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Oxford: W. Dawson at the Oxford Bible Warehouse, 1790. Full morocco, 12 inches tall. A fabulous late 18th century binding with gilt bands and exceptional gilt tooling to the panels and boards. The boards are framed withing double fillets, garlands and a series of masonic tools. At the centre of the upper board is the name of the original owner 'Lord Spencer Chichester'. All edges gilt. A remarkable copy of 'The Book of Common Prayer' in an exceptional binding in fine condition.

London : to be had by the Subscribers of those Booksellers to whom they have subscribed, and at W. Bristow's late Shop in St. Paul's Church Yard, or at his House in Roll's Buildings, Fetter-Lane, 1766-1767. 4 volume set, 7 1/4 inches tall. A superb full 18th century calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels, delightful gilt pomegranate tooling to the panels and a simple gilt chain roll framing the boards. Yellow edges. With the magnificent armorial bookplate of Vane Londonderry. An early advocate of women's rights having escaped an unhappy marriage and hostile husband. Early copies of her works are very rare even in institutions. A superb set.

London: Printed for the Villon Society by Private subscription and for Private Circulation Only, 1882-1884. 9 volume set, 9 inches tall. A very handsome set with raised bands and splendid gilt centre tools. Gilt top edges, the other edges deckled. This privately printed edition is limited to 500 copies of which this is number 14. Slight foxing to the preliminaries, otherwise pristine.

Paris: Perlet, 1803. 23 volume set, 8 1/4 inches tall. A most attractive and unusual full calf from the period of publication. The very elegant spines have gilt bands, twin labels and ornate and delicate centre tooling, typical of the period. A fine gilt roll frames the boards which blend tree calf with speckled lozenges in a superb fashion. Minor rubbing. With the armorial bookplates of Lord Kinnaird. A lovely set of Petitot's greatest work.

London, Paris & New York: Goupil & Co., 1902. Full morocco, 12.75 inches tall. A stunning copy of the best edition bound by Zaehnsdorf for Wm. Brown in full crushed morocco with raised bands and elegant gilt panels. The royal crest on the boards is framed within a series of gilt and blind fillets and corner tools. Gilt dentelles and top edges. Colour portrait and monochrome and sepia full page plates and vignettes throughout. Limited to just 250 copies on Japanese paper with a duplicate series of plates, of which this is number 16. Armorial bookplate. A splendid copy of this luxurious edition.

Paris: Chez Apollon, au Mont-Parnasse, 1782. Full morocco, 5.5 inches tall. A superb binding by Zaehnsdorf, one of the greatest London bookbinders. with gilt raised bands and splendid rococo gilt tooling to the panels and boards. Dentelles and all edges gilt. An engraved frontispiece and 17 further full page engravings. A charming 18th century anthology of French tales and poems.

Amsterdam: Johannis van Someren, 1670. 3 volume set, 7.75 inches tall. A wonderful set in a full crushed morocco, unsigned but possibly by Clarke at the beginning of the 19th century. With raised bands, twin labels and superb gilt floral tooling to the panels. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Armorial bookplate. Fine engraved title pages to the first 2 volumes. In the original Greek. Slightly faded spines but still a splendid set which describes the rise of the Roman Republic to the status of dominance in the ancient Mediterranean world. Famously it includes Polybius's eyewitness account of the Sack of Carthage and Corinth in 146 BC and the Roman annexation of the mainland Greece after the Achaean War.

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1864. 15 volume set, 8 inches tall. A classic mid-Victorian half calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and finely gilt tooled panels. Engraved portraits. A very handsome set of these great histories of late Renaissance Spain and the early Spanish Empire.

Oxford: John Henry Parker, 1850. 2 volume set bound in 3, 9 inches tall. A magnificent Victorian full hard grain morocco with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels and boards, Gilt dentelles and all edges gauffered. Embellished with 1700 woodcuts, some in colour. Parker 'was of considerable importance to Ecclesiology, the Gothic Revival, and the huge national upsurge of nineteenth century Anglicanism.....his Glossary.....must stand as one of the earliest (and most scholarly) influential texts of the whole ecclesiological movement' (James Curl: Oxford Dictionary of Architecture).

Paris, London & New York: Goupil & Co, 1906. Full crushed morocco, 12.75 inches tall. A splendid binding by Gruel with raised bands and simple yet elegant gilt framed panels, boards and dentelles. Top edge gilt. Limited to just 200 copies of which this is number 11 printed on Japanese paper with the plates in duplicate. Fine colour frontispiece.

Paris: L'Auteur, 1831. Half calf, 19 inches tall. An elegant binding by Simier, with his ticket. I very wide raised band and superb gilt tooling to the spine. 40 full page lithographs. Some Foxing. A neat ink owners inscription at Hickstead Place on the first blank.The ticket states 'Simier, Relieur du Roi, Rue St Honore 152, a Paris'. Binder to the King, Simier's "variety and and technique were superb; he had no superior and few rivals during his career" ( Ramsden's French Bookbinders 1789-1848 ).

London: Henry Colburn, 1848. 5 volume set, 7 3/4 inches tall. A handsome mid-Victorian full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and fine gilt tooling to the panels. Triple blind fillets and corner tools framing the boards. Portrait. With the armorial bookplate of William Balfour. A fine set of the considerably enlarged 3rd edition.

London: Printed by Charles Rivington for the Company of Stationers, 1772. Full calf, 8.25 inches tall. A pristine copy in full calf with gilt raised bands, boldly gilt tooled panels and the boards framed by a gilt roll. All edges gilt. Armorial bookplate. Internally spotless with wide margins.

London: G. Bell, 1926. Full morocco, 6.5 inches tall. A neat little volume of these great tales by one of the greatest Russian writers, translated into English by T. Keane. A fine binding by Morrell with gilt raised bands, splendid tooling to the panels and framing the boards. A slight stain to the foot of the upper board not effecting the shape or interior. Gilt dentelles and top edge.

Londra (London): Presso C. Corrall A Spesi di G. Pickering, 1822. Full crushed morocco 3.25 inches tall. An exquisite binding of the highest quality with gilt raised bands, dense gilt tooling to the panels, dentelles and all edges. Portrait. One of the beautifully printed works from Pickering's series of 'Diamond Classics'.

London: Charles Griffin and Company, 1852. Full calf, 6.5 inches tall. A simple but elegant binding by Bayntun Riviere with gilt raised bands, twin labels and floral gilt panels. Gilt dentelles and all edges. The 'Complete Edition' with fine engraved illustrations. A splendid copy of this delightful and scarce edition of these brilliant, haunting poems.

Paris: Joseph Barbou, 1754. Full calf, 6.25 inches tall. A superb early nineteenth century binding possibly by White, with gilt raised bands, delightful dense pomegranate gilt tooling to the panels, double gilt fillet framing the boards, dentelles and all edges gilt. From the Sotheby sale of 29th April 1852. Engraved frontispiece. Phaedrus was a 1st century A.D. Roman fabulist, now known to be the first writer to compile entire books of fables, retelling the tales of Aesop. A wonderful copy in the original Latin.

London: Longmans, Green and Co, 1957. Full crushed morocco, 8.5 inches tall. An elegant binding by Morrell with gilt raised bands, twin fillets framing the panels and boards, label, gilt dentelles and all edges. The first edition inscribed by the author 'With my respects to your Royal Highness (The Duke of Gloucester)...' From the library of Kensington Palace. La Maison Prunier was opened in Paris in 1872 and moved to St. James's in 1934. Famed for its fish dishes and a regular haunt of Edward Prince of Wales and Wallis Simpson it closed in 1976.