Calf Bindings

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: MacMillan and Co., 1897 & 1898. 2 volumes, 7 1/2 inches tall. A superb little set of these classic books by Kipling bound uniformly by Mudie in sparkling Victorian half morocco with gilt raised bands, blind pallets and gilt centre tools. Decorated throughout with vignettes and full page illustrations. Some foxing, overall a fine set.

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.

London: Rivington; Cadell et al., 1820. 4 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A superb Regency full calf with wide gilt raised bands, twin contrasting red labels and ornate and dense blind tooling to the panels. Twin gilt fillets and 2 elaborate blind rolls frame the boards. With the pink binder's ticket of G. Cruikshank of Liverpool on the reverse of the front free endpaper of the first volume. Slight browning to the plates, otherwise clean. A splendid set of the works of this great Anglo-Irish writer.

London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1875. Half morocco, 9 inches tall. A very good looking tall copy of the first edition in a half straight grain morocco by Bayntun Riviere. With gilt raised bands, appropriate gilt 'coaching' centre tools and gilt top edge. Slight fading on the upper board. The 12 chromolithographs of illustrations by Henry Alken have a great nostalgic charm without detraction from the hardship involved.

London: F.C. and J. Rivington, 1807. 2 volume set, 8 1/4 inches tall. A really good looking full Regency full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and unusual and striking gilt tooling to the panels. Triple fillets frame the boards. Blue speckled edges. An interesting book of anecdotes, which was extended to 6 volumes in 1812. At the end of volume 2 there is a manuscript leaf describing how Beloe lost his situation as librarian at the British Museum having allowed 'Deighton who stole the fine prints from the Museum' free access to volumes of prints which he proceeded to strip and replace with lesser prints!

London: John Major, 1836. 2 volume set, 9 inches tall. A beautiful early Victorian full morocco by Riviere with gilt raised bands and ornate gilt tooling of the highest quality to the panels. Triple gilt fillets and corner tools frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and top edges. With the armorial bookplate of William Charles Smith. With 10 engraved plates. A splendid set of this most entertaining work by the great English bibliographer, Thomas Frognall Dibdin.

London: John Macrone, 1838. 2 volume set, 9 inches tall. An exquisite late Victorian half morocco by Worsfold with gilt raised bands, very fine 'Napoleonic' gilt tooling to the panels and gilt top edges. Engraved portrait. The Extraordinary Francis Maceroni was an inventor, diplomat, balloonist and soldier. As a Colonel of Cavalry he was aide de camp of Murat during the Napoleonic Wars. Later he developed steam carriages but after various misfortunes was left penniless. A splendid set of this remarkable history.

London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1872-1874. 3 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A handsome set in full calf with twin labels and delicate gilt tooling to the panels. With the armorial bookplate of the 1st Earl of Northbrook of Stratton Park, Viceroy of India 1872–1876. Slight foxing to the title pages, then clean. Originally planned as a 2 volume set, was then extended to 3. A fine set of this interesting work.

Madrid: Imprenta de José M. Ducazcal, 1853. Full calf, 8 3/4 inches tall. A beautiful full Spanish calf by Riviere with triple olive labels, gilt bands and floral centre tools on a smooth back. Triple fillets and corner tools frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. With the armorial bookplate of renowned connoisseur and collector Reginald Huth, his neat signature, dated 1880 on the first blank, and 2 address labels addressed to him slipped in. There is the stamp of a Madrid bookseller on the title page. A superb example of the second edition, with the 13 full page engravings, as called for, in pristine condition. In the original Spanish.

London: Griffith, Farran, Okeden & Welsh, c.1882. Full calf, 7 1/2 inches tall. An exceptionally bright and good looking Victorian tree calf on this fine edition of Longfellow's Poetry. With gilt raised bands, fine gilt tooling to the panels, a contrasting blue label and all edges gilt. Foxing to the preliminaries, otherwise clear.