Luxury Books

London: Longman, Rees, et al., 1837. 4 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. An exceptionally fine mid-Victorian full calf from the library of Alfred de Rothschild, but without his bookplate. With gilt raised bands, twin labels and flamboyant gilt tooling to the panels. Twin gilt fillets frame the boards. Some foxing to the preliminaries, otherwise pristine. William Russell's history has here been edited and revised with some important corrections and continued to the death of William IV of England.

London: Lawrence & Bullen, 1891. 2 volume set, 7 inches tall. A splendid tree calf binding by Otto Shulze of Edinburgh with raised bands, fine gilt tooling to the panels and labels. A delicate gilt fillets frames the boards, wide dentelles and gilt top edge. Bookplate. This excellent large paper edition is printed on hand made paper and limited to just 200 copies. Edited by Alfred Pollard and with a preface by Algernon Swinburne, who considered Herrick to be "the greatest song writer ever born of English race". A lovely set of the most celebrated works of this great English 17th century poet.

Edinburgh: John Grant, 1924. 12 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A splendid set in an early 20th century half crushed morocco by Sangorski & Sutcliffe. In an elegant but simple binding, suitable for these great novels with raised bands, gilt titles and gilt to edges. Photographic illustrations. Slight blotchiness to a couple of spines but still a fine clean set.

London: John Murray, 1901. 2 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A beautiful Edwardian full calf binding from the library of Alfred de Rothschild, but without his bookplate. With gilt raised bands, twin labels and beautiful gilt tooling to the panels. Gilt and blind fillets frame the boards. Foxing to the preliminaries then pristine. Illustrated throughout. The notorious Lady Sarah Lennox was 'Daughter of Charles, 2nd Duke of Richmond, and successively the Wife of Sir Thomas Charles Bunbury, Bart.; and of the Hon: George Napier'. The work also includes 'a short political sketch of the years 1760 to 1763 by Henry Fox, 1st Lord Holland'. A favourite of both King George II and King George III she led a remarkable and scandalous life.

London: John Murray, 1845. 2 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A classic Victorian full calf binding by Bickers with gilt raised bands, twin labels and extra gilt tooling to the panels. Twin gilt fillets and corner tools frame the boards. A neat inscription "....On his leaving Eton Xmas 1866." on the first blank. A handsome clean set of Lappenberg's greatest work translated into English for the first time.

London: Baldwin and Cradock and J. Murray et al., 1832-33. 18 volume set, 7 inches tall. A very pretty set in an Edwardian binding by Riviere in the 'Art Nouveau' style with gilt raised bands and delicate floral gilt tooling to the panels. Git top edges. Each volume has an engraved frontispieces and vignette on the title pages. There is small shelf ticket on the pastedown endpapers. The Anglo-Irish novelist and children's writer, Maria Edgeworth, was one of the most read novelists in the first half of the nineteenth century. Now best remembered for 'Castle Rackrent', this is a fine edition in a splendid binding.

Edinburgh & London: Cadel & Company and Simpkin and Marshall, 1829-1833: 1829. 48 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. A very good looking early Victorian full calf binding with gilt raised bands, twin labels in scarlet and dark olive and fine gilt panels. Red speckled edges. Every volume has a fine engraved frontispiece and vignette on the title page. Armorial bookplate of Walter Johnson 'Onus Sub Honore'. Some marks and scuffs to the boards and light foxing to the preliminaries but a fine clean set of probably the most influential and popular novels of the 19th century.

London: David Bogue, 1855. Half morocco, 6 3/4 inches tall. A handsome little binding with gilt bands and titles. Engraved portrait. Subtitled 'exhibiting the most are and remarkable objects of interest in the Metropolis; with nearly fifty years' personal recollections'. From the library of Alfred de Rothschild but without his bookplate.

London: The Albion Press James Cundee and John Scott, 1809. Full morocco, 12 inches tall. A splendid full Regency straight grain morocco binding with twin gilt raised bands and superb gilt horse centre tools. Magnificent gilt and blind rolls and corner tools frame the boards. Elaborate gilt dentelles and all edges gilt. Embellished with engraved portrait, frontispiece, title and a further 12 full page engraved proof images of horses and 11 woodcut vignettes by Bewick. With the armorial bookplate of Thos. Rawson Esq. 'Laus Virtutis Actio' upside down inside the lower board. Some foxing, heavy on 2 gatherings and a little rubbing and slight fading to the spine but still a lovely copy of this classic work.

Paris: Chez Nyon, Saillant, Desaint, 1766. 2 volume set, 6 3/4 inches tall. A beautiful 18th century tree calf binding from the celebrated Library of Lord Macclesfield and with his 2 armorial bookplates and, as usual, his armorial blind stamps. With gilt bands, superb gilt tooling to the panels and twin labels. Yellow edges. The contents are complete with the two folding engraved plates and woodcut devices to the title page, decorative initials and head and tail pieces. Slight rubbing. This is the history of Xenophon's brilliant military leadership in leading the 10,000 Greek mercenaries in their retreat from Cyrus's attempt to take control of the Achaemenid Empire in the 4th century B.C.. In the original French.

London: J. Dodsley, 1784. Full calf, 8 1/2 inches tall. A very handsome 18th century speckled calf with gilt bands, twin labels, tiny star centre tools and curious gilt fillets to the boards. With a very nice booksellers/binders ticket. With the bookplate of Ellen James. Some rubbing but overall a fine copy of these mainly fictionalised letters.

London: Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, 1821. Full morocco, 9 3/4 inches tall. A glorious later full morocco binding by the great firm of Bedford in pristine condition. With gilt raised bands, superb floral gilt tooling to the panels, triple gilt fillet framing the boards, wide gilt dentelles and top edge gilt. With the armorial bookplate of Bertram Freeman Mitford, Earl of Redesdale, grandfather of the Mitford sisters. With 36 hand coloured aquatints by I.R. and George Cruikshank and 3 folding pages of songs. Two of the plates (facing pages 286 and 310 are laid down without the titles). The images illustrate the hilarious and bawdy adventures of Jerry and his companions in London. With adverts and original wrappers bound in. A beautiful example of the first edition.

Edinburgh: Archibald Constable, 1819. Half calf, 8 1/2 inches tall. A splendid Regency binding on half 'Russia' calf, with gilt raised bands, blind pallets and ornate, dense extra gilt panels. Particularly interesting marbled paper on the boards. From the library of Alfred de Rothschild but without the bookplate. Some foxing on the engraved frontispiece, otherwise clean. A tear on one leaf, not affecting the text. Romanticized by Sir Walter Scott and John Buchan, 'The Great Montrose', Seventeenth century Scottish nobleman, poet and soldier, fought for Charles I in the Civil War.

London: Baldwin, Cradock et Joy, 1824. 2 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A splendid Regency binding on half 'Russia' calf, with gilt raised bands, blind pallets and ornate, dense extra gilt panels. Particularly interesting marbled paper on the boards. From the library of Alfred de Rothschild but without the bookplate. An anonymous work on the life of this extraordinary woman with 'correlative details of the literature and manners of Italy and Provence in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries'. With some foxing and a couple of paper tears not affecting the text. A lovely set.

Paris: Malepeyre, 1822. 2 volume set, 4 1/2 inches tall. An exquisite little set in a Regency full calf with gilt raised bands and very delicate git and blind tooling, so typical of the period, to the panels. A single gilt fillet frames the boards. Engraved portrait frontispiece in the first volume. Printed in Paris in English. With the bookplate of Eleanor Mure crossed out and the signature of R.J Mure above it. Some superficial marks to the boards but overall a very fine little set of one of the most important and influential novels of the era.

London: John W. Parker, 1857-1861; Longmans, Green, and Co., 1872; Sampson Low et al., 1880. 7 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. Superb Victorian full calf bindings by the great firm of J. Leighton of Brewer Street from the library of Alfred de Rothschild, though without his bookplate. The 'History of Civilization in England' and 'Miscellaneous and Posthumous Works' are both first editions. With gilt raised bands, twin labels and neat gilt frame around a sunburst centre tool to the panels. Some foxing to the preliminaries and a slight stain to the title page of The life of, otherwise perfectly clean. Buckle, the highly influential English historian and author was an exponent of 'Historical Science'.