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London: Printed by T. Bensley for Wynne, Scholey and J. Wallis, 1803-1805. 10 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A delightful Regency tree calf binding with wide gilt bands on a smooth back with triple labels, including impressively tooled green labels listing the plays within, and a fine gilt centre tool. The portrait of Shakespeare in volume is, along with it's tissue, foxed, the charming vignettes which illustrate all the plays are clean despite the foxing on some of their tissues. The edition, that of Mr. Steevens, is excellent, as is the type. Speckled edges. A splendid set.

Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and London: Hurst, Robinson and Co., 1822-1830. 53 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A magnificent set in bound in the highest quality Georgian full hard grain morocco with gilt raised bands and superb extra gilt panels. Gilt and blind fillets frame the boards. All edges gilt. Each volume has an engraved title page and further full page engravings. There is a degree of foxing, mostly to the engraving, but a generally very clean set. There is some scratching and a couple of small gouges, but is very smart and has absolutely no splitting or loss. A remarkable set.

London: Reeves and Turner, 1876. 4 volume set, 9 inches tall. Beautifully bound in full calf by Ramage, with gilt raised bands, triple labels and most attractive gilt floral tooling to the panels. Gilt fillets and corner tools frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and top edges. Illustrated. A fine edition edited by Harry Buxton Forman. Although he drowned at the early age of 29, Shelley is considered one of the greatest of English Romantic poets, influencing future generations of poets. A great edition in a fine binding in pristine condition.

London: John Murray, 1887. 2 volumes, 7 inches tall. Smart Victorian full calf with gilt raised bands, labels and neat gilt tooling to the panels. Gilt prize blocks to the upper boards and prize paper labels on the paste down end papers. Hugely influential works, Smiles was described as the 'New Plutarch' by George Bernard Shaw. 'Self-Help' was referred to as "the bible of mid-Victorian liberalism" raising Smiles to celebrity status on its publication.

Edinburgh: Adam & Charles Black, 1853. 60 volumes, 6 1/2 inches tall. A bright Victorian half calf with raised bands, twin labels and extra gilt panels. Each volume has an engraved title page and frontispiece. The occasion mark and minor scuff, overall in excellent condition with no loss or splitting. The Novels are complete in 48 volumes, the Poetical Works complete in 12 volumes, resulting in this superb uniformly bound collection. A splendid set of these classic works, some of the most influential writing of the 19th Century.

London: J. Nichols, F.C. and J. Rivington et al., 1813. 21 volumes, 9 1/2 inches tall. A remarkable and beautiful Regency full tree calf binding with gilt bands, triple labels, including charming olive volume number labels, and lovely gilt tooling to the panels. The striking tree calf boards are framed within a rather jaunty gilt roll. A name has been removed from the head of the title page of the first volume, there are a few scratches, a little superficial loss to the ubiquitous defunct insect and occasional light foxing but overall a splendid bright set in wonderful condition with absolutely no splitting. With notes by Samuel Johnson and George Steevens, revised by Isaac Reed with is a particularly respected edition with a large, highly readable text.

London: J. Valpy, 1832. 15 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. A splendid William IV half vellum with fine contrasting calf labels, gilt bands and extra gilt tooling to the panels. Speckled pink edges. Some marks and stains and foxing on the preliminaries and plates, otherwise clean. With a previous owner's name (Edmund Salwey Ford) on the paste-down endpapers. With 170 line engravings after the plates in Boydell's edition. With a life, glossary and notes.

Edinburgh: Adam & Charles Black, 1871. 25 volume set, 7 1/2 inches tall. A very handsome Victorian half calf in pristine condition with gilt raised bands, twin burgundy labels and delicate gilt tooling to the panels. This is a well illustrated edition with engraved frontispieces, title pages and full page engravings throughout. An attractive set of the most popular novels of the the 19th century.

London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1850. Full Calf, 9 1/2 inches tall. A splendid Victorian full calf by Riviere with gilt raised bands, contrasting label and fine gilt tooling to the panels. Triple gilt fillets frame the boards. With the bookplate and signature of Lord Eldon, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain between 1801 and 1806. Double Column. Robert Southey was a great English romantic poet and biographer and a close friend and collaborator of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

London: Lawrence and Bullen, 1894. 2 volume set, 11 1/4 inches tall. An elegant set in half crushed morocco bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe with gilt raised bands and neat gilt framed panels and gilt top edges. A slight blotchiness to the spines. Limited to 1000 copies, of which this is no. 57. With 20 plates by E.R. Hughes. A collector and writer of short stories, Straparola published this collection of stories sometimes called 'The Facetious Nights' or 'The Pleasant Nights'. This collection includes some of the first known printed versions of fairy tales in Europe. Charles Perrault and the brothers Grimm both developed some of his tales.

London: John Murray, 1813. 3 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A superb set, fresh from an English Country House, of this scarce history in Regency tree calf with gilt pallets and fine title labels. Speckled edges. With an armorial bookplate and the neat ink former owner's name at the head of the title pages, 'James F. Leitch'. Some scuffing and superficial scratches, overall a lovely set of this history in English, translated from the French.

London and Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, 1892. 25 volume set, 8 1/4 inches. A very smart set of the Dryburgh Edition of the Waverley novels in a half morocco binding in the Art Nouveau style. With two gilt raised bands framing the title and superb floral gilt tooling. Gilt top edges. Slight variation in the colour of the spines, but still a very good looking set of this well illustrated edition of Sir Walter Scott's great series of novels.

London: Longman, Rivingtons et al., 1847. 8 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A very good looking Victorian full calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and ornate gilt tooling to the panels. Twin gilt and a blind fillet frame the splendid blind device on the boards. Portrait. There is a neat ink inscription, dated 1853 on the first blank. There are some minor scratches, nibblings of a long defunct insect and a couple of small splits not affecting the integrity of the binding. This edition 'Accurately printed from the Text of the Corrected Copies Left by the Late George Steevens, Esq., and Edmond Malone, Esq.,.... (with) a history of the Stage, & A Life of Shakspeare; by Alexander Chalmers'.

London: A. Wilson, 1812. Full Calf, 8 1/2 inches tall. A most attractive Regency full diced calf with inked and gilt raised bands and ornate gilt centre tools. The diced boards are framed within a delicate gilt fillett. Double Column. A single volume edition of Smolletts' great history covering the period..."from the Revolution in 1688, to the Death of George the Second. Designed as a Continuation of Hume".

London & New York: The Grolier Society, 1909. Full morocco, 9 1/4 inches tall. A remarkable binding with gilt raised bands and floral gilt tooling and green calf onlays in the Art Nouveau style to the panels and boards. Splendid gilt tooled doublures and watered silk free endpapers. Armorial bookplate of Henry von Beyr. Illustrated with 6 etched portraits by C.X. Harris. Signed by the author in an edition limited to 1250 copies of which this is number 2. The spine is faded by the sun and there are a few superficial marks to the blanks and limitation page, and there is some minor scratching to the back board, but overall still a lovely copy.

London: Nimmo, 1898. 24 volume set, 7 1/2 inches tall. A very bright and good looking classic late Victorian half calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and ornate gilt tooling to the panels. This the 'Large Type Border Edition' and is illustrated throughout. An unusually fine set directly from a country house.

London, Savoy: Printed by Tho. Newcomb, for the author, 1667. Full morocco, 14 1/2 inches tall. A superb tall later binding by the great firm of Bedford, with gilt raised bands, twin labels and magnificent gilt tooling to the panels. A series of gilt fillets frame the boards, wide dentelles and all edges gilt. First edition in red and black, embellished with 5 double page engraved plates and 57 full page. With the armorial bookplates of the Hon. Hugh Howard and the Fox Pointe Collection. Slight rubbing but a very good, clean copy with wide margins.

London: Sharpe and Son et al., 1819. 4 volume set, 9 inches tall. A beautiful Regency full red morocco by the great firm of White of Pall Mall with gilt raised bands, gilt pallets and simple centre tools. Double gilt fillets frame the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Portraits in volume I and an engraved frontispiece in volume II, as called for. Very slight fading to the spines of volumes III & IV, but overall an exceptionally fine set.

London: Swan Sonnenscein & Co., 1894. Half morocco, 9 inches tall. A very pretty copy of this interesting study in a half crushed morocco by Zaehnsdorf with elaborate gilt tooling on a smooth back. Gilt top edge. Rather splendid 'Arthurian' bookplate. Embellished with a portrait and 4 engraved plates. A previous owner's neat ink signature on a blank.

London: William Sams, 1822. Full morocco, 14 1/2 inches tall. In a later full crushed morocco by Zaehnsdorf with gilt raised bands and delicate gilt tooling to the panels. A panel with elaborate gilt corner tooling and a wide and elegant roll frames the boards. Wide gilt dentelles and all edges. The folio has been preserved in a sturdy buckram case, ensuring the pristine condition of the volume. Tissues guard the plates, which show scenes of many vibrantly hand-coloured characters rather than emphasising the great buildings of the city which tend to be in the background. We see a lively portrayal of beautifully costumed Parisians in diverse walks of life. A splendid copy of one of the finest books of the period on Paris.