Search

New York: Gabriel Wells, 1924. 30 volume set, 9 inches tall. Half crushed morocco with gilt raised bands, titles and fine gilt tooled panels. Gilt top edge. Deluxe edition, limited to 1075 sets, the first volume of each set is signed by the author. Portrait. The definitive set of this great writers works in English in excellent condition.

New York & London: M. Walter Dunne, 1903. 17 volume set bound in 34, 8 inches tall. A delightful half crushed morocco with gilt raised bands, floral gilt tooling in the 'Art Nouveau' style. Illustrated throughout. Very slight staining to a few leaves, otherwise pristine. A splendid set of the works of this great French writer of the 19th century, considered one of the greatest short story writers. Translated into English.

Birmingham: Printed by John Baskerville for J. and R. Tonson, 1761. 3 volume set, 9 inches tall. An exquisite 18th century full calf with gilt raised bands, twin olive labels and superb gilt floral and star tooling to the panels. A triple gilt fillet and corner tools frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Slight rubbing and scuffing and occasional foxing to the preliminaries but overall in excellent condition. With an engraved portrait frontispiece to vol. 1 and a further 5 engraved plates. . Printed by the fine typographer, printer and publisher John Baskerville, of Birmingham.

London: Robinson, 1789. 3 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A fine copy with wide margins in a superb 18th century tree calf with gilt bands and magnificent labels on a smooth back. Yellow edges. From the library of Vane Londonderry, 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 is the first English edition with half titles, folding engraved map, folding engraved plan of Madrid, folding engraved view of Gibraltar and a further 8 folding engraved plates.

London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1900. 11 volume set, 8 inches tall. An exquisite half morocco for Hatchards with gilt raised bands and delightful floral gilt tooling in the 'art nouveau' style and gilt top edge. Portraits and vignettes to the title pages. This set of the 'Hughenden Edition' has come from the library of Alfred de Rothschild but is without his bookplate.

London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1889. 17 volume set, 7 inches tall. A classic Victorian full calf for Sotheran with gilt raised bands, twin labels and beautiful floral gilt tooling to the panels. Dentelles and all edges gilt. Twin gilt fillets and corner tools frame the boards. From the library and with the bookplates of Alfred de Rothschild. A wonderful set of the poetical works of one of the greatest and most influential English 19th century poets.

London: Printed at the Shakspeare Press for John Major and Robert Jennings, 1828. 5 volume set, 10 inches tall. A splendid tall set in full hard grain morocco by Clarke & Bedford, one of the greatest names of the period. With gilt raised bands and very fine extra gilt tooling to the panels. Gilt fillets, and superb gilt tooling with corner devices frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. With the bookplates of William Strahan and Alfred de Rothschild. This celebrated edition has the plates in 2 states, with the proofs laid down on india paper. Slight foxing but overall a fine set of this great edition.

Amsterdam: sumptibus Jacobi Wetstenii, 1743. 4 volume set, 11.5 inches tall. A magnificently bound set with gilt raised bands and superb gilt tooling to the panels. Simple gilt fillets framing the boards, dentelles and all edges gilt. The index was published in 1746. With the armorial bookplate of Tatton Park. Slightly rubbed but with no loss or splitting. Beautifully printed in Greek and Latin. Dibdin considered this to be the most accurate and most beautiful edition of the works of Lucian, the great satirist and rhetorician.

Paris: L’auteur des Estampes, 1786-1793. 3 volume set, 12 inches tall. An old tipped in catalogue entry attributes this magnificent binding to Charles Lewis. With wide gilt raised bands, delicate and ornate gilt tooling to the panels, twin labels, dentelles and all edges gilt. Complete with 3 engraved title pages, portrait and 73 engraved plates after Le Barbier. There are an extra 18 stipple engraved plates and 70 highly decorative vignettes. Some speckling and scuffing to the boards. A super copy of this beautiful 18th century deluxe edition.

Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, 1862. 15 volume set, 7 1/4 inches tall. A superb full Victorian calf bound set with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels and contrasting twin labels. Armorial bookplate. Portrait. Best known for his 'Confessions of an English Opium-Eater', in which De Quincey's autobiography centres on the effect his laudanum addiction has on his life. A wonderful set of the works of this very influential writer.

Edinburgh: James Ballantyne and Company, 1812. 14 volumes, 8 1/2 inches tall. A superb Georgian 'Country House' half morocco bound set with gilt raised bands, blind pallets and very handsome gilt centre tooling. Portraits. With the armorial book plate of Baldwin Bastard of Buckland Court. Some foxing especially to the preliminaries. This fine edition includes, for the first time from manuscript, Fletcher's tragicomedy 'The Faithful Friends'. Not printed in its own century, it is one of the most disputed works in English Renaissance drama. English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher collaborated in their writing in the early 17th century.

ondon Reeves and Turner, 1874. 15 volume set, 9 inches tall. Superb full calf by Mansell. A very fine binding with gilt raised bands, triple labels and dense gilt floral panels. Gilt dentelles and top edges.One of only a handful, possibly as few as 10, tall large paper copies on handmade paper were printed. With the armorial bookplate of Horatio Noble Pym, celebrated author and bibliophile who used the finest bookbinders of his day. This is a splendid set of this important collection of early English plays, largely from the 16th century, with more than 30 being added to this enlarged edition.

London: Septimus Prowett, 1825. 13 volume set, 9 inches tall. A splendid tall paper set in a magnificent hard grain morocco by one of London's most celebrated binders, Clarke & Bedford. With gilt raised bands, ornate gilt tooling to the panels and the play titles in the surely smallest type a binder could use. The boards framed within triple fillets, gilt dentelles and all edges. Some speckles to the boards. With the striking bookplate of John Wodehouse, Earl of Kimberley Foreign secretary under Queen Victoria. This collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean plays was significant in reacquainting the public with many previously neglected works. A very fine set.

London : to be had by the Subscribers of those Booksellers to whom they have subscribed, and at W. Bristow's late Shop in St. Paul's Church Yard, or at his House in Roll's Buildings, Fetter-Lane, 1766-1767. 4 volume set, 7 1/4 inches tall. A superb full 18th century calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels, delightful gilt pomegranate tooling to the panels and a simple gilt chain roll framing the boards. Yellow edges. With the magnificent armorial bookplate of Vane Londonderry. An early advocate of women's rights having escaped an unhappy marriage and hostile husband. Early copies of her works are very rare even in institutions. A superb set.

London: John Murray, 1850. 2 volume set, 9 inches tall. A pristine set of this classic work in full mid-Victorian honey calf. With gilt raised bands, exquisite floral gilt tooling to the panels and double gilt fillet framing the boards. First edition. With the bookplate of Edward Nicholas Hurt of Wirksworth. This superb set is in pristine condition, both in terms of the text block and binding, evidently having not been read.

Cambridge: The University Press 1920-1927. 15 volume set, 9 inches tall. A splendid half morocco binding by Bumpus with gilt raised bands, elegant gilt tooling to the panels and all edges gilt. It is unusual to find this great work of literary reference in a fine binding. Some superficial rubbing otherwise in excellent condition.

Paris: Joseph Barbou, 1755. 2 volume set, 6 inches tall. A beautiful set bound by White of Pall Mall in pristine condition in full crushed morocco. A flat back with gilt bands and delicate tooling in the style of Derome. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Frontispiece and two folding maps. A truly delightful set in the original Latin. 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.