Search

London: William Smith, 1843-1845. Full morocco, 12.75 inches tall. A magnificent inlaid binding of the highest quality, with gilt raised bands and glorious gilt tooling to the panels and boards on an array of blue and red calf onlays. The manner of the tooling evokes the Celtic designs of many of the illuminations illustrated in the work. Wide gilt dentelles with superbly tooled onlays and all edges gilt. Embellished with 50 chromolithographic plates. Bookplate. The first issue of one of the finest printed colour plate books of the first half of the nineteenth century in a fabulous binding.

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: Ward, Look & Co, c.1890. 25 volumes, 8 inches tall, A most attractive half pink calf for Hatchards with raised bands, gilt titles, sporting centre tools and top edges. Frontispieces. From the library of The Duke of Gloucester (the son of King George V, brother of King George VI and King Edward VIII) at Kensington Palace and with his bookplate in every volume. There is slight blotchiness to the spines but no other signs of wear. Whyte-Melville was a hugely popular novelist specialising in hunting, shooting and fishing themes in the latter half of the 19th century.

London: Henry Colburn, 1819. 2 volume set, 8.5 inches tall. A stunning Regency full straight grain morocco with wide gilt and blind tooled raised bands, superb extra gilt tooling to the panels and very unusual gilt and blind tooling to the boards. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Bookplate and neat ink owners name on first blank dated 1820. Engraved portraits and views. A wonderful copy of this scarce title.

London: Privately Printed, 1871. Full straight grain calf, 8.75 inches tall. A superb copy of this notorious item of erotica. With wide gilt raised bands, fine gilt tooled panels, boards, dentelles and all edges. Printed in black and red, reportedly in a deluxe edition of 250. The extraordinary Wilkes, member of the Knights of St. Francis of Wycombe, also known as the Hellfire Club, wrote this pornographic poem dedicated to the courtier Fanny Murray entitled "An Essay on Woman" as a parody of Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Man". Having been outlawed in 1769 he became Lord Mayor of London in 1774!

London: Fisher, 1841. 4 volume set, 9 inches tall. A most attractive early Victorian half calf with gilt raised bands, twin labels and gilt tooled panels. With frontispieces, engraved half titles, maps including 1 folding map of the Battle of Waterloo and 50 engraved plates. Armorial bookplate. Slight foxing to some plates and slightly rubbed boards but still a striking set of this stirring work.

London: Richard Bentley, 1841-42. 8vo (9½" tall). Superb full red crushed morocco, by TOUT. Gilt raised bands and pallets, fine gilt tooling to panels. Boards framed with gilt floral corner tool. Gilt doublures with floral patterned endpapers. Top edge gilt. Slightly foxed. Armorial bookplate. Original issues of Bentley's Magazine, bound with special title page, contents and a preface dated 1889 by the collector John Waugh.

London: Fisher, n.d. (1839). Half morocco, 11 inches tall. A very handsome copy with wide gilt raised bands, delicate gilt tooling to the panels and embossed cloth boards. All edges gilt. A folding map and 63 fine full page engravings.

London: Thos. Agnew & Sons, 1904. 2 volume set, 13 inches tall. Handsomely bound for Hatchards with gilt raised bands, panels and top edge. One of 350 copies. Illustrated throughout.

London: Cadell and Davies, 1815. 2 volume set, 8.5 inches tall. An unusual and rather splendid full calf with twin raised bands, blind tooled panels and exceptionally bright labels. Portrait. Pink edges. Slight fading and rubbing but very solid. The first and best edition, in subsequent edition the libellous passages were removed. Armorial bookplate.

London: Routledge, Warne and Routledge, 1862. Full morocco, 9 inches tall. A splendid Victorian binding by Hayday with raised bands and dense and elaborate gilt tooling to the panels. Gilt dentelles and all edges. Wide gilt rolls frame the boards. Engraved throughout. A degree of foxing. From the Library and with the bookplate of Robert J. Hayhurst. An interesting anthology in a fine example of this type of binding.

London: Longmans,Green, and Co, 1905. 2 volume set, 9 inches tall. A luxurious Edwardian half crushed morocco with wide gilt raised bands, simple but elegant gilt framed panels and gilt top edge. Armorial bookplate. Illustrated throughout. Some foxing to the edges. A handsome set.

London: Swan Sonnenschein, 1888. 3 volume set, 9.25 inches tall. A most handsome set with gilt raised bands, twin labels and delicate gilt tooling to the panels. A revised edition with full page engraved portraits throughout. A splendid neat set.

London, Paris & New York: Goupil, 1903. Half morocco, 13 inches tall. Bound by Hatchards of Piccadilly. A Deluxe Edition limited to 1000 copies. With gilt raised bands and very finely gilt tooled panels. Top edge gilt. Armorial bookplate. With fine colour frontispiece and full page plates throughout. A very elegant copy.

London: Longman, Hurst, Rees and Orme, 1808. 2 vols., 8vo (8½" tall). Half calf with gilt bands on spine. Twin green and black labels with unusual gilt banner motif, gilt patterned tooling to panels. Marbled boards.

London: The Harleian Society, 1927 & 1928. 2 volumes, 10.5 inches tall. Magnificent full hard grain morocco with gilt raised bands, extra gilt panels, dentelles and all edges. Comprising The Harleian Society volumes LXXVIII & LXXIV.

Manchester: M. Bancks, 1815. Full straight grain morocco, 5.5 inches tall. A delightful little volume with gilt bands and centre tools on the spine and gilt 'Cambridge' panels framing the straight grained boards. All edges gilt. One leaf has a small repaired tear without loss. A very pretty copy of this rare provincial imprint.

London: Cassell Petter & Galpin, c.1880. 4 volumes bound in 2, complete, 10.5 inches tall. A stirring and boisterous account of aspects of the Sea. From the Library and with the bookplate of Robert J. Hayhurst. With engraved illustrations throughout, including many full page plates. Heavy foxing to the title page of volume 1, otherwise very clean.

London: Edward Moxon, 1840. Full calf, 9.5 inches tall. A very handsome early Victorian full calf with gilt raised bands, dense extra gilt panels, label and dentelles. Portrait and engraved title page. Double column. Containing many of the great 'Restoration Comedies' or 'Comedies of Manner'. After the 18 years of Puritan rule, during which public theatre was banned, these works lacked all restraint in celebrating the pleasures of life. Rakish, immoral and improper in style and sexually explicit in language they have remained popular ever since their publication from 1660 to 1710.

London: 1884. Full red Morocco, 9 inches tall. A truly splendid binding by Bickers with gilt raised bands and extra gilt tooling to the spine and boards. With gilt dentelles and all edges. A gilt embossed prize block to the upper board and a prize plate to the paste down endpaper. Illustrations throughout and folding facsimile of a page from the journal. Some foxing but still a wonderful copy.