Philosophy

London: John W. Parker, 1857-1861; Longmans, Green, and Co., 1872; Sampson Low et al., 1880. 7 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. Superb Victorian full calf bindings by the great firm of J. Leighton of Brewer Street from the library of Alfred de Rothschild, though without his bookplate. The 'History of Civilization in England' and 'Miscellaneous and Posthumous Works' are both first editions. With gilt raised bands, twin labels and neat gilt frame around a sunburst centre tool to the panels. Some foxing to the preliminaries and a slight stain to the title page of The life of, otherwise perfectly clean. Buckle, the highly influential English historian and author was an exponent of 'Historical Science'.

London: Arthur L. Humphreys, 1899. 2 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A sparkling full crushed morocco binding by Bayntun Riviere. With gilt raised bands and finely gilt tooled panels and boards. Gilt dentelles and top edges, the remaining edges deckled. A pristine set of one of Humphreys luxurious printings on hand made paper. From the Library of the Late Christopher Foyle of Beeleigh Abbey. Waldo Emerson was American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century.

London: Swedenborg Society, 1876. Full calf, 8 3/4 inches tall. A remarkable binding with gilt raised bands and a repeated gilt star within double fillets to the panels and boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. This extraordinary work 'in which are disclosed The Mysteries There Foretold' was written by the great 18th century Swedish scientist, theologian, philosopher and mystic, Emanuel Swedenborg.

London: Richard Taylor, 1832. Full morocco, 11 inches tall. A superb c.1835 full red morocco with gilt raised bands, ornate floral gilt tooling to the panels and a wide gilt roll and fillets to the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. With this work Lucretius was a great influence on the Augustan poets and on philosophers of the Enlightenment constructing a new Christian humanism. In the original Latin.

London: John W. Parker, 1847. 2 volume set, 9 inches tall. A splendid set from Alfred de Rothschild's library (but without the bookplate) in classic Victorian full calf in pristine condition. With gilt raised bands, twin labels and extra gilt panels. Twin fillets and tiny corner tools frame the boards. The remarkable English polymath, William Whewell, scientist, natural philosopher and theologian, was an important and influential figure still recognized today, partly from his skill as a neologist, coming up with such terms as scientist, physicist, linguistics, consilience, catastrophism, uniformitarianism, and astigmatism and, with Michael Faraday, such words as electrode, ion, dielectric, anode, and cathode. An impressive set.

London: John W. Parker and Son, 1857. 2 volume set, 9 inches tall. A very handsome mid-Victorian full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and extra gilt panels. Fourth edition. Twin gilt fillets and corner tools frame the boards. A neat ink inscription dated 1859 is to be found on the first blank. "John Stuart Mill was an English philosopher, political economist, politician, and civil servant. One of the most-influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to social theory, political theory, and political economy. Dubbed "the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century" by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, he conceived of liberty as justifying the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state and social control." (Wikipedia).

London: Humphreys, 1902. Full morocco, 8 1/2 inches tall. Beautifully bound in terracotta crushed morocco with the distinctive gilt tooling to the panels, boards and dentelles of these superb Humphrey's publications. All edges gilt. One of the taller works finely printed on hand made paper. Speckling to the leaves. De Officiis (On Duties/Obligations), written in 44 B.C., the year of Cicero's death, has been hugely influential. Voltaire wrote "No one (else) will ever write anything so wise". A lovely copy, in English, of this great work.

London Baldwin and Becket, 1784. 4 volume set, 7 inches tall. A simple but elegant full 18th century tree calf with red label and gilt pallets and volume numbers. Portrait. Bookplate of Ellen James. Foxing facing the portrait and at the end of volume 4, otherwise a clean set. A curious work, rarely found in fine condition by philosopher, composer and writer, Rousseau, who was one of the most influential philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment.

Delft et Leiden: Beman et Samuel Luchtmans, 1729. Full morocco, 8.5 inches tall. A glorious binding by Clarke & Bedford with gilt raised bands, superb gilt tooling around a pomegranate centre tool, dentelles quadruple gilt fillet framing the boards. All edges gilt over marble. Engraved frontispiece and title page. A superb copy of these dialogues on many and various subjects, hugely influential on Christian Humanists, by the greatest scholar of the northern Renaissance. In the original Latin.

London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1858. 2 volume set, 7 inches tall. A very handsome little set of this very scarce title with gilt raised bands, delicate gilt tooling to the panels and gilt top edges. Slight foxing to the preliminaries. With the bookplate of St. Benedict's Library, Fort William. The remarkable Kenelm Digby, most famous for his 'The Broad Stone of Honour, or Rules for the Gentlemen of England', was born in Ireland of old English stock and was a great enthusiast for chivalry, monarchy and the Church. He blamed the Reformation for the death of chivalry and religion. During the Victorian period, he wielded much influence and stimulated much debate.

London: George Cowie, 1837. 5 volume set, 9 inches tall. A most attractive early Victorian full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and elegantly gilt tooled panels. A single gilt fillet frames the boards. There is a neat contemporary ink previous owner's name on the reverse of the paste down end paper. Portrait. Slight rubbing. A bookplate has been removed from the rear paste down end papers. A fine set of the works of this great English theologian and philosopher best known for his exposition of natural theology.

London: Wingrave, 1806. Full Calf, 8 1/2 inches tall. A most attractive Georgian binding with gilt bands, delicately tooled centre tooling and twin fillets and blind corner tools framing the boards. Frontispiece. With the bookplate of M. General Sir Charles Stewart of Wynyard Park. Some slight rubbing, nevertheless a most pleasing example of one of the most important and influential 18th century works on language. From the library of Charles William Vane (formerly Stewart), third Marquess of Londonderry. Vane served with distinction throughout the Peninsula War. His dashing and dandified portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence is at the National Portrait Gallery. He amassed magnificent libraries in his various Country Houses.

London: Scott, Webster , and Geary, c.1840. Full calf, 5 inches tall. A lovely early Victorian little binding with gilt raised bands, olive label and very finely gilt panels, The boards have blind stamped 'fish scales' within a series of blind fillets. A very neat ink inscription on the first blank reads: "Mary Ann Ashley, August 1840". Some neat ink underlining sporadically throughout. Two great titles in a super little pink calf binding.

London: Arthur L. Humphreys, 1906. Half morocco, 6 1/2 inches tall. A good looking Edwardian binding with gilt raised bands, neat gilt panels and gilt top edge. From the Library of the Late Christopher Foyle of Beeleigh Abbey. A pristine example of a finely printed work on hand-made paper by Humphreys. 'Sesame and Lilies', first published in 1865, stands as a classic nineteenth-century statement on the natures and duties of men and women.

Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1869. Half calf, 8.75 inches tall. A handsome copy of this memoir of this celebrated Scottish Metaphysician. Portrait. Half calf with gilt raised bands, label and gilt panels.