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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.

London: Richard Chiswell, 1681, 1683 & 1715. 3 volume set bound in 6, 18 inches tall. A fabulous full straight grain morocco by Staggemeier and Welcher (and with their ticket) with twin gilt raised bands and superb, delicate gilt tooling to the panels. The boards have triple gilt flllets and splendid gilt corner tooling so typical of the finest work of the late eighteenth century. Gilt tooled dentelles and all edges. Staggemeier & Welcher were part of a group of German bookbinders including Baumgarten, Walther, Hering and Kalthoeber who reinvigorated the London trade and produced bindings of the very finest quality during this period. These volumes are of that quality and are in exceptional condition though the spines are somewhat faded by the sun. Internally the set is spotless. With the bookplate of John Charles Crowle and later from the library of Morningthorpe Manor. This set was bound and extra-illustrated in 1798 with 472 plates, as well as the 16 plates called for. Many of the plates are exceptional, and include fine examples by Hollar, Kip, Houbarken, Bartalozzi and Houston, obviously none later than the 18th century. Gilbert Burnet wrote this great history of the Reformation, covering the reigns of King Henry VIII and of Queen Elizabeth. Volumes 1 and 2 are the second, corrected edition, volume 3 is the first edition. For generations this was the definitive work on this most traumatic period of English history which marked the destruction of a thousand years of Monastic history and led to the Church of England breaking away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church, changing many aspects of life in England for ever. This is an exceptionally tall copy, ruled in red throughout. A unique and truly exceptional set.

London: John Nimmo, 1888. 10 volume set, 10.5 inches tall, 11 including slip cases. A magnificent full crushed morocco binding by Petrus Ruban, one of the greatest Parisian bookbinders of the period. With gilt raised bands, fine gilt tooled panels incorporating 'theatrical' centre tools. The boards are framed with triple fillets and 'theatrical' gilt corner tooling. Gilt dentelles and top edges and glorious goatskin doublures. Each volume has a different design on its blue goatskin doublures, a feature I’ve not seen before, all are exceptionally finely executed. The books have been housed in calf trimmed and kid lined slip cases.
This set has been expanded from the original 3 volume set, limited to 300 copies, to a unique set of 10 volumes embellished with over 1000 extra illustrations. This set was commissioned by an English Gentleman residing in Milan who built up a superb library of Graingerised or Extra Illustrated volumes, bound by the finest bookbinders around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The history of the English stage from Thomas Betterton to Edmund Kean is here illustrated by centuries of fine engravings.
3 letters are also bound in, these are by Colley Cibber, Richard Brinsley Sheridan and Barton Booth, all are very interesting. There is some minimal rubbing, but is in an excellent state having been housed in slip cases for the last 120 years or so.

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.

Oxford: The Theatre/The Clarendon Printing House, 1702-1704/1759. 4 volumes bound in 8, 18.5 inches tall. A magnificent and exceptionally tall 18th century full straight grain morocco by Walther, and with his binder's tickets. The set was bound and extra-illustrated in 1794, with twin gilt raised bands, exquisite gilt tooling to the panels, the boards are framed within triple fillets with delicate lace like gilt corner tooling. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Some fading to the spines. Bookplate of John Charles Crowle whose fine extra-illustrated library was at Dalham Tower, Cumbria. This set was lot 1059 at the Morningthorpe Manor Sale at Key's in September 2016 where it sold for over £20,000 including premium. Very regrettably, many of the extra-illustrations were then removed. This has caused some damage to 2 of the spines, in particular volume 1 where a scalpel's neat incision can be seen running up the panels. The volumes also consequently have a varying degree of wedge shapes owing to the loss of some leaves. 345 extra-illustrations remain. What remains, though much diminished and with signs of damage, is tall red-ruled set of first edition with all the text and several hundred superb engraved extra-illustrations in an absolutely magnificent morocco binding by one of the greatest London bookbinders of the late 18th century.

1936. Full morocco, 13 inches by 11.5 inches. A superb binding by Asprey & Co. with gilt raised bands, panels framed with single pallets and the Regimental badge of the Scots Guards on the upper board framed by a single fillet. Wide dentelles and all edges gilt. Containing 10 original watercolours by A.E.Haswell-Miller of selected orders of dress worn by the Regiment since the Duke of Gloucester became their Colonel in 1936. From the library of the Duke of Gloucester at Kensington Palace. Prince Henry Duke of Gloucester was the third son of King George V, brother of King George VI and King Edward VIII. This magnificent and unique volume was presented to the Duke in 1961 on the occasion of his review of the Regiment marking his 25th year as Colonel.