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Liverpool: Brown, Barnes & Bell, 1878. 2 volume set, 16 1/2 inches tall. A huge and spectacular morocco binding by the great Victorian bookbinders of Liverpool, Fazakerley. A binding of the highest quality, perhaps an exhibition piece, with gilt raised bands and ornate gilding to the panels and boards, incorporating liver birds, floral flourishes and pallet work, framed within twin fillets. All edges gilt and fine gilt dentelles. The endpapers are also a delight, involving more liver birds, urns and floral designs. Embellished with 72 plates. A charming and nostalgic look at the lost buildings and areas of Old Liverpool in excellent condition, inside and out.

London: Richard Bentley, 1840-1875. 23 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A Superb full polished calf by Riviere with gilt raised bands, twin labels, fine gilt tooling to the panels and a triple gilt fillet framing the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Engraved frontispieces. All first editions. A fine set of these celebrated historical works. (Comprising: The Court of England During the Reign of the Stuarts; The Court of England from the Revolution in 1688 to the Death of George II; George Selwyn and his Contemporaries; Memorials of London; Memoirs of the Pretenders; London and its Celebrities; Memoirs of Richard III: Memoirs of George III; Celebrated Etonians). Fine set from the library of an Oxfordshire country house.

London: Bohn, 1848. Half morocco, 15 inches tall. A glorious tall copy 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. In pristine condition this copy was bound by J. Wright, one of the finest binders of the early Victorian period, with gilt raised bands, label and magnificent gilt armorial centre tools. All edges gilt. Decorated with 60 full page hand coloured plates, all dated 1811-13.

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.

London: J. Johnson, 1807-1808. 6 volume set, 12 inches tall. Exceptionally good looking Georgian full russia calf with blind tooled twin raised bands and splendid blind tooling to the panels, typical of the period. The boards have a series of blind rolls and fillets and single gilt fillet framing a central blind panel with corner tools. With the armorial bookplate of Lord Kinnaird of Rossie Priory. Some foxing but generally very clean. The books are in excellent condition but, as is so often the case with heavy russia calf, some joints are fragile and creased. This is an important new edition of this great work, first printed in 1577 that is the basis for many of Shakespeare's plays.

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.

London: Cadell and Davies, 1807. 2 volume set bound in 3, 10 1/2 inches tall. A magnificent full speckled calf Regency Binding with gilt raised bands, twin labels and delicate tooling to the panels. Blue Speckled edges. With fine folding hand-coloured map. With the Stewart bookplate. Emblazoned with foreign orders and decorations, Stewart was appointed ambassador to Vienna attending, with his brother Castlereagh and Wellington, the congress convened there to determine the future of Europe following the fall of Bonaparte. However, his dissolute behaviour, womanizing (he was widowed in 1812) and preposterous love of display, which earned him the sobriquet of "The Golden Peacock", created more comment (and enjoyment) than his skills of diplomacy. A splendid looking set with a great provenance.

Oxford: The University Press, 1849. 7 volume set, 9 1/2 inches tall. A splendid early Victorian full calf by Budden of Cambridge with gilt raised bands, twin labels and very fine gilt tooling to the panels. A simple gilt fillet frames the boards. With the armorial bookplate of J.F.D. Tutt. With a neat ink inscription on the first blank dated 1849. A magnificent set of Clarendon's great 'History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England', as it was originally titled on its publication between 1702 and 1704.

Oxford, The University Press, 1857. 6 volume set, 9 inches tall. A most attractive mid Victorian half calf by Morrell, with gilt raised bands, twin labels and fine gilt tooling to the panels, Gilt top edges. Narcissus Luttrell (1657–1732) was an English historian, diarist, and bibliographer, and briefly Member of Parliament for two different Cornish boroughs. His Brief Historical Relation of State Affairs from September 1678 to April 1714, a chronicle of the Parliaments of England and Great Britain, was distilled from his diary and published in 1857, after Macaulay had drawn attention to the manuscript in All Souls College, Oxford (Wikipedia). A very fine set of the first edition of this important work which also covers major events in diplomacy, literature and the arts.

London: Longman et al., 1851. 5 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. Exquisite little set with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels and triple labels. Note the spectacular volume label. The tree calf boards are framed within an ornate floral gilt roll. Each volume has an engraved frontispiece. From the library of Edward Nicholas Hurt, most of whose books were of this highest quality.

London: Chapman and Hall, 1846. 3 volume set, 9 inches tall. A stunning full 'Spanish Calf' with gilt bands, twin labels and dense, and most unusual, gilt tooling to the spine. The boards are framed within gilt corner tools and twin fillets. Pink speckled edges. With the armorial bookplate of Christopher Turnor of the the magnificent Stoke Rochford Hall. There is quite heavy foxing, almost completely confined to the portrait and title page of volume I. This is the second, enlarged edition. A splendid set.

London and Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd and Simpkin, Marshall, 1853. 5 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A splendid 'Country House' mid Victorian full calf set with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels and very fine twin labels. One blind and two gilt fillets frame the central gilt arms with motto "Munificentia Hulmiana" (Hulme Bequest). An ink stain is to be found on the lower board of volume II. A neat ink previous owner's inscription is to be found on the first blank. A fine set from the library of Tushingham Hall.

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.

Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1875-77. 15 volume set, 7 1/2 inches tall. A smart set of these great histories in Victorian half calf with gilt raised bands and fine gilt tooling to the panels. Portraits. A splendid set of the works of this great American historian.

London: Longman et al., 1830-1832. 2 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. Exquisite little set with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels and triple labels. Note the spectacular volume label. The tree calf boards are framed within an ornate floral gilt roll. Each title page has an engraved vignette. This 2 volume set constituted the first part of 'The History of the Western World' But is complete in itself. From the library of Edward Nicholas Hurt, most of whose books were of this highest quality.

London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1897. 2 volume set, 9 inches tall. This great 'Life of Nelson', first edition, in a very smart half navy blue morocco by Riviere with gilt raised bands and fine gilt naval centre tools within neat gilt frames on the panels. Gilt top edges. With 20 full page illustrations and a further 20 maps and battle plans. Captain Mahan of The United States Navy wrote several of the most important and influential naval histories of the 19th century. From the library of Alfred de Rothschild, but without his bookplate. A magnificent set.

London: Chapman and Hall, 1865. 10 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A very smart full vellum by James Thornton of Oxford with twin labels, red edges and the gilt crests on the upper and lower boards. Portraits. Some minor foxing to the preliminaries but overall an exceptionally clean and bright set of the "grandest of his works" (Froude), and declared by Ralph Waldo Emerson to be "Infinitely the wittiest book that was ever written."

London: Longman et al., 1835; 1837; 1840 & 1845. 4 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. Exquisite little set with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels and triple labels. The tree calf boards are framed within an ornate floral gilt roll. Each title page has an engraved vignette. The title label of volume 4, which appeared 5 years after the third volume, is of a different colour. From the library of Edward Nicholas Hurt, most of whose books were of this highest quality.

London: William Baynes et al., 1824. 12 volumes bound in 6, 6 1/2 inches tall. A sparkling early Victorian full calf with gilt raised bands, triple labels and extra gilt panels. Double gilt fillets and corner tools framing a gilt armorial block on each board. Folding maps. Covering Scotland, Charles V, America and India, this is a spectacular little set of Robertson's celebrated histories.