York: The London Printing and Publishing Company, 1860. 3 volume set, 11 inches tall. An impressive set in Victorian full diced calf with gilt raised bands, contrasting label and gilt tooling to the panels. Red edges. Some rubbing but with no splitting. Embellished with 7 folding hand coloured maps and 66 engraved views, portraits and maps. The portrait of Lord Raglan appears not to have been bound in. This History gives 'Full Details of the Operations of the Allied Armies'. A very clean and handsome set of this great History of the Crimean War.

London: J. Valpy, 1832. 15 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. A splendid William IV half vellum with fine contrasting calf labels, gilt bands and extra gilt tooling to the panels. Speckled pink edges. Some marks and stains and foxing on the preliminaries and plates, otherwise clean. With a previous owner's name (Edmund Salwey Ford) on the paste-down endpapers. With 170 line engravings after the plates in Boydell's edition. With a life, glossary and notes.