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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.

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.

London: Macmillan, 1890, 1891. Full morocco, 10 1/2 inches tall. A stunning large paper copy in full crushed morocco bound by Riviere in 1893 in absolutely pristine condition. With gilt raised bands and exquisite floral gilt tooling to the panels. A gilt embossed ornate centre tool is framed within a series of gilt rolls and fillets on both boards. Wide gilt dentelles and gilt top edges, the remaining edges untrimmed. The original cloth wraps are bound in. Profusely illustrated by Hugh Thomson, who has signed the title page, throughout. A wonderful copy of one of the greatest comic 18th century novels.

London: William Pickering, 1846. 2 volume set, 12 inches tall. A magnificent crushed morocco by J. Clarke with gilt raised bands, very finely tooled panels, gilt dentelles and all edges. With the gilt embossed arms of Earl Cawdor on the boards. Beautifully embellished with 16 plates, 3 coloured, 1 folded and 60 illuminated initials. Some foxing to the engraved plates, otherwise pristine. A very fine set.

London: W. Allason; et al., 1819. 12 volume set, 8 1/4 inches tall. A exceptionally good looking Regency full calf with wide extra gilt raised bands, blind tooling to the panels and twin labels. With one engraved portrait and two folding maps, as called for. A few small marks to the boards, otherwise in excellent condition, inside and out. First published in 1776, Gibbon's 'Decline and Fall' was initially planned as a history of the final years of the Roman Empire but was expanded in scope to the history of the whole Roman Empire. It is still considered to be one of the greatest histories ever written.

London: Macmillan, 1877-1880; 1881; 1883. 6 volume collection, 9 inches tall. A set of the 3 great histories by Green bound beautifully by Hopkins of Glasgow. With gilt raised bands, triple olive green labels and exquisite gilt tooling in the panels. The boards are decorated in the style of 17th century Cambridge panels, speckled and stenciled. Gilt dentelles and top edges. A few superficial abrasions. As nice a late Victorian bound set as one could hope to find.

Paris: Hetzel, 1845 - 1846. 2 volume set, 10.5 inches tall. A stunning full cat's paw calf by Clarke & Bedford, one of the finest London binders of the period in pristine condition. With gilt raised bands, delightful labels and superb gilt tooling to the panels. With gilt dentelles and all edges. Armorial bookplate. Does not include the Plan of Paris reserved for subscriber's copies only. Embellished with superb engravings and vignettes throughout.

London: John Murray, 1827. Full morocco, 11 inches tall. A magnificent Regency full straight grain morocco with the gilt title within a cartouche to the spine and the arms of the Earl of Leitrim (motto "Patris Virtutibus") to the boards. With frontispiece facsimile of an ALS from King George III. Slight rubbing to the head and tail of the spine but with no splitting or loss. This superb regency binding, presumably commissioned by Nathaniel Clements, 2nd Earl of Leitrim (1768-1858) houses a controversial series of letters between the King and his ministers.

London: John Bell, 1774. Full vellum, 6 1/2 inches tall. A charming 18th century vellum binding with blue calf label, bands and border on the boards. Fine floral gilt tooling on the bands and in the panels, gilt fillets decorate the blue calf straps on the boards. An old hand has written "Edwards (of Halifax) binding" on the reverse of the front free endpaper but I can not verify that, though it is certainly in their distinctive style. There is a neat previous owner's name, "M: Dann" on the first blank. A fine, unsophisticated copy.

London, Paris, New York: Goupil & Co., 1899. Full morocco, 12 1/2 inches tall. A sumptuous binding by Riviere in an unusual orange goat skin, with gilt raised bands and very fine extra gilt tooling to the panels and gilt roll and triple fillet framing the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Beautifully printed and with illustrations throughout including the colour portrait of Oliver Cromwell. One of a series of extravagantly produced, mostly Royal, biographies. Deluxe limited edition in very fine condition.

London: Macmillan and Co., 1932. Full morocco, 7 1/2 inches tall. A super mosaic binding by Riviere with gilt raised bands fine gilt floral tooling to the panels, gilt dentelles and all edges. On the boards, within elaborate gilt borders, splendid colourful morocco onlays illustrate two of the "Bab" Ballads, 'The Yarn of the "Nancy Bell"' on the upper board and 'For he who'd make his Fellow-Creatures Wise should always Gild the Philosophical Pill' on the lower. Embellished with 350 illustrations, also by W. S. Gilbert. Very slight rubbing and an extensive neat ink inscription on the first blank, otherwise a pristine collection of Gilbert's light verse, named after is childhood nickname, in which he developed his "topsy-turvy" style of humour.

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: Tilt, 1827. 7.5 inches tall. Full crushed morocco by Riviere with gilt raised bands, very fine gilt tooling to the panels and the board framed within triple gilt fillets. Wide gilt dentelles and top edge. Illustrations by Cruikshank. The original paper wrappers bound in. Armorial bookplate and 2 catalogue entries for this copy tipped in. Albert Ludwig was not related to Jacob and Wilhelm, the Brothers Grimm. Slight split to the head of the spine but still a superb copy of a very rare item.

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: Macmillan, 1894. 2 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A rather splendid full morocco in pristine condition with gilt raised bands, very finely gilt tooled panels and spine. All edges gilt. With a gilt prize inscription on the upper board and prize bookplate on the first blank. Alice Stopford Green was an Irish historian and nationalist who married the English historian, J. R. Green. She was involved in the Howth gun-running of July 1914, having given Roger Casement a loan to help buy German arms.

London: Rivington; Cadell et al., 1820. 4 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A superb Regency full calf with wide gilt raised bands, twin contrasting red labels and ornate and dense blind tooling to the panels. Twin gilt fillets and 2 elaborate blind rolls frame the boards. With the pink binder's ticket of G. Cruikshank of Liverpool on the reverse of the front free endpaper of the first volume. Slight browning to the plates, otherwise clean. A splendid set of the works of this great Anglo-Irish writer.

London: Cassell, c.1900. 3 volume set, 9 inches tall. A handsome Edwardian half calf by Root with gilt raised bands, twin labels and neat gilt framed panels to the boards. Gilt top edge. Armorial bookplate. Portrait and thrilling illustrations throughout. One of the most popular Victorian crime writers, unusual in a fine binding.