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London: Printed by T. Bensley for Wynne, Scholey and J. Wallis, 1803-1805. 10 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A delightful Regency tree calf binding with wide gilt bands on a smooth back with triple labels, including impressively tooled green labels listing the plays within, and a fine gilt centre tool. The portrait of Shakespeare in volume is, along with it's tissue, foxed, the charming vignettes which illustrate all the plays are clean despite the foxing on some of their tissues. The edition, that of Mr. Steevens, is excellent, as is the type. Speckled edges. A splendid set.

London: John Murray, 1835. 2 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A very good looking Victorian full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and handsome gilt tooling to the panels. Triple blind fillets frame the boards. Speckled edges. With the armorial bookplate of Charles Finch Foster of Anstey Hall in Trumpington. The engraved portrait is foxed, the rest of the text and further engravings are all clean. With fine engraved portraits throughout. Samuel Butler's great 17th century satirical mock-heroic poem, inspired by Cervantes' 'Don Quixote', was written just before the restoration of Charles II. The plot is one of continuous humiliation for Hudibras, one of Cromwell's knights in the New Model Army.

London: F.C. and J. Rivington, 1823. Full calf, 5 inches tall. A delightful little Georgian full calf binding with wide gilt raised bands, superb extra gilt panels and a series of gilt and blind fillets and rolls framing the boards. The neat previous owners name, "Anne Sandars", dated 1827 on the first blank. A superb little edition of two highly influential and, in their day, very popular 18th century poets in pristine condition.

London: J. Johnson, 1808. 2 volume set, 5 1/4 inches tall. Beautiful little Regency mottled calf in pristine condition. With extra gilt tooling on a smooth back with twin labels and extraordinary mottling to the boards within a fine gilt roll. With the Fothergill bookplate and the stenciled mark of the Earls of Belmore, one of the great Irish titles. Portrait. William Cowper was one of the greatest of all English 18th century poets. His description of nature and of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside inspired the great Romantic Poets.

London: Thomas and William Boone, 1853. 6 volume set, 7 3/4 inches tall. A very neat Victorian full calf by T. Hatchard with gilt raised bands, twin labels and handsome gilt tooling to the panels. Triple blind fillets and corner tools frame the boards. Red speckled edges. Embellished with 55 full page engraved maps and battle plans. A fine set of one of the most celebrated works on the battles on the Iberian Peninsular during the Napoleonic Wars fought between the ultimately successful forces of Great Britain, Spain and Portugal against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire.

London: Reeves and Turner, 1876. 4 volume set, 9 inches tall. Beautifully bound in full calf by Ramage, with gilt raised bands, triple labels and most attractive gilt floral tooling to the panels. Gilt fillets and corner tools frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and top edges. Illustrated. A fine edition edited by Harry Buxton Forman. Although he drowned at the early age of 29, Shelley is considered one of the greatest of English Romantic poets, influencing future generations of poets. A great edition in a fine binding in pristine condition.

London: John Sharpe, 1818. Full calf, 6 3/4 inches tall. A lovely Regency binding with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels and twin gilt fillets and a gilt roll frame the boards. With the Fothergill armorial bookplate and the ink stamp of Baron Belmore, of Castle Coole in County Fermanagh. Embellished with the engravings of Richard Westall, which all have a degree of foxing. A splendid copy of one of the 18th century's most popular poems.

Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1910. Full calf, 7 1/2 inches tall. A fine binding in pristine condition with gilt raised bands, label and superb gilt tooling to the panels. The gilt embossed stamp of Marlborough College is framed within gilt twin fillets on the upper board. There is the prize bookplate of Marlborough College, dated 1912, on the paste down end paper. Double column. A neat copy of the complete works of the greatest English poet of the 14th century.

Paris: Chez Pierre Ribou, 1715. 5 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. A lovely full early 18th century mottled calf with raised bands, twin labels, which vary in colour, and ornate floral gilt tooling to the panels, so typical of the period. Triple gilt fillets frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. With the bookplate of N. F. B. le Sage and that of the Bibliotheque de Cirey, the library of Madame de Simiane at the Chateau de Cirey. With fine engraved plates throughout. Quinault was a celebrated playwright and perhaps most famous for composing libretti for Lully's works. A very scarce edition, in the original French.

London: Baynes and Son et al., 1825. Full calf, 5 inches tall. A gorgeous Georgian full calf binding with gilt raised bands and splendid gilt tooling around a Tudor rose centre tool. A fine gilt roll and blind floral roll frame the boards. Very slight foxing to the engraved frontispiece and engraved title page. A selection of the great poems of Alexander Pope, one of the greatest English poets of the early 18th century enlightenment.

London: Baynes and Son et al., 1825. Full calf, 5 inches tall. A beautiful little Georgian full calf with wide gilt raised bands and exquisite gilt tooling to the panels. A wide gilt roll and floral blind roll frame the boards. There is some slight foxing to the engraved frontispiece and the engraved title page, otherwise perfectly clean. Very popular in his day, James Thomson was a great 18th century poet, famous for these two poems and also for writing the lyrics of "Rule, Britannia!"

Oxford: J. Cooke et al.. 1795. 5 volumes, 8 3/4 inches tall. A superb English Country House 18th century tree calf with gilt bands on a smooth back, triple labels and delicate gilt tooling to the panels. A Greek key pattern roll frames the boards. Gilt dentelles and speckled blue edges. All in pristine condition. George Horne was a great defender of the High Church tradition in Anglicanism.

London: John Slark, 1886. 6 volume set, 7 1/2 inches tall. A most good looking Victorian full calf binding with gilt raised bands, twin labels and extra gilt panels. Portrait. Some loss to the head cap of the third volume. 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: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, & Green, 1865-1861. 5 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A splendid Victorian full calf by Bickers with gilt raised bands, twin labels and very fine gilt tooling to the panels. The title labels are slightly faded but still bright and good looking. With bookplate. Slight foxing to the preliminaries then clean. A most handsome set of this classic history of England.

Cologne: Chez Pierre du Marteau, 1666. 2 volume set, 5 1/2 inches tall. A splendid later, 19th century, full straight grain calf with raised bands and gilt pallets. Star corner tools and twin gilt fillets frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. With the armorial bookplate of Helen de Guerry Simpson. An interesting early biography of this great 17th century French prelate and statesman who wielded enormous influence in civil and religious affairs. In the original French.

London: J Dodsley, 1774. 4 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A slightly later, Regency, full calf with wide gilt raised bands, twin labels and a twin fillet framing the boards. With the Fothergill armorial bookplate. The spine is faded from the original lilac but still bright and very attractive. Possibly the most celebrated letters in the English language, the Earl's are full of fascinating insights to the period being a guide for worldly success in the 18th century, giving perceptive and nuanced advice for how a gentleman should behave. A fine edition in a very smart binding.

Edinburgh: A. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1788. 4 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A handsome 18th century full calf with raised bands, twin labels and pink speckled edges. Some minor superficial marks and stains to the boards and a nick to the head cap of volume IV, otherwise in excellent condition.
There is the signature of Jame Sterling on the title page of volume I. James Sterling was one of the foremost mathematicians of 18th century Europe and a protégé of Sir Isaac Newton. Lord Kames was a Scottish philosopher and a major influence on the development of the Scottish Enlightenment. The 3rd edition, which was considerably enlarged, in a handsome binding with a great provenance.

London: Printed by T. Bensley, for J. White et al., 1809. 3 volume set, 8 1/4 inches tall. A remarkable Regency full 'russia' diced calf in superb condition with gilt raised bands, and exceptionally fine gilt tooling in the head and tail panels. Twin gilt fillets and a gilt roll frame the diced boards. This set is embellished with 37 engraved portraits. Some offsetting from the plates. "The book is the most entertaining of contemporary memoirs, in no other book is there a description so vivid, truthful and graceful of the licentious court of Charles II.....Grammont's scandalous tongue knew no restraint....". (Ency.Brit.). A superb set of this classic work.

London: Printed at the Chiswick Press, 1863. Full calf, 11 inches tall. A most impressive binding by Riviere with gilt raised bands, black label and gorgeous gilt tooling to the panels. The boards are framed within a double fillet. Gilt dentelles and all edges. A finely printed edition, with 4 photographic plates, of these great English 18th century poems, including 'Elegy Written in a Country Church-Yard’.