Luxury Books

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.

London: F.C. and J. Rivington, 1823. Full calf, 5 inches tall. A delightful little Georgian full calf binding with wide gilt raised bands, superb extra gilt panels and a series of gilt and blind fillets and rolls framing the boards. The neat previous owners name, "Anne Sandars", dated 1827 on the first blank. A superb little edition of two highly influential and, in their day, very popular 18th century poets in pristine condition.

London: J. Johnson, 1808. 2 volume set, 5 1/4 inches tall. Beautiful little Regency mottled calf in pristine condition. With extra gilt tooling on a smooth back with twin labels 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. Portrait. William Cowper was one of the greatest of all English 18th century poets. His description of nature and of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside inspired the great Romantic Poets.

London: Thomas and William Boone, 1853. 6 volume set, 7 3/4 inches tall. A very neat Victorian full calf by T. Hatchard with gilt raised bands, twin labels and handsome gilt tooling to the panels. Triple blind fillets and corner tools frame the boards. Red speckled edges. Embellished with 55 full page engraved maps and battle plans. A fine set of one of the most celebrated works on the battles on the Iberian Peninsular during the Napoleonic Wars fought between the ultimately successful forces of Great Britain, Spain and Portugal against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire.

London: Reeves and Turner, 1876. 4 volume set, 9 inches tall. Beautifully bound in full calf by Ramage, with gilt raised bands, triple labels and most attractive gilt floral tooling to the panels. Gilt fillets and corner tools frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and top edges. Illustrated. A fine edition edited by Harry Buxton Forman. Although he drowned at the early age of 29, Shelley is considered one of the greatest of English Romantic poets, influencing future generations of poets. A great edition in a fine binding in pristine condition.

London: John Sharpe, 1818. Full calf, 6 3/4 inches tall. A lovely Regency binding with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels and twin gilt fillets and a gilt roll frame the boards. With the Fothergill armorial bookplate and the ink stamp of Baron Belmore, of Castle Coole in County Fermanagh. Embellished with the engravings of Richard Westall, which all have a degree of foxing. A splendid copy of one of the 18th century's most popular poems.

London: Chapman and Hall, 1874. 15 titles bound in 13 volumes, 8 1/2 inches tall. A really bright, pristine set in a Victorian full morocco binding with gilt raised bands, splendid gilt tooling to the panels, a series of very fine gilt rolls framing the boards, dentelles and all edges gilt. Each volume is profusely illustrated. A sparkling set of probably the greatest novels of the Victorian era in a binding in as near mint condition as one will ever find books of this age.

Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1910. Full calf, 7 1/2 inches tall. A fine binding in pristine condition with gilt raised bands, label and superb gilt tooling to the panels. The gilt embossed stamp of Marlborough College is framed within gilt twin fillets on the upper board. There is the prize bookplate of Marlborough College, dated 1912, on the paste down end paper. Double column. A neat copy of the complete works of the greatest English poet of the 14th century.

London: John Bumpus, et al., 1822. Full morocco, 6 inches tall. A rather splendid binding with wide gilt raised bands, gilt, blind and inked tooling to the panels. A very smart gilt roll with inked thistle corner tools frames the boards. All edges gilt. With the armorial bookplate of Robert Williams of Bride Head in Dorset. There is a stain to the engraved portrait and slight darkening of the spine, otherwise clean. A delightful little copy of the works of this great Scottish 18th century poet.

Paris: Chez Pierre Ribou, 1715. 5 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. A lovely full early 18th century mottled calf with raised bands, twin labels, which vary in colour, and ornate floral gilt tooling to the panels, so typical of the period. Triple gilt fillets frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. With the bookplate of N. F. B. le Sage and that of the Bibliotheque de Cirey, the library of Madame de Simiane at the Chateau de Cirey. With fine engraved plates throughout. Quinault was a celebrated playwright and perhaps most famous for composing libretti for Lully's works. A very scarce edition, in the original French.

London: Baynes and Son et al., 1825. Full calf, 5 inches tall. A gorgeous Georgian full calf binding with gilt raised bands and splendid gilt tooling around a Tudor rose centre tool. A fine gilt roll and blind floral roll frame the boards. Very slight foxing to the engraved frontispiece and engraved title page. A selection of the great poems of Alexander Pope, one of the greatest English poets of the early 18th century enlightenment.

London: Baynes and Son et al., 1825. Full calf, 5 inches tall. A beautiful little Georgian full calf with wide gilt raised bands and exquisite gilt tooling to the panels. A wide gilt roll and floral blind roll frame the boards. There is some slight foxing to the engraved frontispiece and the engraved title page, otherwise perfectly clean. Very popular in his day, James Thomson was a great 18th century poet, famous for these two poems and also for writing the lyrics of "Rule, Britannia!"

Oxford: University Press, 1845 & 1846. Velvet binding, 3 1/2 inches tall. A beautiful early Victorian miniature velvet binding with brass edges and perfectly functioning clasp. Superb velvet and floral sprig decorated silk doublures and gilt trimmed silk free end papers. A neat ink inscription dated 1846 on the first blank. On the clasp are the initials M.J.A.L. for Mary Jane Annabella Legh of Adlington Hall in Cheshire. Internally spotless. The velvet on the upper board is very slightly paler than on the lower board.

Oxford: J. Cooke et al.. 1795. 5 volumes, 8 3/4 inches tall. A superb English Country House 18th century tree calf with gilt bands on a smooth back, triple labels and delicate gilt tooling to the panels. A Greek key pattern roll frames the boards. Gilt dentelles and speckled blue edges. All in pristine condition. George Horne was a great defender of the High Church tradition in Anglicanism.

London: John Slark, 1886. 6 volume set, 7 1/2 inches tall. A most good looking Victorian full calf binding with gilt raised bands, twin labels and extra gilt panels. Portrait. Some loss to the head cap of the third volume. Best know for his 'Tales from Shakespeare' and 'Essays of Elia', Charles Lamb was at the heart of a major English literary circle, which included Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, William Wordsworth, Dorothy Wordsworth and William Hazlitt. His great biographer, E. V. Lucas described him as "the most lovable figure in English literature".

London: John Murray, 1888. 2 volume set, 7 1/2 inches tall. A smart late Victorian half morocco binding by Birdsall with gilt raised bands and finely gilt tooled panels. Gilt top edges. Foxing to the preliminaries, then clean, and a nick to the head cap of volume 2. An elegant set of this early edition.

London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, & Green, 1865-1861. 5 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A splendid Victorian full calf by Bickers with gilt raised bands, twin labels and very fine gilt tooling to the panels. The title labels are slightly faded but still bright and good looking. With bookplate. Slight foxing to the preliminaries then clean. A most handsome set of this classic history of England.

London: Bradbury and Evans, 1846. Half calf, 6 1/2 inches tall. A neat little Victorian binding with gilt raised bands, twin labels and gilt pallets. All edges gilt. The Author's label has been damaged and rather crudely repaired. The engraved frontispiece and title page have been trimmed. 2 ink inscriptions, the first dated Dec. 25. 1845 on the second blank. A very clean example of one of Dickens' great Christmas Books

Cologne: Chez Pierre du Marteau, 1666. 2 volume set, 5 1/2 inches tall. A splendid later, 19th century, full straight grain calf with raised bands and gilt pallets. Star corner tools and twin gilt fillets frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. With the armorial bookplate of Helen de Guerry Simpson. An interesting early biography of this great 17th century French prelate and statesman who wielded enormous influence in civil and religious affairs. In the original French.