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London: Printed for Thomas Macklin, by Thomas Bensley, 1800. 8 volumes, 19 inches tall in original box. A magnificent set of this 'sumptuous edition' (Herbert) bound by Lovejoy in superb full morocco. With double gilt raised bands, delicate gilt tooling to the panels and a series of wonderful rolls framing the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Sewn leather joints. The Box measures 25 x 18 x 22 inches. With the binder's ticket of John Lovejoy, one of the great binders of the period, celebrated almost exclusively for his masonic bindings, this example being a rare and spectacular exception. Embellished with 76 full page engravings by the great artists of the time including Henry Fuseli, P.J. de Loutherbourg, James Northcote, Benjamin West, William Hamilton, Thomas Stothard, Richard Cosway, Sir Joshua Reynolds and Angelica Kauffman. A further 111 ornate vignettes are present.
The condition is excellent with no splitting or loss, even all 16 sewn leather joints are present and correct, a feature found in only the finest bindings. There is some minor rubbing, scuffing and scratching and the margins of one leaf have been expertly repaired with no loss.
The subscribers list is found in volume 1 and includes The King, The Queen, The Prince of Wales et al..
One of the rarest and most impressive features of our extraordinary set is that it is in 8 volumes, all with their respective title pages. Originally intended to be printed in 3 volumes, it was actually published in 6. The Apocrypha (Published in 1816) is occasionally found with the set, making 7 volumes. We can only find record of one other set in 8 volumes (in a much poorer condition) where, as here, the New Testament is bound in 2 volumes, each with a title page, making a spectacular 8 volume set.
The box dates from around the date of publication and no doubt explains the remarkable condition of this huge and impressive set.
Macklin announced plans for his great folio Bible in 1789 to promote 'the glory of the English school of painting and engraving and the interests of our Holy Religion'. New type (cut by Joseph Jackson and Vincent Figgins) and new paper were created for the venture, and the historic paintings were to be 'finished in a style of elegance (and magnificence in Paper, Printing, and engraving) of which there is not in Europe or the world any example'. Macklin's project was costly and ambitious. He paid Reynolds £500 for his Holy Family and William Sharp £700 for its engraving. The average cost for 45 of the Bible's other engravings was £220 and the total cost of the publication was an estimated £30000, a truly vast sum at the time.

London: Dodsley et al., 1760-1835. 77 volumes, 8 1/2 inches tall. A magnificent run of this important periodical in full calf in gilt raised bands, twin labels and superb extra gilt tooling to the panels. With the ticket of Bain, bookseller of 1, Haymarket. Some rubbing, chips and cracking but still a highly impressive set. The first volume is the seventh edition, from volume II the vast majority are first editions. This consecutive run lacks volume XXXII. Speckled pink edges. A splendid run of this highly important source for the political and literary events of the time including the American Wars of Independence and the Napoleonic Wars. From the library of 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.

In black: London: Eyre & Strahan, 1813; Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1816; London: Company of Stationers, 1810; London: Bent, (1818). In Red: Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1823; Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1820; London: Company of Stationers, 1825; London: Rivington et al, 1827. 8 volumes, 6.25 inches - 13.5 inches tall. A magnificent and unique collection of devotional works belonging to Nicholas Robinson, Lord Mayor of Liverpool in 1828-1829.
On his becoming the Bailiff of Liverpool in 1818 he had the 4 great devotional works bound in uniform full black morocco with gilt raised bands, superb gilt tooling to the panel and boards, dentelles and all edges.
On becoming Lord Mayor he had another set of the 4 works bound in even more sumptuous uniform full red morocco. These have gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels, glorious gilt flourishes to the boards, gilt dentelles and all edges. These volumes also have watered silk doublures and free endpapers.
All 8 volumes have his autographed armorial bookplates and his gilt embossed inscriptions on the upper boards.
There is minor rubbing and scuffing, otherwise all the volumes are in superb condition. An extraordinary collection.

London: John Murray, 1814-1819. 4 volume collection, 8 1/2 inches tall. A remarkable and superb full Regency straight grain morocco with gilt raised bands, very fine extra gilt tooling to the panels and boards. The boards are decorated with a wide gilt lozenge framing a Grecian lyre bordered with a blind roll encased within quite extraordinary gilt corner tooling, gilt dentelles and all edges. Each volume has the bookplate of John Maberly, the remarkable business man and Member of Parliament. On the reverse of the free endpaper is written in pencil ' bought at sale of Mrs G. R. Smith's books at Christie's Feb. 1880. All the poems are early editions, including some firsts, most being extra illustrated with engraved plates by Westall. Some foxing to and facing the plates, otherwise clean. A fabulously bound collection of these great works.

Oxford: Printed at the University Press for Edward Gardiner, 1840 & 1841. 2 volume set, 5 3/4 inches tall. An extraordinary and fabulous pair of bindings in pristine condition, having been preserved in their original morocco slipcase. Exquisitely bound in early Victorian scarlet morocco, with twin raised bands, elaborate green, blue and olive morocco onlays, and the most striking combination of closed fore-edge decorating and gauffering that one is ever likely to see, by the great firm of binders, Hayday. Gilt dentelles. The fabulous paintings on the closed fore-edges read: 'Is true Thy Word', 'Scripture the Search', 'Thy word is pure', 'Always pray', ' Pray and watch' and 'Always pray'. The condition of the 2 volumes is fine, the slipcase is rubbed.
A beautiful, fresh, vibrant and striking example of the best of early Victorian binding and finishing, created by James Hayday.

Paris: Lacombe, then Bureau, 1775-84. 69 volumes, 6.5 inches tall. The run is lacking 2 volumes, those for Feb/Mar 1776 and Apr 1776. The first 9 volumes have a densely gilt spine with repeated floral flourishes. The remaining volumes have gilt bands and floral gilt tooling to the panels. All have a single label covering 2 panels. Speckled edges. There are a few ancient worm holes and some superficial loss of surface of the paper boards to said long gone wildlife. A charming variety of different ink washed papers were used to cover the boards. Woodcut ornaments. A splendid collection of this influential literary journal published from 1775-1789 which owed much to the medieval adaptations of the Comte de Tressan. It was influential in shaping the Gothic taste in French literature. From the library of Madame de Simiane at the Chateau de Cirey. Madame de Simiane's husband, Charles-Francois de Simiane had served with Lafayette in America. The Chateau had previously served as a refuge for Voltaire.

Bruxelles: Van Buggenhoudt, 1861. Full morocco, 9.5 inches tall. A fabulous copy bound for 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale and 3rd Earl of Armagh. With gilt raised bands, dense gilt tooling to the panels and boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges with watered silk doublures and free endpapers. The spectacular wide gilt border and stars frame the coronated black letter initial on both boards. There is very minor rubbing and two small ink stains near the tail of the lower board. On the reverse of the title page there is the stamp of the Library of Ernst Augustus, the Crown Prince of Hanover, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and 3rd Duke of Armagh. Ernst August was the last Hanoverian monarch to hold a British Royal title and the Order of the Garter. The work itself is very scarce with only 1 copy listed on Library Hub Discover and consists, in French, of a careful analysis of the finances of the Netherlands and her colonies in the middle of the 19th century.

London: Innys, Meadows et al., 1747. 7 volume set, 14 1/2 inches tall. Magnificent full mottled calf folios with raised bands, splendid twin labels and superb gilt tooling to the panels. Slight variation to the last 2 volumes. With the armorial bookplate of Vere Londonderry. From the library of 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. There is considerable splitting to some boards and some loss to head and tail caps, there is also a small loss in the top panel of the final volume, but all the volumes are solid, the set is complete, internally spotless and it looks terrific on the shelf.

Paris: Chez l'auteur, 1771. Full calf, 10 1/2 inches tall. A handsome 18th century full mottled calf with raised bands, gilt floral tooling to the panels, red label and red edges. There is a chip to the headcap and the boards are rubbed but still firm, the corners are bumped and there is a stain to the lower parts of the binding not effecting the plates. With the armorial bookplate of Vane Londonderry. From the library of 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 scarce title contains 127 superb and very bright engraved plates, all representing original artwork from the celebrated collection of the Duke of Choiseul. One plate is LACKING, number 74. Five, 68, 69, 76, 78, 101 have 2 plates with the same (bis) plate number.