17th Century Literature

London: Edward Moxon, 1843-1846. 11 volume set, 8.75 inches tall. A truly splendid full hard grain morocco by one of the greatest binders of the period, White of Pall Mall. With gilt raised bands, unusual dense gilt tooling to the panels and gilt dentelles. All the edges are gilt over marbling. The heraldic crest on both boards is framed within magnificent gilt rolls and individual tooling. The crest with the motto 'Sic Donec' is that of William Tatton Egerton, 1st Baron Egerton of Tatton Park. A wonderful set of the Works of these two early 17th century English playwrights, often considered successors to Shakespeare.

Paris: J. Techener, 1861. 11 volume set, 8 inches tall. A superb half crushed morocco by David with gilt raised bands and exquisite gilt tooling to the panels. Gilt top edges. From the Library of the Late Christopher Foyle of Beeleigh Abbey. With 2 splendid portraits of mother and daughter as frontispieces to volume I. A fine edition printed on hand made paper. Madame de Sevigné was incomparably the most influential woman writer of French literature. Her letters are frequently found to be the most reliable source for important events of the Ancien Régime.
A beautiful set in the original French.

London: Nicol, Rivington et al, 1813. 4 volume set, 9 inches tall. A simple but very fine later half crushed morocco by Ramage with gilt raised bands, titles and top edges. Bookplate. Portrait. A splendid set of the second edition of the dramatic works of this great seventeenth century English playwright.

Lausanne: Chez Marc-Mic. Bousquet & Comp, 1759. 2 volume set, 6.5 inches tall. Fine full speckled calf in pristine condition. With gilt raised bands, twin labels and floral gilt tooling to the panels. Woodcut ornaments. 13 full page engraved plates. A superb copy of a scarce edition.

London: Akerman (sic) et al., 1822. 2 volume set, 8.5 inches tall. Superb later crushed morocco by Bayntun with gilt raised bands, gilt panels, framed boards, dentelles and all edges. With 12 hand coloured aquatints. A pristine copy of this great mock heroic Civil War poem through the story of Sir Hudibras and his comic adventures.

London: Tilt and Bogue, 1843. 2 volume set, 8 inches tall. A splendid early VIctorian classic full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and very fine extra gilt panels. Gilt corner tools, gilt and blind fillets frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Slight foxing to the preliminaries, otherwise pristine. Embellished with 120 fine engraved vignettes. From the library and with the bookplate of Alfred de Rothschild. Facing the title page is the following poignant ink inscription: Natty de Rothschild (Nathaniel Mayer de Rothschild) from his affectionate sister Evelina (Evelina Gertrude de Rothschild).

London: Chatto and Windus, 1909. Full morocco, 6 inches tall. A delightful full pink crushed morocco binding by Bumpus with gilt raised bands and very fine and unusual gilt tooling to the panels. Triple gilt fillets and ornate corner tooling frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Watered-silk doublures and endpapers. A scarce anthology, beautifully bound, in pristine condition.

London: Bickers, 1906. 4 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A sparkling tree calf with gilt raised bands, beautiful floral gilt tooling to the panels and twin labels. Prize bookplate. A very neat set of these 17th century diaries.

London: John Macrone, 1835. 6 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. A very bright and fine early Victorian full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and delicate gilt tooling to the panels. A gilt fillet and series of blind fillets frame the boards. With the armorial bookplate of James Alexander and bookseller's ticket. With portrait and engraved frontispieces to all volumes and 'imaginative illustrations by J.M.W. Turner' as engraved title pages to all volumes. The engravings are foxed, the rest of the text blocks perfectly clean.

Boston, Lincolnshire: Robert Roberts, 1875, 1875 & 1876. 3 Volume Set, 7 inches tall. A beautiful late Victorian full crushed morocco binding Andrew Grieve of Edinburgh in pristine condition. With gilt raised bands and extra gilt tooling to the panels. Dense gilt corner tooling and a single pallet frame the boards. Gilt top edges. These reprints are limited to 400 copies and were originally printed in the seventeenth century. With 2 blookplates to each volume. A selection of Restoration poetry for 'Lovers of Wit' and as an 'Antidote Against Melancholy'.

London: Rivington et al, 1817. Full straight grain morocco, 8.25 inches tall. An usual and superb biding from the Georgian period. With 3 very finely decorated raised bands, 1 inch square, titles, dentelles and all edges. The straight grain boards are framed within gilt and blind tooled rolls. Contains the "Life of The Author" and "Criticism On The Poem" by Samuel Johnson. Engraved portrait and title page. Neat early owners inscription on first blank.

London: Sewell, Longman et al., 1801. 7 volume set, 7 1/4 inches tall. A beautiful full Georgian speckled calf binding with gilt raised bands, twin labels and gilt centre tools. The boards are framed within a delicate gilt fillet. With the bookplate of Ellen James. This set looks superb on the shelf but does have condition issues. A long defunct insect has nibbled at a few boards, the worst example is on the lower board of the first volume, which can be viewed in one of the images. The letters of Madame de Sévigné are revered in France as one of the great works of French 17th century literature. In English.

London: Thomas McLean, 1819. 2 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A beautifully bound set in full straight grain morocco with wide raised gilt bands and extra gilt panels. Gilt and blind rolls frame the boards. All edges gilt. With the armorial bookplate of Geoffrey Ecroyd. With 12 full page hand coloured aquatints. Foxing, but still a fine and very good looking set of this great 17th century satirical poem.

London: R. and J. Dodsley, 1764-1769. 3 volume set, 9 inches tall. 18th century full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and extra gilt panels. The boards are framed within a gilt roll. There is a little cracking of the joints but still perfectly firm and solid. A previous owner's ink stamp, B.Girlie, is at the head of the title pages. A handsome set of the first collected edition of the works of this English poet, who was also one of the earliest practitioners of landscape gardening.

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.

London: Macmillan and Co., 1892. Full morocco, 6 1/4 inches tall. A very pretty binding by Bumpus with gilt raised bands and charming gilt tooling with hearts and leaves in the panels. Twin gilt fillets and the same tooling in the corners frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. There is a large bookplate on the free end paper and foxing on the half title, otherwise clean. A delightful copy of the selected verse of this great 17th century English lyric poet.

Chiswick Press: C. Whittingham, 1819. Full calf, 7.5 inches tall. A superbly bound volume with gilt raised bands and ornate blind tooling to the panels and boards, typical of the Regency period. Slight rubbing. Bookplate and Binder's Ticket for T.Sowler of St. Ann's Square, Manchester. A very curious and rare work containing 2 reprints, the first published originally by John Deane in 1609, the second by Thomas Thorp in 1612. Titled 'Ancient Humorous Poetry' on the spine.

London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849. Full morocco, 7.25 inches tall. One of a special series of 'Bohn's Extra Volumes' Beautifully bound in full morocco by the celebrated London binder Jeremiah Larkins. With gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels, dentelles and all edges gilt. Bookplate and the neat stamp of Bostonian collector Charles S. Dixwell on the reverse of the front free endpapers.

London: Chapman & Hall, 1911. Full morocco, 8 inches tall. A superb full morocco by Bayntun with gilt raised bands, elegant gilt tooled panels and boards, wide dentelles and top edge gilt. A fine edition of this great English 17th century theologian's select essays.