Fine Set

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.

Edinburgh: Printed at the Apollo Press , by the Martins for the John Bell British Library, 1782-1803. 109 volume set, 5 inches tall. A fabulous Regency tree calf in superb condition with gilt bands, triple labels and Grecian lyre centre tools, so typical of the period. Complete sets of this work are very scarce, in this condition almost unheard of. There is no splitting or wear to the volumes. There is the occasional scratch and mark but even these are few and far between. The volumes have the armorial bookplate of William McCall and come from the estate of the late Lady Penn. Prudence, Lady Penn was a former lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and a close friend of the late Queen Elizabeth II. 107 of the volumes have additional engraved titles and there are 36 engraved portraits. An exceptional survival.

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.

New York: The Lamb Publishing Company, c.1900. 12 volume set, 9 1/2 inches tall. The India House edition, printed on hand-made paper, limited to 130 sets, of which this set is number 25. This magnificent set was printed for Helen Louise Leonard Lillian Russell and has her bookplate. Lillian Russell was one of the most famous actresses during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, she was renowned for her beauty and good taste. The spectacular 'Spanish' calf binding has gilt raised bands, superb ornate gilt tooling to the panels and boards. Gilt top edges, the foredges and bottom edges are left deckled. There is some minimal rubbing, otherwise pristine with no fading the set appears has been behind glass since being bound. Best know for his 'Tales from Shakespeare' and 'Essays of Elia', Charles Lamb was at the heart of a major English literary circle, which included Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, William Wordsworth, Dorothy Wordsworth and William Hazlitt. His great biographer, E. V. Lucas described him as "the most lovable figure in English literature".

London: Cadell et al., 1841-1846. 17 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A magnificent Victorian full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and very fine floral gilt tooling to the panels, almost certainly bound by the great firm of J. Leighton of Brewer Street. The first 6 volumes cover the 'History of England' from the 'Invasion of Julius Caesar to the Revolution in 1688' by David Hume. The next four volumes are a continuation by Tobias Smollett 'From the Revolution to the Death of George the Second'. The concluding seven volumes, by T.S. Hughes, cover the period from 'The Accession of George III., 1760, to the Accession of Queen Victoria, 1837'. We have handled very many sets of this title have never seen a smarter set. From the library of Alfred de Rothschild but without his bookplate.

London: Chapman & Hall, 1887. 34 volumes, 8 1/2 inches tall. A superb late Victorian set bound by Zaehnsdorf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and very fine gilt tooling to the panels. The Monogram and coronet of The Marchioness of Londonderry is gilt embossed on the upper boards framed within a double fillet. With her bookplate. A letter is slipped in reading: "June 24th 1889. My Dear Lady Londonderry, I send you a set of Carlyle's Works - Please accept in memory of such kindness received from Ireland's best of Kings & sweetest of Queens.....Edmund Talbot". A few marks and scratches but a superb set in near pristine condition. A fine set of the best edition of the works of one of the greatest influences of the Victorian Age.

London: Seeley and Co., 1889. 2 volume set, 10 1/2 inches tall. A glorious full morocco binding by S.David in pristine condition with gilt raised bands and flamboyant and luxurious gilt tooling to the panels and boards. Equally sumptuous tooling to the blue crushed morocco doublures and all edges gilt. This set has been embellished with around 200 extra-illustrations, many being very fine and rare images, making a single volume work a 2 volume set. This set is number 126 of a large paper limited edition of 150 copies. From the Library of the Late Christopher Foyle of Beeleigh Abbey. Frances Burney, known as Fanny Burney and then, at the age of 41, Madame d'Arblay, having married the French exile General Alexandre d'Arblay. She was the daughter of Charles Burney, English music historian, composer and musician. Frances Burney was a great English satirical novelist and diarist. She wrote her most celebrated novel, 'Evelina' in 1778 which she followed with 'Cecilia', 'Camilla' and 'The Wanderer'. Between the years 1786–1790 she was 'Keeper of the Robes' to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, George III's queen. A wonderful set.

Birmingham: G. Baskerville, 1773. 4 volume set, 11 3/4 inches tall. A magnificent set in 18th century full straight grain morocco with gilt bands, extraordinary centre tools, dentelles and all edges gilt. A delightful gilt roll frames the boards. With the bookplates of Sir William Eden Bart. From the library of a County Durham Country House. With an engraved portrait frontispiece and a further 46 engraved plates. Curiously, an extra suite of plates from another edition, after Cipriani, Moreau le jeune, Eisen and Cochin has been quite crudely pasted onto the reverse of the plates. These additions were obviously made before the book was bound as the shape of the volumes is perfect. Very slight rubbing, some marks to the binding and a superficial area of staining to the upper board of volume 4. There is a degree of foxing, in particular around the plates. A tall and superb set of the most celebrated English printing of this epic 16th century Italian poem in the original Italian.

London: Ackermann, 1815. 2 volume set, 9 3/4 inches tall. A wonderful copy in full straight grain morocco by Lloyd, Wallis and Lloyd. This tall set has gilt raised bands, superb gilt tooling to the panels, triple gilt fillets framing the straight grain boards, gilt dentelles and all edges. With 72 hilarious colour aquatint plates and a further 2 frontispieces and one engraved title page. The concept of the Dance of Death or Danse Macabre was a powerful medieval theme showing the all conquering power of death. Holbein, in the 16th century, immortalised the idea with his exceedingly grim series of allegorical woodblock prints. In stark contrast to such Germanic horrors Rowlandson and Combe create an hilarious series of brilliant comic representations of death getting involved with every aspect of English Regency high jinks.

Paris: Tenon, 1828-29. 4 volume set, 8 1/4 inches tall. First Edition. A splendid full calf of the period, an ancient catalogue slip attributes it to the great C. Lewis, with dense gilt tooling and olive labels on smooth backs. The arms of the 3rd Earl of Clare are gilt blocked onto the boards. Signed by Vidocq in the first 3 volumes as called for. Eugene Vidocq was an adventurer and detective who helped create the 'secret police' in France and is considered the father of modern criminology. Dismissed in 1832 for a theft that he allegedly organised, Vidocq created a police agency 'Police de Sûreté", the prototype of modern detective agencies. Known all over France as a remarkably audacious man, Vidocq was a friend of such authors as Victor Hogo, Honoré de Balzac, Eugène Sue and Alexandre Dumas père and influenced Edgar Allen Poe. The figure of Vidocq is believed to have inspired Balzac's creation of the criminal genius Vautrin, one of the most vivid characters to appear in his novelistic series La Comédie Humaine. From the residual library of Charles Butler (1821-1910) of Warren Wood in Hatfield. The majority of his library was sold at Sotheby's on 5th April 1911. A wonderful set of this great work In the original French.

Dublin & London: Various, 1839-79. 39 volumes, 6 - 9 inches tall. Remarkable and very attractive turquoise half morocco bindings by Riviere with very ornate gilt tooling to the panels and gilt top edges. Many are finely illustrated by Hablot K. Browne 'Phiz'. There are some bumped corners, a little rubbing and the odd mark but no splitting or loss. With the bookplate of C. H. Waterland Mander. All the titles are first editions excepting 'A Day's Ride' "Second edition" but first published separately, and all are complete excepting 'Tony Butler' which lacks the third volume. A splendid collection of the works of this great Irish novelist who in his day rivaled Dickens in popularity. Some titles are particularly rare, including 'A Rent in a Cloud', which is "not in Sadleir: "It has been impossible to locate a copy ..."

Madrid: En la Imprenta del Norte, 1815. 10 volume set, bound in 6, 9 3/4 inches tall. A fabulous early 19th century Spanish full calf with twin red labels and Grecian urn centre tools on a smooth back. A splendid wide gilt roll frames the boards. Speckled blue edges and remarkable endpapers. This style of staining calf in such an extraordinary and attractive style became very popular with the finest English book binders towards the end of the Victorian era and well into the Edwardian. See our examples by Leighton, Tout and White. This fine edition, with the text in very large type in Spanish and Latin, is extremely scarce with only one other set located by Palau 199404 and OCLC in the Spanish National Library. A partial set is in the Saxon State Library in Dresden and a few parts are found in an Italian library. On the first blank is found an old Barcelona bookseller's ticket. In pristine condition.

London: T Osborne and J. Shipton et al., 1757-1759. 21 volume set, 8 inches tall. A handsome Victorian half calf with gilt and blind bands and twin labels. Pink speckled edges. With the bookplate of John Burton Philips of Heath House. There is a flamboyant signature, Benj. (?) Winter, dated 1779, on the reverse of the portrait in the first volume. The complete set in English is scarce and this set is clean and magnificent. The set contains 63 superb engraved folding maps, 58 engraved portraits and various engraved genealogical charts, funeral monuments and coins. The first 12 volumes are written by Rapin, from volume 13 we have Nicolas Tindal's 'Continuation'. One folding map and the adjoining leaf have been somehow stuck together resulting in some loss to the leaf, otherwise the set is in pristine condition. Heath House had many notable visitors over the years most famously Florence Nightingale who stayed on her return from the Crimean War.