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Birmingham: Printed by John Baskerville for J. and R. Tonson, 1761. 3 volume set, 9 inches tall. An exquisite 18th century full calf with gilt raised bands, twin olive labels and superb gilt floral and star tooling to the panels. A triple gilt fillet and corner tools frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Slight rubbing and scuffing and occasional foxing to the preliminaries but overall in excellent condition. With an engraved portrait frontispiece to vol. 1 and a further 5 engraved plates. . Printed by the fine typographer, printer and publisher John Baskerville, of Birmingham.

London: Robinson, 1789. 3 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A fine copy with wide margins in a superb 18th century tree calf with gilt bands and magnificent labels on a smooth back. Yellow edges. From the library of Vane Londonderry, Charles William Vane (formerly Stewart), third Marquess of Londonderry. Vane served with distinction throughout the Peninsula War. His dashing and dandified portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence is at the National Portrait Gallery. He amassed magnificent libraries in his various Country Houses. This is the first English edition with half titles, folding engraved map, folding engraved plan of Madrid, folding engraved view of Gibraltar and a further 8 folding engraved plates.

New York & London: M. Walter Dunne, 1903. 17 volume set bound in 34, 8 inches tall. A delightful half crushed morocco with gilt raised bands, floral gilt tooling in the 'Art Nouveau' style. Illustrated throughout. Very slight staining to a few leaves, otherwise pristine. A splendid set of the works of this great French writer of the 19th century, considered one of the greatest short story writers. Translated into English.

New York: Gabriel Wells, 1924. 30 volume set, 9 inches tall. Half crushed morocco with gilt raised bands, titles and fine gilt tooled panels. Gilt top edge. Deluxe edition, limited to 1075 sets, the first volume of each set is signed by the author. Portrait. The definitive set of this great writers works in English in excellent condition.

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1903. 16 volume set, 8.5 inches tall. A handsome half morocco binding by Stikeman with gilt raised bands and elaborate centre tooling to the panels. Gilt top edges. Very, very slight fading, otherwise pristine. Bookplates. Leather bound sets of the great Russian writers are hard to come by, especially in this condition. With an introduction by Henry James and translated by Isabel Hapgood this set contains some of the most influential novels of the 19th century.

London: John Murray, 1834-1838. 12 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. An exceptionally good looking late Victorian full calf with wide blind tooled raised bands, twin labels and extra gilt tooling to the panels. A gilt roll and fillets frame the monogram on the upper boards. Scuffs on the upper board of volume XII, otherwise a clean and very smart set. An extraordinary insight into the Napoleonic campaigns from the dispatches of Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington.

London, Savoy: Printed by Tho. Newcomb, for the author, 1667. Full morocco, 14 1/2 inches tall. A superb tall later binding by the great firm of Bedford, with gilt raised bands, twin labels and magnificent gilt tooling to the panels. A series of gilt fillet frame the boards, wide dentelles and all edges gilt. First edition in red and black, embellished with 5 double page engraved plates and 57 full page. With the armorial bookplates of the Hon. Hugh Howard and the Fox Pointe Collection. Slight rubbing but a very good, clean copy with wide margins.

London: Charles Griffin & Co. (1865). Full morocco, 7 3/4 inches tall. A fabulously bound volume by Zaehnsdorf with gilt raised bands and a superb stylized floral device in the panels and en masse on the boards. Gilt tooled dentelles and all edges gilt. With the leather bookplate of W.A. Foyle of Beeleigh Abbey. Rubbing but perfectly firm. The frontispiece and 12 further images represent famous Shakesperean characters or creations. These are followed by 2 pages of illuminated text relating to the characters. We can find very few examples of this work in institutions and no other copies in the trade.

London: T. Edgerton, Military Library, Whitehall, 1815. Full morocco, 9 1/2 inches tall. A wonderful copy of a scarce book in full Regency straight grain morocco with gilt raised bands, gilt pallets, the board framed with a wide blind roll and a double gilt fillet. All edges gilt. Embellished with 27 folding hand coloured engraved plans illustrating the cavalry manoeuvers. This copy is inscribed ' from the author' and was from the library of Lord Londonderry, though without his bookplate.

London: Vernoe and Hood et al., 1804. Full morocco, 10 3/4 inches tall. A beautiful copy bound at the beginning of the 19th century with twin raised bands and fine and delicate gilt tooling to the panels. The boards are framed in a splendid series of gilt rolls and fillets. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Embellished with 24 full page engravings. A sparkling tall copy of this classic law book which includes "Historical and Descriptive Sketches Relative to their Original Foundation, Customs, Ceremonies, Buildings, Government, &c. &c. With a Concise History of The English Law".

Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, 1862. 15 volume set, 7 1/4 inches tall. A superb full Victorian calf bound set with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels and contrasting twin labels. Armorial bookplate. Portrait. Best known for his 'Confessions of an English Opium-Eater', in which De Quincey's autobiography centres on the effect his laudanum addiction has on his life. A wonderful set of the works of this very influential writer.

Paris: L’auteur des Estampes, 1786-1793. 3 volume set, 12 inches tall. An old tipped in catalogue entry attributes this magnificent binding to Charles Lewis. With wide gilt raised bands, delicate and ornate gilt tooling to the panels, twin labels, dentelles and all edges gilt. Complete with 3 engraved title pages, portrait and 73 engraved plates after Le Barbier. There are an extra 18 stipple engraved plates and 70 highly decorative vignettes. Some speckling and scuffing to the boards. A super copy of this beautiful 18th century deluxe edition.

Amsterdam: sumptibus Jacobi Wetstenii, 1743. 4 volume set, 11.5 inches tall. A magnificently bound set with gilt raised bands and superb gilt tooling to the panels. Simple gilt fillets framing the boards, dentelles and all edges gilt. The index was published in 1746. With the armorial bookplate of Tatton Park. Slightly rubbed but with no loss or splitting. Beautifully printed in Greek and Latin. Dibdin considered this to be the most accurate and most beautiful edition of the works of Lucian, the great satirist and rhetorician.

ondon Reeves and Turner, 1874. 15 volume set, 9 inches tall. Superb full calf by Mansell. A very fine binding with gilt raised bands, triple labels and dense gilt floral panels. Gilt dentelles and top edges.One of only a handful, possibly as few as 10, tall large paper copies on handmade paper were printed. With the armorial bookplate of Horatio Noble Pym, celebrated author and bibliophile who used the finest bookbinders of his day. This is a splendid set of this important collection of early English plays, largely from the 16th century, with more than 30 being added to this enlarged edition.