Ballads

Privately Printed For Subscribers Only, 1897. 5 volume set, 9 inches tall. A beautiful half morocco binding in the Art Nouveau style by Zaehnsdorf with one raised band, the titles in a floral cartouche above and a superb floral design below. Gilt top edges. The corners are slightly bumped and the cloth boards a little rubbed and marked. This comprehensive and extraordinary collection of songs and ballads popular before 1800 is privately printed for subscribers to allow some bawdy and explicit material to be included. A superb set finely printed on handmade paper.

London: Macmillan, 1894. Full morocco, 10 inches tall. A stunning full crushed morocco bound by Riviere in 1895 in absolutely pristine condition. With gilt raised bands and exquisite floral gilt tooling to the panels. The boards framed within a triple gilt fillet. Wide gilt dentelles and gilt top edges, the remaining edges untrimmed. This is one of 152 large paper copies. This copy is signed by Hugh Thomson on the title page. The original cloth covers and wraps fot the large paper and ordinary paper editions are bound in. With 76 illustrations by Hugh Thompson who has signed the title page. A wonderful copy of these beautifully illustrated English poems.

London: Printed for the Ballad Society by Taylor, 1871. Hertford: Austin, 1874-1889. 6 volumes, 9 inches tall. A beautiful late Victorian half morocco with gilt raised bands, gilt pallets, titles and top edges. With the bookplate of West Dean Library (West Dean House, near Chichester, Sussex). Some foxing. A magnificent collection of ballads, originally formed by Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, enlarged by successive owners, among them, by John, Duke of Roxburghe, after whom the collection is named. 3 further volumes were printed up to 1899. Any decent runs are scarce, but especially so in a fine binding. Illustrated with delightful cuts throughout.

London: Evans, 1810. 4 volumes, bound in 2, 8 inches tall. A splendid full calf binding with gilt raised bands, simple gilt 'Aldine Leaf' centre tools, elegant panels to the boards, gilt dentelles and gauffered edges. A neat ink inscription 'Rebecca Sutherland 1855' on the first blanks. This, the third edition, is revised and considerably enlarged by the author's son, R.H.Evans.

London: Routledge, 1869 & (1872). 2 volumes, 7.5 inches tall. Superb full calf bindings by Tout with triple labels and elegant gilt tooling to the panels. With gilt dentelles and all edges. Original cloth covers bound in. Slight rubbing to the joints and a stain on the top of the second title page, otherwise perfectly clean. Profusely illustrated throughout. Sir William Schwenck Gilbert, English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for the fourteen comic operas produced with the composer Arthur Sullivan.

London: Dent, 1930. Full calf, 7 1/2 inches tall. A classic tree calf binding with gilt raised bands and ornate gilt floral tooling to the panels. A gilt roll frames the tree calf and gilt prize block on the upper board. Prize bookplate on the front paste down endpaper. Decorated with 12 colour illustrations and profuse black line vignettes and full page illustrations.

London: Bentley, 1874. Full morocco, 9.5 inches tall. With raised bands, gilt titling, Macabre gilt centre tools and elaborate gilt tooling to the boards, dentelles and all edges. Illustrated throughout.

London: Full morocco, c.1865. Full blue morocco, 9 inches tall. A superbly bound volume in an unusual shade of blue with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels, dentelles, all edges and elegant gilt tooling to the boards. A delightful anthology of old ballads illustrated with 50 engraved vignettes. Slight rubbing and foxing particularly to the preliminaries.

London: Suttaby et al., 1816. Full morocco, 5 inches tall. A delightful Regency straight grain morocco binding with gilt bands and intricate extra gilt tooling to the panels. On the boards a gilt foliate centre tool is framed within an ornate gilt roll. All edges gilt. Engraved frontispiece and title page. A charming anthology of ballads, 'Legendary and Pathetic'.