Beautiful Leather Bound Books

London: James Duncan, 1834. 6 volumes, 8 1/2 inches tall. Two fine sets in uniform early Victorian full calf with gilt raised bands, gilt tooling to the panels and twin labels. Blind fillets and corner tools frame the boards. Portrait. Foxing to the preliminaries and then clean. From the recently dispersed Country House library of Bridehead in Dorset.

Edinburgh: C. Elliot, 1809. 5 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A very neat Georgian full calf with gilt raised bands, pallets and contrasting twin labels. With the armorial bookplate of John Burton Philips of Heath House. Embellished with an engraved portrait and 26 splendid engravings by Rowlandson and others. Although entitled Miscellaneous Works, this charming set includes all of Smollett's major literary works other than his continuation of Hume's History of England. Each work has its own title page and collation. Slight rubbing and slight foxing to the plates but overall a fine set of the Works of one of Scotland's best novelists.

London: John W. Parker and Son, 1858-1870. 12 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A splendid set in Victorian full straight grain calf with gilt raised bands and fine gilt tooling to the panels. Foxing to the preliminaries, then clean. The 12 volume set is divided into two sets of 6 volumes both entitled 'The Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth'. Portrait. A fine Country House set from the Library of Bridehead in Dorset.

London: W. Allason; et al., 1819. 12 volume set, 8 1/4 inches tall. A exceptionally good looking Regency full calf with wide extra gilt raised bands, blind tooling to the panels and twin labels. With one engraved portrait and two folding maps, as called for. A few small marks to the boards, otherwise in excellent condition, inside and out. First published in 1776, Gibbon's 'Decline and Fall' was initially planned as a history of the final years of the Roman Empire but was expanded in scope to the history of the whole Roman Empire. It is still considered to be one of the greatest histories ever written.

London: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1849. Full morocco, 7 1/2 inches tall. An impressive Victorian binding with gilt raised bands, fine extra gilt tooling to the panels and boards, gilt dentelles and all edges. Engraved illustrations throughout. Slight rubbing and a neat ink inscription, dated 1852, on the first blank. Philip Henry Gosse was an English naturalist who popularised many aspects of natural science. He natural created the world's first public aquarium at London Zoo in 1853, and coined the term "aquarium".

London: Baldwin and Craddock & Dublin: Wakeman, 1836. 5 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. An early Victorian half calf with wide gilt bands, label and dense blind tooling to the panels. Portrait, engraved title pages and full page engravings from illustrations by W. H. Brooke throughout, of a scurrilous nature! Rubbed and chipped and foxing to some plates, but a solid and complete set of this scarce work.

London: T. Caddell, 1822. 10 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A very smart country house set in full Georgian blue straight grain calf with wide gilt raised bands and ornate gilt tooling to the panels. There is an armorial device on the boards, framed within a wide blind roll and twin gilt fillets. With the Fothergill bookplate of the library from which the books were recently dispersed. Although perfectly smart on the shelf and with no splitting and with a clean text, many of the boards have evidence of being nibbled by long defunct insects. An early octavo edition in a very good looking, though blemished, Georgian full calf binding.

London: Jones & Co., 1822. Full calf, 3 1/2 inches tall. A delightful miniature Georgian full calf with gilt raised bands, red labels and gilt tooled panels. The blocked basket weave boards are framed within blind and gilt rolls. With the armorial bookplate of Robert Williams of Bride Head, a recently dispersed Dorset Country House. There is the Bookseller & Stationer (and Bookbinder's) ticket of J. Nisbet of Oxford Street. Portrait. Both binding and text block are in fine and clean condition. A lovely copy of one of the 18th century's most popular poems.

London: J. Robson, 1796. 2 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A most attractive copy of this influential work in 18th century tree calf with gilt bands, red label and delicate gilt centre tooling, typical of the period. With the bookplate of Bride Head, a recently dispersed Dorset Country House. This enlarged 2 volume edition compares the picturesque with "the sublime and the beautiful; and, on the use of studying pictures, for the purpose of improving real landscape".

London: John Murray, 1842. Full Calf, 9 3/4 inches tall. An extraordinary Victorian binding by the great firm of White of Pall Mall, and with their binder's ticket. With gilt raised bands, splendid extra gilt panels , very wide dentelles and all edges gauffered. With remarkable mosaic gilt tooling to the boards with green and black onlays with richly gilt tooled panels. There is rubbing to the boards, some superficial staining and bumped corners but still a wonderful example of this great binding. The borders and ornamental vignettes are by the great Victorian designer Owen Jones and the numerous illustrations are by David Roberts and others.

London: Macmillan and Co., 1911. Full calf, 6 inches tall. An exceptionally pretty full calf with raised bands and highly ornate gilt tooling to the panels and boards. The binder's stamp 'Bound by Otto Schultze & Co. Edinburgh' has been partially erased. From the 'Golden Treasury Series', which were regularly beautifully bound for the 'West End Carriage Trade' at Christmas.

London: MacMillans' 1892. Full morocco, 7 1/4 inches tall. A superb full crushed morocco with raised bands, gilt titles, dentelles and all edges. A gilt coronet atop the initial 'R' is on the upper board. Some rubbing to the shoulders. With the bookplate of Durdans, Rosebery's Surrey country house. Inscribed to The Earl of Rosebery on the first blank, a letter in the same hand is loosely inserted and a blind stamp on the title page. Lord Rosebery famously said that he had three aims in life: to win the Derby, to marry an heiress, and to become Prime Minister. He achieved all three.

London: Routledge, c.1895. Full calf, 8 inches tall. An adaptation of this great early 17th century novel 'for the young', bound in splendid tree calf by Bickers, with gilt raised bands, contrasting label and fine gilt tooling to the panels, all in pristine condition. An ornate gilt roll frames the prize device of Wellington College on the upper board. The prize bookplate of Wellington College is on the front paste down end paper. Embellished with 206 illustrations by Sir John Gilbert and other artists, including 4 in full colour.

Edinburgh: Sutherland and Knox and London: Hamilton, Adams, and Co., 1850. 4 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall, A classic Victorian full calf by Hatchards of Piccadilly with gilt raised bands, twin labels and ornate gilt tooling to the panels. An ink inscription dated Christmas Day, 1850 on the third blank. From the country house 'Bride Head' Library. With 2 engraved portraits and 4 engraved title pages. A fine set on the life of the great Scottish economist and churchman, Thomas Chalmers, by his sin-in-law.

London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1848. 3 volume set, 9 inches tall. A remarkable Victorian full mottled extra gilt calf binding. We have never seen a binding quite like it, with gilt raised bands, twin labels, the volume labels being extraordinarily ornate and with very fine extra gilt panels. Gilt dentelles and all edges. A neat ink inscription 'on leaving Eton, 1866' on the first black. Slight foxing to the preliminaries, otherwise clean, the bindings themselves are in pristine condition.

London: John Murray, 1835. 2 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A very good looking Victorian full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and handsome gilt tooling to the panels. Triple blind fillets frame the boards. Speckled edges. With the armorial bookplate of Charles Finch Foster of Anstey Hall in Trumpington. The engraved portrait is foxed, the rest of the text and further engravings are all clean. With fine engraved portraits throughout. Samuel Butler's great 17th century satirical mock-heroic poem, inspired by Cervantes' 'Don Quixote', was written just before the restoration of Charles II. The plot is one of continuous humiliation for Hudibras, one of Cromwell's knights in the New Model Army.

Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and London: Hurst, Robinson and Co., 1822-1830. 53 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A magnificent set in bound in the highest quality Georgian full hard grain morocco with gilt raised bands and superb extra gilt panels. Gilt and blind fillets frame the boards. All edges gilt. Each volume has an engraved title page and further full page engravings. There is a degree of foxing, mostly to the engraving, but a generally very clean set. There is some scratching and a couple of small gouges, but is very smart and has absolutely no splitting or loss. A remarkable set.