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London: (Leonard Smithers) Privately Printed, 1896-1897. 4 Volume set, 7.5 inches tall. Superbly bound by Nichols in full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and dense gilt tooling to the panels. Top edge gilt, the other edges untrimmed. 'This edition is strictly limited to 1000 numbered copies, 500 of which are for America'. This copy unnumbered. A fascinating work by the team of Leonard Smithers and Harry Sidney Nichols, celebrated printers and publishers of erotic and pornographic volumes.

London: Jennings, n.d. c.1837. Full morocco, 11.5 inches tall. A splendid binding from the beginning of the Victorian period with wide gilt raised bands, magnificent tooling to the boards and all edges gilt. Including the title page there are 42 engraved views by David Roberts. Foxing, particularly heavy on the title page. With the bookseller's ticket of Pocock of Bath. A rare tall edition, with no text, in a spectacular binding.

London: T. Cadell, 1827. 4 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A splendid Georgian full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels including finely tooled volume labels and highly ornate extra gilt panels. Portrait. A celebrated history of the second son of Lorenzo de Medici, the Magnificent. Leo, born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was Pope in the early sixteenth century. He was a highly cultured and artistic man although his virtues as the leader of the Catholic Church are debated to this day. A very good looking set.

Paris: Chez la Veuve Estienne, 1741. 4 volume set, 6.5 inches tall. A lovely 18th century English tree calf set from the library of the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, with gilt bands, labels and yellow edges. A very fine set in pristine condition. In the original French.

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.

London: T. Cadell, 1825. 2 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A splendid Georgian full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels including finely tooled volume labels and highly ornate extra gilt panels. Portrait. A celebrated biography of the great 15th century Italian statesman, ruler of the Republic of Florence, Politician, banker and the most important patron of the Italian Renaissance sponsoring Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo amongst many others. A very good looking set.

London: John Murray, 1847. 2 volume set, 8.5 inches tall. An exceptionally handsome classic mid 19th century full calf binding. With gilt raised bands, twin labels, very finely gilt tooled panels and all edges gilt. An embossed prize block on the upper boards and a prize plate on the paste down endpaper dated 1850. A pristine set of this famous history.

London: H.G. Bohn, 1849. 2 volume set, 7.25 inches tall. One of a special series of 'Bohn's Extra Volumes' Beautifully bound in full morocco by the celebrated London binder Jeremiah Larkins. With gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels, dentelles and all edges gilt. Bookplates and the neat stamp of Bostonian collector Charles S. Dixwell on the reverse of the front free endpapers. Portraits.

London: Chapman & Hall, 1887. Full morocco, 8 inches tall. A most good looking full morocco by Leighton with gilt raised bands, gilt tooled panels, dentelles and all edges. A charming work with 12 colour plates. Very slight scuffing to the boards, an excellent copy. With the bookplate of Alfred Freiherr de Rothschild of Halton House, Bucks..

Paris: Didot, 1803 (AN XI). 5 volume set, 5.5 inches tall. A delightful set in full straight grain morocco with gilt bands, centre tools, gilt roll framing the boards and all edges gilt. In the original French.

London: Lawrence and Bullen, 1892. 2 volume set, 11 inches tall. A very smart full morocco binding with gilt raised bands, gilt fillets to the panels and rolls to the boards. Gilt top edges. Limited to 1000 copies of which this is number 73. Portrait and 14 full page plates by Louis Chalon. Translated into English by Sir Thomas Urquart of Cromarty and Peter Anthony Motteux. A handsome set of this great 16th century fantasy.

Chiswick Press: C. Whittingham, 1819. Full calf, 7.5 inches tall. A superbly bound volume with gilt raised bands and ornate blind tooling to the panels and boards, typical of the Regency period. Slight rubbing. Bookplate and Binder's Ticket for T.Sowler of St. Ann's Square, Manchester. A very curious and rare work containing 2 reprints, the first published originally by John Deane in 1609, the second by Thomas Thorp in 1612. Titled 'Ancient Humorous Poetry' on the spine.

London: Becket, Cadell and Evans, 1774. 4 volume set, 7 1/2 inches tall. A good looking 18th century full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and elaborate gilt tooling to the panels. A single gilt fillet frames the boards, With bookplate of Ellen James. Some rubbing and cracks to the joints but overall a perfectly firm and solid set of this English language edition.

Paris: Gibert Jeune Librairie d'Amateurs, 1938. 4to (10½" tall). Full blue crushed morocco. Splendid 1930's French binding with a series of wide bands each bearing a letter of the title. Coloured calf inlay and gilt tooling on the upper board. Top edge gilt.

London: Trübner & Co., 1889. Half morocco, 8 inches tall. A very good looking half crushed morocco with gilt raised bands and fine gilt floral tooling in the Art Nouveau style to the panels. Gilt top edge, the remaining edges deckled. A splendid new edition on hand made paper and Illustrations by Alfred Crowquill. Baron Munchausen's fictionalized adventures were first published anonymously in the original German by Raspe in magazine pieces and then in English in book form in 1785. Published anonymously as he feared litigation from the living and actual Baron Munchausen. He is not portrayed as dishonest but with an enormous capacity to exaggerate and elaborate his genuinely remarkable life into a ridiculous and comic one.

London: Richard Bentley, 1852. 2 volume set, 8 inches tall. A classic Victorian full calf binding with gilt raised bands, bright twin labels and ornate gilt tooling to the panels. Twin gilt fillets frame the boards. A neat ink inscription dated 1858, "on leaving Eton" is on the first blank. A fine copy, in English, of a scarce work by Ranke, the great German historian.

London: G. Bell and Sons, 1922. Full calf, 7 3/4 inches tall. Two volumes bound as one. A splendid tree calf binding by Bickers with gilt raised bands, twin labels and ornate gilt tooling to the panels. A single gilt fillet frames the boards. Portrait and 20 further illustrations. Eighth edition, revised. Slight foxing on the portrait, otherwise clean. A handsome copy of the Life of Napoleon Bonaparte.

London, Whitehall, 1884. Half morocco, 7 inches tall. A neat and simple late Victorian binding with raised bands and gilt titles and top edge. No.1 in a series entitled 'Rochester Series of Reprints, limited to 100 copies, was printed privately owing to the erotic and bawdy nature of the verse. John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester is considered the most learned among the Restoration wits and was censored throughout the Victorian period, appearing only occasionally in print in such privately printed works as this.

Halifax: William Milner, 1844. Full morocco, 5.5 inches tall. A superb gilt embossed binding with gilt panels, boards and titles. All edges gilt. Portrait, engraved title page and 2 folding maps. Ink inscription on free endpaper dated Xmas, 1845.