A

Edinburgh & London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1849 - 1850. 15 volume set, 9 inches tall. Superb Victorian full calf bound by Zaehnsdorf, with gilt raised bands, triple labels in red, black and green, and superb gilt tooling. With the armorial bookplate of Allan Harvey Drummond. Some marks and superficial loss to a long defunct insect to some boards, and some foxing to several plates, but overall in wonderful condition. Sir Archibald Alison's great history consists of 14 volumes plus a uniformly bound Atlas, which contains all 108 maps. The Atlas volume is 11 inches deep. With portraits. These 15 volumes cover the Commencement of the French Revolution in 1789 to the Restoration of the Bourbons in 1815'. This set is complete as it was first published. It was continued some years later (See our other set).

Bordeaux: Chez les Freres Labottiere, 1785. Full morocco, 4 3/4 inches tall. A very finely bound almanac with gilt bands and panels around floral centre tools on a smooth back, a gilt fillet and wide floral roll frame the boards, dentelles and all edges gilt. There is a crease to the leather on the upper board and faint ink stains on the lower. A scarce almanac from just before the French Revolution printed for the Guienne (or Guyenne) region, the old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of Aquitania Secunda and the archdiocese of Bordeaux. Following the French Revolution, the province became the departments of Gironde, Lot-et-Garonne, Dordogne, Lot, Aveyron and much of Tarn-et-Garonne. An exceptionally clean copy in the original French.

London: Bohn, 1856. 6 volume set, 7 inches tall. A classic little Victorian full calf with gilt raised bands, gilt tooling to the panels and twin labels. Joseph Addison wan an English early 18th century writer and politician most remembered today for founding The Spectator magazine with his close friend Richard Steele.

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.

London: Fisher, Sons & Co., 1832. 3 volume set, 11 inches tall. A very smart set in William IV full calf bound by D. Batten of Clapham Common, and with their ticket. Bound with gilt raised bands, twin labels, blind pallets to the panels. A blind tooled 'Cambridge Panel' incorporating a lovely blind roll, decorates the boards. A few scratches and scuffs but overall a fine set, unusually clean. With, including the frontispieces and the engraved title page in volume 1, a total of 217 charming engravings.

London: Charles Black, 1903. Half vellum, 9 inches tall. An Edwardian nostalgic view of England in a superb half vellum binding with gilt raised bands, large label and fine gilt floral tooling with a red calf petal onlay by Henry Young of Liverpool. With 80 full page colour plates. With light foxing and a neat previous owners ink name on the first blank. A lovely copy of this charming evocation of days gone by.

Edinburgh: James Nichol, 1858. Full calf, 8 3/4 inches tall. A rather beautiful Victorian full pink calf with gilt raised bands, green label and superb extra gilt tooling to the panels. Twin gilt fillets and corner tools frame the boards. The three poets, Armstrong, Dyer and Green were near contemporary 18th century poets, being born within 15 years of each other.

London: Jones & Co., 1822. Half morocco, 8 1/2 inches tall. A handsome Victorian binding by Murphy of Liverpool, with gilt raised bands, fine gilt tooling incorporating shamrocks in the panels and gilt top edge. With an hilarious hand-coloured frontispiece and 18 further outrageous plates by, amongst others, Henry Alken and William Heath. The binding is slightly faded, but still bright. There is some foxing, occasional creasing and slight grubbiness but overall an unusually good example of this scarce work in the style of Pierce Egan.

London: James Parker and Co., 1894. Full calf, 6 inches tall. A splendid little tree calf binding by Bickers with gilt raised bands, label and delicate gilt tooling to the panels. Pink edges. With a gilt embossed prize block on the upper board and prize inscription on the first blank. A delightful copy of this great devotional work.

London: Macmillan and Co., 1897. Full morocco, 6 1/2 inches tall. A delightful binding by Bumpus with gilt raised bands and exquisite gilt tooling to the panels and boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. From the Library of the Late Christopher Foyle of Beeleigh Abbey. With a neat ink inscription on the first blank and slight rubbing. Parallel Old French and English text. This anonymous medieval Old French love story from the 12th or 13th century combines both prose and verse and has appealed to generations over the centuries.

Edinburgh: Printed by Mosman and Brown, 1727-28. 4 volume set, 10 1/2 inches tall. An exceptionally nice set of this very scarce title in Georgian full diced calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and splendid gilt centre tools to the panels. A gilt fillet and wide blind roll frame the diced boards. Pink speckled edges. Some foxing, mostly confined to the preliminaries. A collection of all the material available to Anderson at the time relating to Mary Queen of Scots.

Lipsiae (Liepzig), Sumptibus librariae Hahnianae, 1845. 4 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A handsome and charming binding by Budden of Cambridge with the title labels reading out the author's name. With gilt raised bands, delicate floral gilt tooling to the panels and twin labels. There is a degree of rubbing and scuffing to the shoulders and some foxing but still a solid great looking set. This is the complete section on Aristophanes from a much larger set of ancient Greek poetic works. Included are some the earliest and greatest works of comedy or 'Old Comedy', including 'The Clouds', 'The Wasps', 'The Birds', 'The Frogs' and Lysistra.' In the original Greek.

London: Macmillan and Co., 1903. Full Morocco, 8 1/2 inches tall. A very fine Edwardian binding with gilt raised bands and intricate and fine gilt tooling to the panels and boards and all edges gilt. A prize bookplate on the first blank.

London: Duckworth & Co., 1898. Half morocco, 8 1/2 inches tall. A smart Edwardian half crushed morocco with gilt raised bands, simple gilt framed panels and gilt top edge. The scarce London first edition extra-illustrated with 65 engraved plates.

London: Bradbury, Agnew, and Co., c.1890. 2 volume set, 11 inches tall. A scarce deluxe quarto edition in half crushed morocco with raised bands, simple gilt panels and gilt top edge. Striking bookplate. With great comic illustrations by John Leech throughout, with hand coloured full page plates and vignettes on India paper. Small sealed split at the head of volume II, but still a fine set of this superb comic history.

Paris: Benjamin Duprat, 1839. Quarter morocco with green vellum tips, 10 inches tall. An impressive binding with raised bands and a coronet atop a monogram in the panels and gilt top edge. With the bookplate of the Bibliothèque de Mouchy. Slight rubbing and a stain to the corner of some leaves. A tall copy finely printed on hand made paper.

London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1896. Half morocco, 7 1/2 inches tall. A smartly bound volume of the 'thoroughly revised' new edition with raised bands, gilt 'sporting' centre tools and gilt top edge. With numerous illustrations by Albemarle, Joseph Pennell, S.T. Dadd and George Moore. A lovely copy of this classic work.