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Stuttgart und Tübingen: J. G. Cotta'scher Verlag, 1850. 30 volumes bound in 15, complete, 9 inches tall. A magnificent set in extraordinary Spanish calf, not signed but bound by White of Piccadilly in the middle of the 19th century. With gilt raised bands, twin labels and glorious gilt tooling to the panels. Triple gilt fillets framing the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. A superb set of some of the most influential works of the late 18th and 19th centuries, in their original German in a fabulous binding in pristine condition.

London: John and Paul Knapton et al., 1842. 5 volume set, 8.25 inches tall. A very finely bound set with gilt raised bands, twin labels and fine gilt tooling to the panels. Alternating speckled pink on white and pink edges for each section. 45 engraved plates, mostly folding. Ex-Earls of Macclesfield, with their bookplate and blind stamp on the first 3 leaves. Containing papers and discussions of the works of Halley, Descartes, Huygens, Boyle, Lewenhoeck, Newton, Malpighi, etc..

London: John Bell, 1779-1782. 100 (of 109) volumes, 5.25 inches tall. A splendid collection of this span of English poets from Chaucer to Churchill in stunning 18th century full calf with gilt bands, triple labels and delicate gilt centre tools. We rarely stock incomplete sets but this title is extremely rare in this condition in such a long run. There are some minor chips and marks but generally in excellent condition. Lacking volumes 24,26,28,29,50,72,74,88 & 104, thus the vast majority of the titles are complete, including the 14 volume set of Chaucer at the very beginning of the collection.

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.

Oxford: The University Press, 1829. 8 volume set, 8.75 inches tall. A classic Victorian full calf binding with gilt raised bands, twin labels and floral gilt tooling to the panels. Speckled pink edges. With the 'Fasque' bookplate from the Gladstone Library. Light staining to the boards. A superb copy of this very rare title.

London: Patrick Martin, 1815. Full calf, 8.5 inches tall. A delightful later binding by Riviere with gilt raised bands, label and elegant floral gilt tooling to the panels. Gilt dentelles and all edges. The boards are framed within corner tools and triple fillet. From the library of the Duke of Gloucester, Son of King George V and Queen Mary and brother of George VI and Edward VIII, at Kensington Palace. Embellished with 15 splendid satyrical hand coloured aquatints by Thomas Rowlandson. This anonymous work has been ascribed to Colonel David Roberts. In pristine condition.

Paris) Lutetiae, Ex officina Roberti Stephani, 1549. Full calf, 9 inches tall. A most interesting later binding with delicate and unusual gilt tooling to the spine and boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. With 32 woodcuts, mostly of nautical subjects and also costume and vases. Generally in excellent condition bit some rubbing to the binding and minor staining to the text, including some damp staining to the tail of the last few leaves. A small repair to the margin of the last leaf of the index not affecting the text. A rare early item of naval interest in an elegant early binding.

London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown and J. White, 1810. 13 vols., 8vo (9" tall). 51 fine engravings in volume 13. Full red morocco by J. Clarke. A superb binding from the beginning of the 19th century. Gilt raised bands, palette lines, double roll framing the boards, dentelles and edges. A slight superficial darkening to one panel on volume four.

London & Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1874-1887. 8 volume set, 8.5 inches tall. A classic Victorian full calf set by Harrison of Pall Mall. With gilt raised bands, twin labels and very fine gilt tooling to the panels. Volumes 7 & 8 were published some years after the first 6 volumes and have a slight variation in tooling. A fine set of this authoritative work whose full title is 'The Invasion of the Crimea: Its Origin, and an Account of its Progress Down to The Death of Lord Raglan'. Armorial bookplate and neat ink inscription to the first blank. Many folding plans and maps.

London: Fellowes, Rivington et al, 1857. 12 volume set, 8.75 inches tall. A classic Victorian full calf binding with gilt raised bands, twin labels and most attractive floral gilt tooling to the panels. An exceptionally handsome set of this great work.

Leipzig: Typographia Giesecke & Devrient, 1880. Full calf, 15.5 inches tall. A truly magnificent volume in excellent condition. Gilt raised bands and gilt and blind tooling to the panels. The upper board shows a Portuguese caravel framed within an architectural arch and the Portuguese Coat of Arms. The edges are gauffered with a rose design. Bookplate. Slipcase. 10 Chromolithographs and 21 engraved plates. Luiz de Camoes is the great 16th century Portuguese literary figure compared to that of Shakespeare, Cervantes, Homer, Virgil and Dante and this is his great epic poem.

London: Richard Bentley, 1836. 4 volume set, 8.5 inches tall. A very handsome full calf binding with raised bands, twin labels and gilt tooling to the panels. The diced boards are framed within a gilt roll. With the binder's ticket of Webster of Birmingham. Illustrated with engraved portraits, views and maps. Some foxing and staining to a few plates. An excellent set of this celebrated biography by Napoleon's private secretary.

London: William Miller, 1808. 18 volume set, 9.5 inches tall. A splendid set of this celebrated 'first collected' edition with Notes and a Life by Walter Scott. A handsome full Regency calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and gilt tooling to the panels. A simple gilt roll frames the boards. There is some rubbing and scuffing to the boards, slight loss to a couple of head caps but the set is still firm and sound. 'Glorious' John Dryden, poet, critic and playwright was a dominant figure in the English Restoration.

Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1819. 6 volume set, 8.75 inches tall. A fine regency binding with wide blind tooled raised bands and panels. gilt lettering and splendid and unusual tooling to the boards. Armorial bookplate and ink inscription on the reverse of the free endpaper of Robert Alder Thorp of Corpus Christi, Oxford. Slight loss to some gilding on the boards. A superb set of this great history of the English Civil War.

LONDON: Cassell, Petter and Galpin, c.1870. 3 volume set, 10.5 inches tall. A very handsome set with gilt raised bands, twin labels and ornate gilt 'theatrical' centre tools. A gilt prize block on the upper boards and an ink prize inscription on the first blank. Illustrated throughout. A splendid set.

London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, 1860. 2 volume set, 8.5 inches tall. A splendid full calf binding with gilt raised bands, twin labels and elegant gilt tooling to the panels. Folding map, 58 full page tinted wood cuts and 3 plates of ancient Indian music. An ink inscription on the first blank on 'leaving Eton' dated 1867. A superb set of this profusely illustrated work.

Oxford: Rivington, 1834. 6 volume set, 9 inches tall. A magnificent full calf binding by one of the great London binders of the period J. Clarke. With gilt raised bands, twin labels, ornate gilt tooling to the panels, dentelles and all edges. With the armorial bookplate of Henry Collins.

London: Privately Printed, 1871. Full straight grain calf, 8.75 inches tall. A superb copy of this notorious item of erotica. With wide gilt raised bands, fine gilt tooled panels, boards, dentelles and all edges. Printed in black and red, reportedly in a deluxe edition of 250. The extraordinary Wilkes, member of the Knights of St. Francis of Wycombe, also known as the Hellfire Club, wrote this pornographic poem dedicated to the courtier Fanny Murray entitled "An Essay on Woman" as a parody of Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Man". Having been outlawed in 1769 he became Lord Mayor of London in 1774!