Search

London: Rivington et al., 1811. Full morocco, 12 inches tall. A spectacular binding by Bedford in full red morocco with gilt raised bands, superb floral gilt tooling to the panels and triple gilt fillets framing the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. With the bookplate of Joseph Spencer Graydon. With 18 magnificent woodcuts, mostly of the early English monarchs. This is the most well known work of the 16th century John Rastell, being a chronicle dealing with English history from the earliest times to the reign of Richard III. Rastell was also the first English printer of polyphonic music. A wonderful copy of this entertaining history.

London: Ackermann, 1815. Full morocco, 9 1/2 inches tall. A magnificent copy in full navy blue morocco for Sawyer with gilt raised bands, very fine gilt tooled panels and top edge gilt. Triple gilt fillet framing the boards. With 2 maps, 1 folding and 17 superb hand coloured aquatints by Thomas Rowlandson.

Paris: D'Heran, 1807. 5 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A pristine and beautiful Georgian full crushed morocco bound set by A. Tarrant with gilt raised bands, delicate gilt tooled floral designs to the panels and contrasting twin green labels. Twin gilt fillets and pomegranate corner tools frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and top edges. With the morocco bookplate of Charles Rugge Price, the bookplate of Sir David Salomons and an ink inscription on the first blank. Portrait and plates after Moreau and another series by Giradet on india paper added. A splendid set of the works of one of the greatest French dramatists of of 17th-century France and a great figure of Western literature.

London: Macmillan and Co., 1907. Full morocco, 6 inches tall. An exquisite binding with beautifully gilt tooled floral calf onlays in the Art Nouveau style to the spine and upper board. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Portrait. Christina Georgina Rossetti was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children's poems, including "Goblin Market" and "Remember", as well as the words of the carol "In the Bleak Midwinter".

London: Fellowes, Rivington et al, 1857. 12 volume set, 8.75 inches tall. A classic Victorian full calf binding with gilt raised bands, twin labels and most attractive floral gilt tooling to the panels. An exceptionally handsome set of this great work.

London: Printed for the Ballad Society by Taylor, 1871. Hertford: Austin, 1874-1889. 6 volumes, 9 inches tall. A beautiful late Victorian half morocco with gilt raised bands, gilt pallets, titles and top edges. With the bookplate of West Dean Library (West Dean House, near Chichester, Sussex). Some foxing. A magnificent collection of ballads, originally formed by Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, enlarged by successive owners, among them, by John, Duke of Roxburghe, after whom the collection is named. 3 further volumes were printed up to 1899. Any decent runs are scarce, but especially so in a fine binding. Illustrated with delightful cuts throughout.

London: Lawrence and Bullen, 1892. 2 volume set, 11.25 inches tall. Magnificent full red morocco with bold and very unusual gilt tooling to the spine and upper boards and gilt top edge. Blind tooled pigskin endpapers. Number 153 of a Deluxe limited edition of 210 examples on japanese vellum. Embellished with portrait and 16 fine plates by Louis Chalon.

Paris: Cellot, 1768. 7 volume set, 8 inches tall. A fine 18th century full mottled calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and floral gilt tooling. Pink Edges. Decorated with a portrait of Racine, 12 plates designed by Gravelot. A splendid set, in the original French, of the works of one of the great French dramatists.

London: Jennings and Chaplin, 1831,32 & 33. 3 volumes, 10 inches tall. A splendid collection of the 3 Italy volumes of 'The Landscape Annuals' for 1831, 32 & 33, all are large-paper copies and in pristine condition. Bound in their published full green morocco by F. Westley and with the binder's ticket. With gilt raised bands, blind rolls and corner tools framing the boards, dentelles and all edges gilt. With a total of 74 superb engraved plates on India paper of city views by J.D. Harding and Samuel Prout as well as engraved frontispieces and title page vignettes to each volume.

London: Chapman & Hall, 1887. Full morocco, 8 inches tall. Bound to the finest quality by Leighton of Soho with gilt raised bands and neat gilt tooling to the panels and boards. Dentelles and all edges gilt. Bookplate of Leopold de Rothschild. Colour title page and 6 further colour plates.

London: Dilly, 1793. Full straight grain morocco, 9.5 inches tall. A fine example of the work of one of the greatest bookbinders of the late 18th century, with his bookplate. With his typical twin gilt raised bands, triple fillet framing the boards, dentelles and all edges gilt. Portraits.

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.

London: Cadell et al, 1830 & 1834. 2 volumes, 8 inches tall. very fine full crushed morocco by Holloway. With gilt raised bands, exceptionally attractive gilt tooling to the panels and boards, gilt dentelles and all edges. Bookplate. Profusely illustrated throughout with engraved vignettes by J. M. W. Turner, Thomas Stothard, and others. These titles are frequently found in fine bindings of the period and these are of a particularly high quality.

London: Her Majestys Stationery Office, 1954, 1956, 1960 & 1961. 3 volume set bound in 4 volumes, 9 1/2 inches tall. It is very unusual to find this great title in a fine leather binding. This set is in a very smart half crushed morocco by Maltby's of Oxford with gilt raised bands, twin labels and neatly gilt framed panels. With gilt top edges. Bookplate. All first editions. Roskill's masterpiece is the celebrated, official history of Britain's war at sea in the Second World War. It is still considered the definitive work on the subject and is packed with over 180 illustrations and over 150 folding maps and plans. There is some tiny loss to the bottom corner of the first volume's text block, otherwise in pristine condition.

London: Rivington et al., 1810. 8 volume set, 6 inches tall. A handsome later (c.1890) full calf with gilt and blind bands and red labels. At the head of each title page a strip has been removed (presumably to remove an owner's name) and expertly repaired. Minor foxing. Richardson's masterpiece is considered one of the greatest, earliest and longest of English novels. A novel written as a series of letters it is the tragic tale of Clarissa Harlowe, a young woman whose quest for virtue is continually thwarted by her family.

London: Arthur L. Humphreys, 1906. Half morocco, 8 3/4 inches tall. A rather spectacular half morocco by Bumpus with wide gilt bands and highly decorative gilt tooled panels. Gilt top edge, the remainder deckled. With the bookplate of Annie Cowdray, Viscountess Cowdray, English suffragist and philanthropist and that of the Library of the Late Christopher Foyle of Beeleigh Abbey. This is a typically luxurious printing by Humphreys, finely printed on hand-made paper. A splendid copy of this controversial biography of Christ translated from the original French.

London: Cadell, 1800. 2 volume set, 8.5 inches tall. A superb binding with gilt raised bands, label and exceptionally fine gilt tooling to the panels and boards. With dentelles and all edges gilt. Portrait. A pristine copy of this early enlarged edition.