Tree Calf

Paris: Didot Junior, Typographiae Fratris Regis, 1788. Tree Calf with morocco spine, 13 1/2 inches tall. A magnificent and most unusual French 18th century binding with a straight grain morocco binding with two green calf labels and wonderful gilt floral tooling. A superb gilt vine roll frames the boards. Lovely printed bookseller's ticket on the paste down end paper. Engraved title page and frontispiece. Pristine condition. In the original Latin. Since its first printing in 1471-2, 'The Imitation of Christ' has remained one of the most enduring and popular of all Christian devotional works.

London: Robinson, 1789. 3 volume set, 8 3/4 inches tall. A fine copy with wide margins in a superb 18th century tree calf with gilt bands and magnificent labels on a smooth back. Yellow edges. From the library of Vane Londonderry, 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. This is the first English edition with half titles, folding engraved map, folding engraved plan of Madrid, folding engraved view of Gibraltar and a further 8 folding engraved plates.

London: George Goulding and John Walker, 1793. 3 volume set, 10 1/2 inches tall. Superb 18th century 'Country House' full calf with raised bands and splendid gilt tooling to the panels and exceptionally fine twin labels. With the splendid martial bookplate of Stewart. 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. There is an ink stain to one foredge and two stains on the reverse of the frontispiece, not affecting the portrait itself, otherwise very clean internally and magnificent externally.

London: Longman et al., 1851. 5 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. Exquisite little set with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels and triple labels. Note the spectacular volume label. The tree calf boards are framed within an ornate floral gilt roll. Each volume has an engraved frontispiece. From the library of Edward Nicholas Hurt, most of whose books were of this highest quality.

London: Longman et al., 1830-1832. 2 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. Exquisite little set with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels and triple labels. Note the spectacular volume label. The tree calf boards are framed within an ornate floral gilt roll. Each title page has an engraved vignette. This 2 volume set constituted the first part of 'The History of the Western World' But is complete in itself. From the library of Edward Nicholas Hurt, most of whose books were of this highest quality.

London: Longman et al., 1835; 1837; 1840 & 1845. 4 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. Exquisite little set with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels and triple labels. The tree calf boards are framed within an ornate floral gilt roll. Each title page has an engraved vignette. The title label of volume 4, which appeared 5 years after the third volume, is of a different colour. From the library of Edward Nicholas Hurt, most of whose books were of this highest quality.

London: Longman et al., 1830; 1831 & 1831. 3 volume set, 6 1/2 inches tall. Exquisite little set with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels and triple labels. The tree calf boards are framed within an ornate floral gilt roll. Each title page has an engraved vignette. From the library of Edward Nicholas Hurt, most of whose books were of this highest quality.

London: Bickers, 1906. 4 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A sparkling tree calf with gilt raised bands, beautiful floral gilt tooling to the panels and twin labels. Prize bookplate. A very neat set of these 17th century diaries.

Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Co. & London: Longman et al., 1819. 12 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. A splendid Regency tree calf with bold gilt tooling. Gilt bands, twin labels and striking gilt tooling to the panels. Twin gilt fillets frame the tree calf of the boards. Decorated with gilt engraved frontispieces and full page plates. Slight loss to one tail cap. A set of the works of Scott categorised by him as the novels and tales, including some of the most popular works of fiction in the whole of the 19th century.

Paris: Chez Nyon, Saillant, Desaint, 1766. 2 volume set, 6 3/4 inches tall. A beautiful 18th century tree calf binding from the celebrated Library of Lord Macclesfield and with his 2 armorial bookplates and, as usual, his armorial blind stamps. With gilt bands, superb gilt tooling to the panels and twin labels. Yellow edges. The contents are complete with the two folding engraved plates and woodcut devices to the title page, decorative initials and head and tail pieces. Slight rubbing. This is the history of Xenophon's brilliant military leadership in leading the 10,000 Greek mercenaries in their retreat from Cyrus's attempt to take control of the Achaemenid Empire in the 4th century B.C.. In the original French.

London: Cooke, 1797. 3 volume set, 5 1/2 inches tall. Beautiful 18th century tree calf with gilt bands, twin labels and delightful gilt tooling to the panels. Slightly marked endpapers, otherwise pristine. Bookplate. Embellished with engraved frontispieces, title pages and full page plates. The plates dated 1797. This extraordinary dark satire spawned many imitations. 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: Robinson et al., 1783. Full calf, 11 inches tall. A splendid 18th century tree calf with raised bands, gilt pallets and red label. Blue edges. From the library of Charles William Vane (formerly Stewart), third Marquess of Londonderry, and with his elaborate bookplate. 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. A little scuffing, otherwise a superb copy.

Amsterdam: Pierre Mortier, 1688. 2 volume set, 7 3/4 inches tall. A splendid 18th century tree calf with gilt pallets and twin labels to the spine. Slight rubbing and split to the upper board of volume I but still firm and secure. Shelf label on paste down end papers. A fascinating and beautifully printed work with 104 Engraved Plates, many folding, of coins, emblems and medals. In the original French.

London: Lawrence & Bullen, 1891. 2 volume set, 7 inches tall. A splendid tree calf binding by Otto Shulze of Edinburgh with raised bands, fine gilt tooling to the panels and labels. A delicate gilt fillets frames the boards, wide dentelles and gilt top edge. Bookplate. This excellent large paper edition is printed on hand made paper and limited to just 200 copies. Edited by Alfred Pollard and with a preface by Algernon Swinburne, who considered Herrick to be "the greatest song writer ever born of English race". A lovely set of the most celebrated works of this great English 17th century poet.

London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1876. 2 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. An exceptionally bright and clean late Victorian tree calf with gilt raised bands, triple labels and neat gilt tooling in the panels. Bookplate. The life of one of the greatest English Historians, by his nephew.

London: John Murray, 1891. 2 volume set, 9 inches tall. With gilt raised bands, twin labels and gilt tooling to the panels, this set has been expertly re-spined. Triple gilt fillets and ornate corner tooling frame the tree calf of the boards. Gilt top edges. From the Library of the Late Christopher Foyle of Beeleigh Abbey. Extra-illustrated with 80 engravings, a list of which is bound in. An authoritative life of the great publisher, John Murray and the story of his publishing house, subtitled, 'an account of the origin and progress of the house, 1768-1843'.

London: Whellier, 1824 & 1821. 2 volume set, 8 1/2 inches tall. Full Georgian tree calf binding in excellent condition with the binder's ticket of S.Payne of Dursley.. The bindings have ornate gilt pallets bordering a wide inked band and large gilt centre tools, typical of the period. A neat previous owner's ink stamp is to be found on the free endpapers. Volume 1, the 5th edition, contains the Laws and Statutes and Criminal Law of England with a supplement. Volume 2, the 1st edition, contains a further supplement. It is unusual to find both volumes, especially in this condition.