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Nella Stamperia De Romanis, 1815-1817. 4 volume set, 11 inches tall. A magnificent straight grain morocco by J. Clarke, one of the finest binders in London in the early years of the Georgian period. With gilt raised bands, elegant gilt tooling to the panels and boards. All edges gilt. Portrait and 3 engraved plans. With the armorial bookplate of William Strahan. Considered the greatest poem of the Middle Ages and the most important work in the Italian language. In the original Italian.

London: Charles Knight and Co., 1839. 3 volume set, 9.5 inches tall. A wonderful full Spanish calf by J.Leighton of Brewer Street with raised gilt bands and stunning extra gilt panels. The boards are framed within sumptuous gilt rolls and fillets. With gilt dentelles and all edges. With the armorial bookplate of Gregory Haines. Illustrated throughout with hundreds of wood engravings from the designs of William Harvey. A fabulous set.

London Pickering, 1825. Full calf, 7.5 inches tall. A ravishing full Spanish Calf binding by Riviere with gilt bands, triple labels and ornate rococo gilt tooling to the spine. The boards are framed within triple gilt fillets. Gilt dentelles and top edges. This set has the bookplate of the Rosenbach Foundation, from which it was released in 1968. A truly beautiful set.

Paris: Le Livre Contemporain, 1905. Full morocco, 9.5 inches tall. A beautiful binding by P. Ruban, dated 1909, in the 'Art Nouveau' style. Glorious pastel hued inlaid flowers decorate the panels and boards. Raised bands, wide dentelles with borders of pink and green floral inlays and watered silk doublures and end papers. All edges gilt. With morocco and calf lined chemise and slip case which have ensured the almost 'as bound' condition. With the leather bookplate of George Wendling on the first blank (offset onto the second blank and his neat stamp on the third blank). The original blue/gray wraps bound in. Limited edition of just 117 copies of which this is number 73. With etched frontispiece and vignettes.

Bruxelles: Paul Lacomblez, 1914. Full morocco, 13 inches tall. A truly magnificent binding in pristine condition by Paul Affolter with gilt raised bands, superb gilt tooling with onlays to the panels and framing the boards. Wide gilt dentelles and watered silk doublures and free endpapers. Number 50 of 75 copies on 'japon imperial' with an extra suite of colour plates. In the original felt lined and leather trimmed slipcase also signed by Affolter. Based on an obscure 16th century romance, Coster's masterpiece tells of the adventures of a Flemish prankster, Thyl Ulenspiegel, during the wars of the Reformation in the Netherlands and became popular all over the world.

London: Bohn, 1848. Half morocco, 15 inches tall. A glorious tall copy from the library of the Duke of Gloucester at Kensington Palace. Prince Henry Duke of Gloucester was the third son of King George V, brother of King George VI and King Edward VIII. In pristine condition this copy was bound by J. Wright, one of the finest binders of the early Victorian period, with gilt raised bands, label and magnificent gilt armorial centre tools. All edges gilt. Decorated with 60 full page hand coloured plates, all dated 1811-13.

London: John Thomas, 1840. 3 volume set, 10 inches tall. A gorgeous Spanish calf binding by Tout with gilt raised bands, triple labels and fine gilt tooling to the panels. Gilt Cambridge panels to the boards, dentelles and gilt top edges. With 800 engraved vignettes from designs by Tony Johannot. A remarkable set bound in this very scarce style in a most unusual colour by one of London's greatest late Victorian binders.

London: The Punch Office, 1847-1848. Bradbury and Evans. 3 volumes, 9 inches tall. A wonderful set of the first editions of these great comic works. Bound by Bradstreet in the finest full crushed morocco with raised bands and gilt dentelles. From the Duke of Gloucester's library at Kensington Palace, each volume with his bookplate. Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester was the third son of King George V, brother of King George VI and King Edward VIII. Original wrappers bound in. With a total of 30 hand coloured engravings and over 300 woodcuts by John Leech.

London: Edward Moxon, 1843-1846. 11 volume set, 8.75 inches tall. A truly splendid full hard grain morocco by one of the greatest binders of the period, White of Pall Mall. With gilt raised bands, unusual dense gilt tooling to the panels and gilt dentelles. All the edges are gilt over marbling. The heraldic crest on both boards is framed within magnificent gilt rolls and individual tooling. The crest with the motto 'Sic Donec' is that of William Tatton Egerton, 1st Baron Egerton of Tatton Park. A wonderful set of the Works of these two early 17th century English playwrights, often considered successors to Shakespeare.

London: Macmillan, 1920. Full morocco, 6 inches tall. A glorious little binding by Ramage in pristine condition with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels and extraordinary extra gilt onlays to the panels and boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Watered silk doublures and free endpapers. A binding of the highest quality. We have seen this design by Ramage before but not in this condition. Marcus was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher acquiring the reputation of a philosopher king.

Boston & New York: Houghton Miflin Company, 1909. 16 volume set, 9 inches high. A truly splendid set bound by OLDASH in full morocco with raised bands, fine gilt tooling to the panels, wide dentelles and top edge. Watered silk doublures and endpapers. With full page illustrations throughout. With the armorial bookplate of John J. Raskob. A superb set in pristine condition.

London: Sherwood, Jones & Co., 1825-1826. 2 volume set, 9.5 inches tall. A magnificent set of the first edition of this brilliant comic work bound in full straight grain morocco by Riviere. With gilt raised bands, gilt paletts, dentelles and all edges. 71 very fine hand coloured aquatints of which 68 are by Robert Cruikshank and 2 by Thomas Rowlandson and 1 by T. Wageman. Featuring rollicking adventures in London, Eton, Brighton, The Isle of Wight and other fashionable hotspots, we follow the 'raffish life of English pleasure seekers'. The author Charles Molloy Westmacott, using the nom de plume Bernard Blackmantle, partly to deflect the torrent of controversy that welcomed the book's publication, was renowned for his satirisation of English high society.

London: The Florence Press by Chatto & Windus, 1909. Full crushed morocco, 11 inches tall. A remarkable binding by J(ulius) Dratva of Vienna with large raised bands and simple gilt framed panels. The upper board shows St Francis kneeling before a winged Christ through an arch with dragon heads in the top corners. All edges have very unusual floral gilt gauffering. A gilt armorial device G.T. with a Griffin wielding an anchor and sword on the paste down endpaper. Number 191 from a limited edition of 500. An exceptional item.

London: Septimus Prowett, 1825. 13 volume set, 9 inches tall. A splendid tall paper set in a magnificent hard grain morocco by one of London's most celebrated binders, Clarke & Bedford. With gilt raised bands, ornate gilt tooling to the panels and the play titles in the surely smallest type a binder could use. The boards framed within triple fillets, gilt dentelles and all edges. Some speckles to the boards. With the striking bookplate of John Wodehouse, Earl of Kimberley Foreign secretary under Queen Victoria. This collection of Elizabethan and Jacobean plays was significant in reacquainting the public with many previously neglected works. A very fine set.

London: R. Ackermann's Repository of Arts, 1812, 1820 & 1821. 3 volume set, 9.5 inches tall. A glorious set of the 3 Tours, all first editions, in a wonderful full calf by Tout with gilt raised bands, triple labels, ornate, dense floral gilt tooling to the panels. The boards are framed within triple gilt fillets and ornate corner tooling. Gilt dentelles and all edges. With 2 engraved title pages and a further 78 full page hand coloured aquatints, as called for, by Thomas Rowlandson. A fine clean set. The red label of the first volume is, as is often the case, a slightly different shade. Armorial bookplate and a neat ink owner's name on the title pages. Creasing to the joints but still a wonderful set of this great comic creation.

London: William Pickering, 1846. 2 volume set, 12 inches tall. A magnificent crushed morocco by J. Clarke with gilt raised bands, very finely tooled panels, gilt dentelles and all edges. With the gilt embossed arms of Earl Cawdor on the boards. Beautifully embellished with 16 plates, 3 coloured, 1 folded and 60 illuminated initials. Some foxing to the engraved plates, otherwise pristine. A very fine set.