Luxury Books

London & Boston: The Medici Society, n.d. c.1920. Full morocco, 5 1/2 inches tall. A scarce little edition in a full crushed morocco binding by Hatchards. A delightful volume containing several obscure as well as more familiar Christmas Carols.

London: Henry Frowde, 1912. Quarter vellum, 8 inches tall. An attractive binding in the Art Nouveau style with gilt bands on a smooth back with a gilt rose design. Gilt top edge. Some foxing to the preliminaries, then clean. This edition "including materials never before printed in any edition of the poems".

London: Macmillan and Co., 1910. Full morocco, 6 inches tall. An exquisite binding by Ramage with gilt raised bands, dense gilt tooling with tiny blue band onlays and exceptionally fine gilt tooling with extensive blue onlays to the boards. With elaborate gilt tooled dentelles on watered silk doublures and free 'end papers'. Ink inscriptions on first blank. One of the best titles in Ramage's repertoire of little luxury binding in pristine condition.

London: Hector M'Lean, 1823. 5 volume set, 5 1/2 inches tall. A delightful full Regency straight grain morocco with wide gilt raised bands and exuberant floral gilt tooling to the panels. A blind and gilt tooled lozenge is framed within a wide blind roll and twin gilt fillets. All edges gilt. There is a neat ink former owner's name, 'Sarah Darell Vawdrey' on the first blanks. Embellished with a portrait and engraved full page illustrations throughout. A charming selection of the works of this great Anglo-Irish writer in a fine binding.

London: Bickers and Son, 1873. 2 volume set, 9 inches tall. A superb Victorian full calf binding by Mansell. With gilt raised bands, delicate gilt tooling to the panels and very fine labels, in particular the radiant volume labels. The bookplates have been rubbed to obscure the name and there is considerable rubbing to the shoulders but still a sparkling set of these great theatrical works.

London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1873-1876. 10 volumes, 8 1/2 inches tall. Very smart full Victorian calf by Carss of Glasgow, and with their binder's ticket. With gilt raised bands and neat gilt tooling to the panels. The boards are framed by gilt and blind fillets and blind corner tools. The best edition, containing his classic 'History of England', in eight volumes and 'His Life and Letters' in two. Armorial bookplate.

Chiswick: From the Press of C. Whittingham, 1822. Full calf, 5 inches tall. A charming little Regency straight grain by T. Smyth of Exeter, and with their ticket. With gilt bands and elaborate gilt tooling to the panels. A flowery gilt roll frames the boards. Speckled edges. A neat ink former owner's name, Mary Anne Davey, on the first blank and inside the rear free end paper. With an engraved title page and vignettes.

Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907. Full morocco, 6 3/4 inches tall. A splendid little luxurious binding by Ramage with gilt raised bands and delicate gilt tooling to the panels and boards.Gilt dentelles and watered silk doublures. With an armorial bookplate. All edges gilt. A little bit grubby and with rubbing to the shoulders, but still a delightful little copy of this fine anthology.

London: Longman et al., 1832-1855. 5 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. A very attractive little set in an early Victorian half calf binding, with dense gilt tooling and twin labels to the smooth back. Each volume has an engraved title page. Armorial bookplate. This is the complete section on Spain and Portugal from Lardner's famous 'Cabinet of History' in excellent condition.

London: R. Ackermann, 1815: 1815. Full morocco, 10 inches tall. A tall and sumptuous later full crushed morocco binding by the great firm of Bedford. With gilt raised bands and exceptional gilt tooling to the panels. Gilt dentelles and top edge. Very slight fading to the spine but still a wonderful copy from the library of a Scottish Gentleman. Hand-colored aquatint frontispiece, engraved title page and a further 16 hand-colored aquatint plates, as listed. First edition in book form. As good a copy of this highly entertaining work as one could hope to find.

London: Macmillan and Co., 1898. Full morocco, 6 1/4 inches tall. A luxurious little binding by Ramage with gilt raised bands and beautiful gilt tooling to the panels and boards around orange rose inlays and leaves. Wide gilt dentelles with the same inlayed rose tooling and watered silk doublures and free 'end papers'. All edges gilt. There is considerable rubbing and the upper board is duller than the lower but still a firm and solid example of Ramage's splendid Edwardian bindings.

London: Macmillan and Co., 1904. Full morocco, 6 inches tall. A beautiful example of one of Ramage's luxury bindings, so popular in the Edwardian period. Full crushed morocco gilt raised bands and sumptuous gilt tooling to the panels and boards. With wide and elaborate gilt dentelles and watered silk doublures and free 'endpapers'. Light foxing to the preliminaries and slight rubbing but still a remarkable and impressive binding on this charming anthology 'selected from the best songs and lyrical poems in the English language'.

London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1898. Full calf, 7 1/2 inches tall. A most attractive binding by Zaehnsdorf with gilt raised bands, extravagant floral gilt tooling to the panels and contrasting red label. With the gilt embossed crest of Uppingham School on the upper board and their prize bookplate on the paste down end paper. Gilt dentelles and all edges. With portraits and facsimiles.

London: Printed for the Editor, 1823. Half morocco, 9 1/4 inches tall. A highly entertaining and interesting dictionary in a very fine half morocco binding, with gilt raised bands, superb centre tool and gilt top edge. Portrait. With the armorial bookplate of Michael, Lord Sandys of Ombersley Court. A fine copy of this work by Pierce Egan, well known for his 'Life in London' and 'Boxiana; or Sketches of Ancient and Modern Pugilism'.

London: Meiklejohn and Son, 1911. Full morocco, 6 3/4 inches tall. A splendid binding by Zaehnsdorf with gilt raised bands and neat framed panels to the spine and elaborate gilt tooling with pink petal onlays to the upper boards, framing the title. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Printed on India paper. A fine copy of this anthology of Scottish poetry.

Albany; Joel Munsell, 1867. Full vellum, 8 1/2 inches tall. A splendid full Victorian full vellum by Zaehnsdorf with a crest shaped label and delicate gilt tooling to the smooth spine. A gilt fillet frames the boards. With gilt dentelles and all edges. Foxing to the preliminaries, then clean. Boards slightly splayed. With the armorial bookplate of William Waldorf, Viscount Astor of Hever Castle. Baroness von Riedesel's husband commanded the Brunswick forces with the British Army. This volume contains her Memoirs of this period, including her family's life as prisoners of war.

London: Sharpe and Son et al., 1819. 4 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A superb later full straight grain calf by Riviere with gilt raised bands, twin labels and ornate gilt tooling to the panels. Twin gilt fillets frame the boards, gilt dentelles and all edges. Portraits in volumes I & II, as called for. A fine edition of the works of this great 18th century novelist in pristine condition inside and out.

London: John Lane at the Bodley Head, 1899. Full morocco, 6 1/2 inches tall. A beautiful crushed morocco binding by Riviere with two gilt raised bands and fine floral gilt tooling in the Art Nouveau manner. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Very slight rubbing. Illustrated by Henry Ospovat, who was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites and encouraged by Watts and Ricketts (B.M.) Bookplate. A delightful copy of these greatest of all sonnets.

London, The Punch Office, 1845. Full morocco, 10 inches tall. A pristine example of this classic comic work bound in sumptuous full morocco by the great firm of Bedford, from the library of a Scottish Gentleman. An exceptionally tall copy with gilt raised bands, ornate floral gilt tooling to the panels, triple gilt fillet framing the boards, wide gilt dentelles and top edge gilt. Embellished with 12 full page steel engravings and 117 superb engraved vignettes. With over 50 leaves of highly entertaining advertisements. As fine a copy as one could hope to find.