extra illustrated (40 Ergebnisse)

Trade Paperback. Very Good. S. 97.

Hardcover. Zustand: Good. Zustand des Schutzumschlags: No Dust Jacket. Illustrated by Frontispiece and extra illustrated title (illustrator). Front free endpaper and single-fold leaf pages 5-8 detached but present, otherwise light wear. Solid hardcover. ; Religious tract book about a pair of sisters discovering G-d. ; 36 pages.

Hardcover. Zustand: Very Good. 1st Edition, Special Edition. FIRST EDITION. Two volumes. 8vo. (7.6 x 4.8 inches). The authors own copy of her first book, extra illustrated with 51 plates and specially bound in beautiful full red calf bindings with fully gilt spines, each with three black labels, gilt. Boards with four gilt ruled lines and decorative gilt panel within, plus blind tooled ruled and dotted lines. Board edges with decorative gilt roll. Gilt inner dentelles. Marbled endpapers. All edges gilt. The authors own bookplate to the front pastedown endpapers of both volumes. Illustrated with three plates, as called for on the contents pages, plus Vol. 1 has 21 extra plates bound in, mostly portraits but including 1 original pencil drawing, 1 hand coloured plate and four leaves of signature facsimiles. Vol. 2 has a total of 30 extra plates, including 11 leaves of facsimile signatures, the rest portraits and views. The bindings are unsigned but of the highest standard. Some light rubbing to the extremities and a small (1 inch long) area of loss to the surface leather on the front board of volume one but overall very good and atttarctive bindings. Emily Sarah Holt (1836 - 1893) was a prolific novelist, mainly of historical fiction, with women and girls as leading characters, and promoting the idea that marriage was not the only option for them and they could pursue their own paths. Her writing is noted for her meticulous research and attention to historical detail, albeit written from a Protestant viewpoint.

Full Color Morocco. Zustand: Fine. First Edition. 273, 247 Pp. Volumes One And Two Of Four, Only. Full Green Morocco, Inlays Of Red Flowers And Green Leaves, Gilt Stems, Gilt Lettering And Design On Spine, Top Edge Gilt, Deckled Foredge And Bottom Edge, White Morocco Inlaid Doublures Ornately Illustrated With Green And Red Design With Gilt, Silk Endpapers, Silk Bookmarks Bound In, Gilt Rules Along Foredges Of Boards. Special Edition And Binding, With Introductory Leaf Stating "Six Copies Of This Edition Are Printed On Japanese Vellum; One Of Which Is Assigned To The Library Of The British Museum; One To The Library Of Congress; One Is Presented To Dr. Richard Garnett; One Is Retained By The Society, And Two Will Be Sold By Auction". Vellum Paper Watermarked "Bibliophile Society" In A Vertical Strip Near The Foredges. Extra Illustrated With Extra Frontispieces, The Extra Frontispieces Being The Usual Frontispiece Engravings Entirely Hand Colored And Re-Signed "Pyle", Apparently By Pyle As The Signatures Are Correct. Further Extra-Illustrated With Original Marginal Watercolor Illustrations, Mainly Of Bibliophile Scenes, A Few Of Book Collecting, 17 Illustrations In Volume I, 26 Illustrations In Volume Ii. Volume I And Ii Only, Apparently An Incomplete Project Of The Bibliophile Society And Pyle, Probably One Of The Six Copies Identified On The Limitation Page In The Book But Also Possibly An Incomplete Special Edition. Well Preserved, Fine Or Near Fine. Signed by Author(s).

Hardcover. Zustand: Fine. Special Edition. ENLARGED GREGO EDITION. TWO VOLUMES. Large 8vo. (9 X 6 inches). Enlarged, with more illustrations, from the 1889 edition. Fully illustrated throughout with 32 hand coloured engraved plates by Joseph Grego, as called for, plus extra illustrated with another 86 eighteenth and nineteenth century plates bound in, a mixture of portraits and scenes from society, with many being hand coloured. A Lovely clean copy in fine twentieth century leather bindings. Half brown mottled morocco on the boards, with lighter brown colour on the plain spines. Both spines with five wide raised bands, each with four gilt ruled lines. Compartments with double ruled gilt borders. Two tan and one green label, ruled and lettered in gilt, to each spine. Boards covered with green cloth. Top edges gilt, the others untrimmed. Plain off white endpapers. Publishers original spines and front boards bound in at the rear of each volume. Neat previous owner colour bookplate on the front pastedown of volume one. A fine copy in a beautiful quality binding.

Zustand: fine. Extra Illustrated Copy with 61 plates (illustrator). 2nd Edition. First published in 1809. ~ Cowie 285 ~ The usual collation would be: engraved title page, frontis portrait, 9 plates including 4 folding. The preface is date Feb. 3. 1813. ~ Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September [O.S. 18 September] 1758 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest naval commanders in history. 8vo. 21cm., i-xiii, [1], 15-560,[18] pp., (index)., Extra Illustrated with hand colour engraved frontis portrait of Nelson, full engraved title page with vignette illustration "Battle of Trafalgar", with 61 engraved plates, five folding, (4 being hand colour), in fine signed binding, "Root & Son", full cross grain crimson morocco, gilt ruled raised bands, gilt titles and vignette naval decorations in the panels, gilt triple ruled triple ruled borders on the boards, wide full gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, a fine cop, beautifully bound, rare (hoL).

Zustand: Near Fine. Abridged edition. Abridged edition. Extra-illustrated with 50 engravings of notable figures from English history, by S. Harding, Bartolozzi, et al. vii, [i], 571, [1, catalogue] pp. 4to. Beautifully bound and extra-illustrated copy of the abridged edition of the Harleian Miscellany, a collection of tracts and pamphlets from the library of Robert Harley, first Earl of Oxford, first published in 8 volumes in 1744. ESTC T111518; Fleeman 44.4HM/3 (noting no Johnson contributions to this edition). Provenance: Hugh Cecil Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale (gilt cypher and bookplate); Maggs Brothers (export license, 1947, sold to); W.A Aiken Contemporary full red morocco, covers tooled in gilt with Lowther cypher beneath ducal crown, a.e.g. Spine faded, else a near fine copy Extra-illustrated with 50 engravings of notable figures from English history, by S. Harding, Bartolozzi, et al. vii, [i], 571, [1, catalogue] pp. 4to.

Extra Illustrated (illustrator). First Edition. A touch of rubbing to raised bands and joints. Spine and joints conditioned with leather dressing to enhance suppleness. Otherwise both volumes in fine condition in slightly worn slipcase. Bayntun Binder, Bath England. Red leather with gold tooled covers, and panels and raised bands. All edges gold.

Hardcover. Zustand: Very Good-. Zustand des Schutzumschlags: No Dust Jacket. Moderate rubbing to leather at joints and edges and corners of boards. Gutter split at front hinge. The portrait frontispiece has moderate foxing and a vertical crease to the inner margin. Provenance: An owner's inscription on front fly leaf - "Sophia Eleanor Mercer - A precious heirloom, not to go out of the family - left by me to my grandson John Lawrence Anderson and not to go out of the family "Nellie Mercer" nee Wray mentioned in note by Richard Bate - who illustrated this book when over 70 years old". ; Second edition. [1-4] i-viii (IX-XVI, hand-numbered additional manuscript leaves listing 95 plates, pp. XIV-XVI blank except for hand-numbering) (9)-394 pages. Portrait frontispiece. Extra-illustrated with 95 additional pen, ink and wash drawings by Richard Bate. These are the original ink and wash drawings, i.e. not mechanically reproduced. The illustrations are presumably all based on other printed illustration sources. On a couple of the illustrations, the source is named: illustration number 3, "Procession of the Bull beneath the mound of NIMROUD" gives as the source "from Layard's Nineveh"; and illustration number 12 "A General View of the Great Temple at Edfou" gives the source from which the ink sketch has been rendered as the "Pictorial Bible". The illustrations are skillful and evocative. They are generally in black ink only, a few also use a light brown sepia colour, e.g. number 3 "Procession of the Bull beneath the mound of NIMROUD." Each illustration initialed by hand "R. B.", and dated between 1854 and 1856. Dates usually indicate the month, sometimes just the year. Each illustration of an ancient ruin matches a reference to that ruin in the lines of the poem, the line being annotated with the number of the corresponding illustration. Handwritten list of the titles of the illustrations bound in with the preliminary leaves. Full green morocco binding with gilt panels to both boards, gilt decoration to spine. Gilt dentelles. Marbled endpapers. All page edges gilt. Page dimensions: 182 x 117mm (7 1/8" x 4 5/8"). Inscribed on a piece of paper laid down on page XIII:"for Sophy / your affte. Father / Richard Bate / Love to Nelly and a kiss for me." Richard Bate (1775-1856) was born in London. In 1807 he travelled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In Brazil he established a trading company in nautical, optical and surgical instruments. Watercolour paintings by Bate of the city of Rio de Janeiro are held by Cornell University. His daughter Sophia, to whom this volume was gifted by her father, was born in Brazil in 1817, and died in London in 1889. Richard Bate returned to England in 1854. Sophia married Dr Septimus Wray (1792-1869) and they had one child, Sophia Eleanor Wray (1848-1940). Sophia Eleanor Wray married Dr John Thomas Mercer in 1870. The front fly leaf has the signature of "Sophia Eleanor Mercer". They had a daughter Eleanor Maria V. Mercer (1875-), who married Laurence Anderson (born Tokyo, 1875). Eleanor Maria V. Mercer and Laurence Anderson had a son John Laurence Anderson, born in Bangkok in 1900. John Laurence Anderson, grand-son, is also mentioned in a family inscription on the front endpaper by Nellie Mercer nee Wray (Sophia Eleanor Mercer). The illustrations include stone ruins and monuments of the ancient ("Dark Era") and classical worlds, and geographically principally from Rome, Greece, the Near and Middle East. Also Palenque from Mexico. Illustrations include: Babylon (Birs Nimroud); Nineveh; Mount Hor; Petra; Nubian Pyramid; Ipsamboul; Edfou; Latopolis; Thebes; Carnac; The Memnon; Dendera; Pyramids at Gizeh; The Sphinx; The Nile; Heliopolis; Alexandria; Gibraltar; Uxmal; Palenque; Elephanta; Temple of Minerva at Sunium; Mars Hill, Athens; Paul preaching; Corinth; Egina; Samos; Patmos; Rhodes; Rome; Tivoli; Vauclause; Avignon; Ephesus; Tyre; Lebanon; Baalbec; Palmyra; Persepolis; Dead Sea; Tiberias; Capernaum; Samaria; Tomb of Rachel; Bethlehem; Jerusalem. [References: Stickel, Erico J. Siriuba, "Uma Pequena Biblioteca Particular: Subsídios para o Estudo da Iconografia no Brasil" (São Paulo: Universidade de São Paulo, 2004. p. 83); Ferrez, Gilberto. "Aquarelas de Richard Bate: o Rio de Janeiro de 1808 - 1848" (Rio de Janeiro: Galeria Brasiliana, 1965).].

Apparently the FIRST EDITION. 200 x 130 mm. (7 7/8 x 5 1/8"). viii, 355 pp. (bound with the half title and with an inserted plate as frontispiece).Edited by Alexander Dyce. VERY PLEASING SLIGHTLY LATER DARK BROWN CRUSHED MOROCCO, ATTRACTIVELY GILT, covers with French fillet border and elegant botanical cornerpieces, raised bands, heavily gilt spine in compartments featuring elaborate scrolling cornerpieces, an intricate fleuron centerpiece, and tiny circlets, turn-ins with plain and stippled rules and filigree gilt decoration at corners and midpoints of two sides, textured (silk?) brown and cream millefleur-patterned endpapers, all edges gilt. EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED WITH 55 PORTRAIT PLATES, five in color, all with tissue guards. Verso of the front free endpaper with the engraved bookplate of Robert B. Lawrence. A hint of browning to some of the inserted plates, but A FINE AND HANDSOMELY BOUND COPY, the text especially fresh, clean, and smooth, and the binding bright and virtually unworn. This is a tastefully bound collection of anecdotes and witty banter recorded by poet Samuel Rogers, whose private means made his gracious home in Westminster a gathering place for the poets and artists of the age. Scion of a wealthy banking family, Rogers (1763-1855) achieved fame with the publication of "The Pleasures of Memory" in 1792. His friend Alexander Dyce, who compiled the present work, tells us in the preface that Rogers "was in the habit of writing down, in all their minutiae, the anecdotes, &c. with which his conversation abounded." These records provide us with an intriguing glimpse of literary society in London in the first half of the 19th century. Our second work, "Porsoniana," contains anecdotes about the "very eminent Greek scholar" Richard Porson (1759-1808), related to Dyce by that individual's close friend William Morby. This edition is one of at least three printings that were issued by Moxon in the initial publication year, and it would seem to be the first appearance of the text. In any case, our volume has the added feature of 55 inserted engravings of the persons discussed in the book. Although the binding is apparently unsigned, the owner's bookplate on the front flyleaf is placed near enough to the top edge that it may be obscuring a stamped binder's signature. The work displayed here is certainly of high enough caliber to have been produced by Riviere or Zaehnsdorf.

Third Edition. Third Edition. Extra-Illustrated with 20 Plates and 2 Hand-Coloured Frontispieces. 2 vols. 8vo. Bound in 3/4 blue morocco and marbled boards, gilt spine, a.e.g. by Bayntun of Bath. About fine Extra-Illustrated with 20 Plates and 2 Hand-Coloured Frontispieces. 2 vols. 8vo.

Zustand: Fine. FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDITION. Published the same year as the French edition. 8vo. (8.8 x 6.1 inches). Extra illustrated with 12 full page 19th century engravings, including portraits of Mary Shelley, The Prince of Wales, Thomas Moore, Ali Pacha, and a charming view of The Hellespont, showing Sestos and Abydos, to compliment the 11 full page plates published in the book. A Fine copy in a fine late twentieth century leather binding of half dark blue morocco. The spine with raised bands, decorated with gilt dotted lines. Compartments ruled, decorated and lettered in gilt. Blue cloth on boards. Marbled endpapers. Top edge gilt. Neat previous owner bookplate on the front pastedown endpaper. A wonderful copy. The binding is unsigned but is certainly the work of a master bookbinder.

Extra-Illustrated with 73 plates, 12 coloured. xxii, 350pp. Thick 8vo. Full blue morocco, a.e.g., by Bayntun, Bath Extra-Illustrated with 73 plates, 12 coloured. xxii, 350pp. Thick 8vo.

Third Edition. 222 x 145 mm. (8 3/4 x 5 3/4"). x, 337, [1] pp. Very attractive brown morocco, gilt to an Arts & Crafts design by Sangorski & Sutcliffe (stamp-signed on rear turn-in), covers with double fillet border, central panels framed by gilt rules accented with gilt dots at corners and sidepieces, four intersections with gilt daisy, an inlaid green morocco dot at center of these blooms and at center of each side of frame, raised bands, spine compartments with gilt fillet frame, trefoil and dots at corners, gilt lettering, gilt-ruled turn-ins, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt. WITH A TOTAL OF 31 ENGRAVED PLATES, six as called for (one of these a map), and EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED with 25 portraits of persons discussed in the book. Front pastedown with morocco bookplate of W. A. Foyle, Beeleigh Abbey. Tips and bottom edges of boards a little rubbed, isolated offsetting from inserted engravings, but quite an excellent copy, the text and original plates clean, fresh, and bright, and the binding lustrous and virtually unworn. Gracefully bound and extra-illustrated, this is the Foyle copy of an entertaining biography of Russia's most scandalous empress, written by Philip Walsingham Sergeant (1872-1952), who composed numerous historical biographies, largely of royal women. In the present account of Catherine the Great, Sargeant provides a highly readable version of the life of the empress. As the title of the book suggests, great attention is paid to her various liaisons and controversies ("she was," Sergeant tells us wryly, "a woman whose life gave scandal the fullest opportunity to gather about her"), but also to her importance as a ruler and Enlightenment figure. The very pleasing binding, with its delicate detail and clean Arts & Crafts design, is the work of the leading firm of Sangorski & Sutcliffe. Francis Sangorski and George Sutcliffe trained with Douglas Cockerell before founding their own bindery in 1901. They continued in a successful partnership until 1912, when Francis drowned. Despite this loss, the firm grew and prospered, employing a staff of 80 by the mid-1920s and becoming perhaps the most successful English bindery of the 20th century. Our former owner, W. A. Foyle (1885-1963), was himself a bookseller on Charing Cross Road, where he co-founded with his brother the famous Foyle's Bookshop. Foyle was an avid and discriminating collector whose three large sales at Christie's held in 2000 were a bibliophilic highlight of the new century. The sum of $19 million for which William Foyle's personal library sold in July set a record for private European collections.

FIRST EDITION. 230 x 132 mm. (8 x 5 1/4"). QUITE HANDSOME CONTEMPORARY FLECKED CALF, covers with a double gilt fillet frame with rosette cornerpieces, raised bands, spines gilt in compartments with a central urn framed by scrolling foliage, red and green morocco labels, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED WITH 90 PLATES, most protected by tissue guards. Spines just slightly sunned, occasional light offsetting from plates, a handful of plates with mild foxing, but a fine copy, extremely fresh and quite clean, in an unworn, extremely lustrous binding. Extra-illustrated and attractively bound, this is an appealing copy of John Doran's vignettes of 19th century London life and the theatre. A prolific writer of Irish origin, Doran (1807-78) worked as a private tutor, then became a full-time author and journalist, editing the "Church and State Gazette" and the "Atheneum." He produced many works, usually historical biographies, but also wrote extensively about the theatre, a lifelong passion. He had tried his hand at playwriting as a young man, and writes about the subject here with all the enthusiasm of a confirmed playgoer. The present volume is made up of essays nearly all originally published in the "Temple Bar Magazine," to which Doran regularly contributed. This periodical, which ran from 1860 to 1906, was a leading literary magazine of the day, publishing works by Wilkie Collins, Arthur Conan Doyle, Anthony Trollope, and Robert Louis Stevenson, among others. In our two handsome volumes here, the editors have collected Doran's pieces about the theatre (as the title suggests), but also historical vignettes, biographical sketches, and commentaries on modern life and his own experiences, told, as the introduction puts it, "with a sprightly wit." The present copy is enriched with a large number of attractive plates, primarily portraits depicting figures discussed, from actors to nobility, together with occasional illustrations of unusual scenes and events, such as Lord Nelson's funeral carriage.

204 x 132 mm. (8 x 5 1/4"). Three volumes expanded to six. FINE CRIMSON CRUSHED MOROCCO, GILT, BY LUCIEN BROCA (stamp-signed on front turn-ins), covers with French fillet border, central panel framed by French fillets, fleurons extending obliquely from corners, intricate volute cornerpieces to panel, raised bands, spine compartments with central fleuron within a lozenge of small tools, volute cornerpieces, gilt lettering, densely gilt turn-ins, scarlet silk pastedowns and endleaves, top edges gilt (vol. I with older repairs to head of joints). WITH 303 PLATES, mostly engraved, one double-page, depicting London luminaries and locations, all with paper guards. Each volume with title page of the "Illustrated" edition, printed in red and black. Front pastedowns with bookplate of Joel Cheney Wells. A breath of rubbing to extremities, isolated trivial smudges or small stains, but A VERY FINE SET, clean and fresh internally, with none of the offsetting usually found in extra-illustrated sets, and in well-preserved bindings that are most attractive on the shelf. This is a particularly appealing copy of Jesse's entertaining and informative tour of his beloved city and the characters who have inhabited it over the centuries; it has been professionally "grangerized" with more than 300 relevant illustrations, all with tissue guards; it has been beautifully bound by a master in fine morocco; and, despite these obvious benefits, it has seen very little use. John Heneage Jesse (1809-74) wrote a number of popular historical works, including royal biographies and court memoirs, that drew praise for their conscientious attention to fact and detail, if not for their originality or wit. Described by DNB as "a dedicated Londoner, [who] seldom ventured away from the metropolitan area," Jesse leads us here through the districts of his home city, relating anecdotes, noting the locations of momentous events, and pointing out architectural treasures. The added portraits, scenes, and views help to bring his account to life, and the diligent use of tissue guards has prevented these illustrations from affecting the adjacent leaves in a detrimental way. The very attractive bindings are the work of French-born binder Lucien Broca (1829-1910), who immigrated to London in 1875. According to Tidcombe's "Women Bookbinders," Broca was a "superb trade finisher" who originally worked for Antoine Chatelin, then went into partnership with German émigré Simon Kauffmann from 1876 to 1889. Tidcombe and Sarah Prideaux's former pupil Katherine Adams believed that most of the bindings attributed to Prideaux between 1890 and 1900--some 290 volumes--were actually done by Broca, with Tidcombe giving the Frenchman credit for the "best Prideaux bindings." Prideaux never publicly acknowledged his work, perhaps for fear of disappointing fans of the most famous woman bookbinder in England. Broca moved on to his own business as an "Art Binder" in 1901, and our binding was probably done about that time. The beauty of the present design is dependent on his perfection of finish, and crispness of line and solidity of impression--Broca's hallmarks--wins the day here. This set is from the library of American antiquarian Joel Cheney Wells (1874-1960). Together with his brother, Albert B. Wells (1872-1953), he built an important collection of early American clocks, which now forms the basis of the collection of the Old Sturbridge Village Museum in Massachusetts. His primary business interest was in the eyeglasses industry; he is credited with multiple innovations in the production of glasses and bifocals, which is referenced in the pair of glasses concealed in the border of his bookplate.

267 x 210 mm. (10 1/2 x 8 1/4"). Two volumes expanded to eight. ORNATE AND SUBSTANTIAL 19TH CENTURY FOREST GREEN STRAIGHT-GRAIN MOROCCO, covers with a gilt French fillet, raised bands, spines (and some corners) renewed with considerable skill, their compartments with urn centerpieces flanked by scrolling foliage, turn-ins gilt tooled, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. First volume with an engraved frontispiece, EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED WITH A TOTAL OF 919 PLATES, 96 of them hand colored. Each volume with an added facsimile title page. Pottle 79; Day, "History of English Literature, 1660-1837," pp. 164-65. Boards with a few dark spots (mostly where chafing has been covered with dye), the hinge at the front of seven volumes with paper covering gone (two other hinges partly affected), but everything still very tight; some (never serious) offsetting from plates, intermittent minor foxing, a handful of leaves in Vol I., Part IV with a repaired open tear to upper margin, other trivial defects, but still a set with very considerable appeal--full of visual interest internally, and looking quite grand in a substantial row. Although there are no signs of ownership, this is the elegantly bound Jacques Levy copy of what is often considered to be the greatest biography in any language--extra-illustrated here with an enormous number of plates. James Boswell (1740-95) was a personal friend of his subject, the main reason that this work proved to be the architect of his enduring reputation. It is a tribute to Boswell's skill as a biographer that the bulk of the text is made up of accounts by the author of situations that he himself created so that his subject would be prompted to behave in a revealing and memorable way. Day tells us that Boswell "was a consummate impresario, stage-managing the setting and 'dramatis personae' amidst which Johnson would glitter, and then providing topics and opinions to elicit the magnificent rejoinders of Johnson." The result is that we see an unforgettable portrait of a man who was flawed as well as brilliant--in Day's words, "the most fully realized figure, the most three-dimensional character, in literature." Our previous owner, New York bibliophile Jacques Levy (d. 1980), first began buying on a whim while in Paris for business. He spent the next 40 years building an impressive and eclectic library, which included travel literature, illustrated books, and fine bindings. A dedicated auction of his collection took place at Sotheby's New York on April 20, 2012, realizing more than $6 million. The present copy contains more than 900 added plates which illustrate the settings and figures populating the biography, as well as expanding the two volumes into an imposing set that is quite attractive on the shelf. The first printing of Boswell's Johnson is easy to obtain, but extra-illustrated sets seem to be quite rare: except for the present item (which went for $11,250 at the Levy sale), the last such copy we could trace at auction was a four-volume set sold in 1988. FIRST EDITION, First State (with "gve" reading on p. 135).

225 x 147 mm. (8 7/8 x 5 7/8"). XLIX, [3], 1-372, [4] pp.Preface by Alexandre Dumas fils. LOVELY DARK BLUE MOROCCO, GILT, BY MARCELLIN LORTIC (stamp-signed on front turn-in, his ticket on verso of front free endpaper), covers with French fillet border, intricate cornerpieces with floral spray and two birds, raised bands, spine compartments with floral vase sporting two tiny birds at center, surrounded by delicately entwined floral vines, gilt lettering, richly gilt turn-ins with floral vines inhabited by birds, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Original vellum wrappers bound in. Housed in a chamois-lined matching morocco-lipped slipcase. With additional engraved title page, four portraits of the author (one as called for, three added), and 34 plates, 12 as called for, 22 from other editions. With a handwritten note laid in: "With much love & many kind thoughts from your most devoted admirer. V. A. B." Carteret V, 160. Board edges bowed slightly inward, one added plate mildly browned, otherwise AN ESPECIALLY FINE COPY, the contents clean and fresh, and the binding lustrous and unworn. This deluxe Large Paper Copy of a classic French novel is admired for its excellent printing, important preface by a celebrated contemporary author, and lovely illustrations, most of them added from other editions. And our copy is beautifully bound by a distinguished French binder. The tragic tale of a young nobleman and his attractive but mercenary lover, Manon, was first printed in 1731 as the last volume in "Memoirs and Adventures of a Man of Quality." The book was reissued separately in 1733 and became immediately successful--and censored--due to the illicit love and amoral behavior of the principal characters. It was officially published again 20 years later (following many pirated editions), having been extensively revised by the author. There has been some speculation that the story is semi-autobiographical, with its author, usually referred to as Abbé Prévost (1697-1763), having vacillated between religious and military careers, suffering at least one unfortunate love affair, and, for a brief time, living in exile. The present edition includes a famous preface by Alexandre Dumas fils that attests to its enduring allure and celebrity. Dumas, whose own "La Dame aux Camelias" was influenced by the present novel, praises the work while musing on the dangerous intensity of Manon's passion, noting that "She can only live in pleasure, as fish can only live in water." In addition to the excellent plates by French engraver Leopold Flameng, this work has been supplemented with engravings by other noted French illustrators such as Edmond Hédouin and Louis Monzies. Adding to the appeal of this copy is its beautifully preserved binding from an esteemed Parisian workshop. Marcellin Lortic (1852-1928) was trained by his father Pierre (1822-92), one of the great binders of 19th century Paris; the firm was known for their superb interpretations of traditional styles. Flety notes that unlike his father, Lortic fils handled all aspects of a binding himself as designer, binder, and gilder. He was an eccentric workaholic, living alone in his workshop and devoting his life to his craft. According to Flety, "his bindings appeared in numerous libraries of great collectors of his time" who showed their satisfaction and appreciation with persistent loyalty. Protective of his reputation--and also loathe to work with others--he refused to hire an apprentice/successor, choosing instead to sell his equipment and tools when he was no longer able to work. No. 8 OF 50 LARGE PAPER COPIES ON PAPIER CHINE, from a total edition of 333.

FIRST EDITION. 181 x 111 mm. (7 1/8 x 4 3/8"). xxvi, [ii], 274 [i.e. 276, including text leaf marked as pp. 223*-224*], [2] pp. ANIMATED CONTEMPORARY OLIVE BROWN MOROCCO, ELABORATELY GILT AND INLAID, covers with two climbing roses with 70 gilt and inlaid blossoms of wine red or salmon pink morocco and dozens of tiny heart-shaped leaves rising from the lower corners and winding up the sides before curving toward the center of the board in a heart shape, the branches on a pointill? ground accented with tiny droplets, upper cover with monogram of Eleanor Vere Boyle, raised bands, spine panels with rose branch featuring three inlaid blooms on a pointill? ground, gilt lettering, wide turn-ins with gilt rose sprays at corners, yellow watered silk endleaves, top edge gilt. With original front wrapper bound in at rear. (Front joint replaced with great skill.) With floral vignettes on title and half title, decorative headpieces and initials, and 11 full-page wood engravings by Boyle, EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED with 28 engravings by Eisen, Mariller, Gravelot, and many others. Spine lightly sunned to a hazel brown, some extra-illustrations a little foxed, occasional light to moderate offsetting from plates, but the contents in excellent condition, clean and bright throughout, and the binding with only the most negligible signs of wear. The subject here is roses--on the extremely charming and exuberant binding, in the text, and in the illustrations. They were the favorite flower of author and illustrator Eleanor Vere Boyle (1825-1916), who planted them on a large scale in her garden at Huntercombe Manor. The popular illustrator of 14 children's books, Boyle used most of her income to support charitable works in the parish where her husband was vicar. In her 50s, she turned from illustrating to writing, focusing primarily on nature and gardens as her subjects. Here, she has collected English poems as well as translations in English of excerpts from poems in Greek, Latin, Persian, Italian, and French, all of them celebrating the rose. Her illustrations show either close-ups of a flower or an adorable cupid, accompanied by the flower of Venus. The press work in the present volume is first rate, as one expects from the Chiswick Press, and the binding is a riot of floral glimmering. Although the binding is unsigned, the animated, unconventional design is reminiscent of the work of the Guild of Women Binders, while the execution is of exceptional quality, equal to the productions by leading London workshops like Riviere and Zaehnsdorf.

224 x 140 mm. (8 3/4 x 5 1/2"). Eight volumes. BEAUTIFUL GREEN MOROCCO FOR SOTHERAN (stamp-signed in gilt on front turn-in), covers framed with graceful twining roses, the flowers inlaid in red and white morocco, raised bands, spine gilt in six compartments, four with inlaid rosebuds, wide morocco turn-ins similarly decorated, leather hinges, scarlet silk moiré endleaves, all edges gilt. EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED WITH 150 PLATES from various other editions of the book. Each volume with an added title page printed in red and black. Front pastedown of each volume with the morocco ex-libris of W. A. Foyle. The final volume with the paper wrapper for a booklet of engravings illustrating the story after Alfred Johannot (Paris: Furne, 1836) bound in. Cross III, 318; Day, "History of English Literature, 1660-1837," pp. 229-34. Spines sunned to a uniform tan (as nearly always with green morocco), lower board edges a little rubbed, text with some light foxing and occasional insignificant browning, a handful of plates rather foxed, here and there some offsetting from plates, but the text largely very clean. An extremely pretty set with considerable shelf appeal in excellent condition inside and out. This is a sumptuously bound extra-illustrated copy of Fielding's 18th century classic, from one of the most important libraries of the last century. Day tells us that this landmark publication, initially printed in 1749, was the first avowed novel in English (Fielding's precursor, Defoe, claimed his stories were true and Richardson said that his were akin to sermons), and a work that some still call the greatest novel in English because of its attention to characters set against the backdrop of society. The plot begins with the finding and raising of Tom by Squire Allworthy and his sister Bridget and then follows Tom's adventures, many amorous, after his banishment from the Allworthy house because of bad behavior. In the comic ending, mysteries are revealed and relationships set aright. Cross says that "no one before Fielding had ever written a novel comparable with his in its reliance upon contemporary facts of human nature, and this brilliant and innovative narrative met with such immediate commercial success that the first printing was sold out before its printing could be finished, and at least four more editions were published in the same year as the first." The text here is accompanied by illustrations from several other editions of the work by artists including George Cruikshank, Thomas Uwins, Jean-Michel Moreau le Jeune, and Alfred Johannot. Our handsome copy was bound for the long-established British bookseller Henry Sotheran & Co. Many renowned workshops produced bindings for Sotheran, especially Riviere, the firm's collaborator on their famed "Cosway" bindings. While this binding is unsigned, its tasteful Arts & Crafts style rose design and high-quality execution certainly support an attribution to the Riviere bindery. Also, our copy boasts a distinguished previous ownership: W. A. Foyle (1885-1963) was co-founder with his brother of the famous Foyle's Bookshop in Charing Cross Road. During his career, he built an impressive personal library at his home of Beeleigh Abbey. The three large Foyle sales at Christie's held in 2000 were a bibliophilic highlight of the new century, and the equivalent sum of $19 million for which William Foyle's library sold that July set a record for private European collections.

233 x 155 mm. (9 1/4 x 6"). Each volume with additional specially printed title page. Two volumes bound in six. MOST ATTRACTIVE RED CRUSHED MOROCCO, GILT, BY KAUFMANN (stamp-signed on front turn-in), covers bordered by gilt rules and drawer-handle ornaments, central panel with gilt fillet frame and oblique fleuron cornerpieces, raised bands, spines gilt in compartments with large central fleuron in a lozenge of small tools, intricately scrolling cornerpieces, gilt lettering, turn-ins with decorative gilt rules and rolls, gilt griffin-patterned endpapers, top edges gilt. EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED WITH 333 PLATES, composed of 288 portraits (two in color) and 45 views, all with guards Title pages with ownership signature of Sophia Augusta Brown, dated January 1878. Spines very slightly and evenly darkened, the vaguest hint of wear to extremities, perhaps 10 percent of plates a bit foxed (half a dozen noticeably browned), otherwise a very fine and handsome set--clean and fresh internally (the text protected from offsetting or foxing by the plate guards), and in lustrous bindings with few signs of use. This attractively bound set, lavishly illustrated with a variety of relevant portraits and landscapes, links two of America's most important bibliophilic legacies. The subject of the biography, George Ticknor (1791-1871), was an American author and academic, specializing in the subject areas of languages and literature, and is best known for his education reforms and scholarly work on the history and criticism of Spanish literature. In 1817, Ticknor was selected as Smith professor of French and Spanish languages and literatures and professor of belles-lettres at Harvard University, where he would teach for the next 16 years. In the years of his professorship, he amassed a valuable and extensive library, which became one of the largest private collections in the country and included an impressive collection of Spanish and Portuguese literature. In 1848, Ticknor helped found the Boston Public Library, to which he donated his collection. This copy of his biography was owned by Sophia Augusta Brown, the scion of another important family of bibliophiles. Brown's father was noted collector John Carter Brown, whose extensive library now resides at Brown University; her family was also instrumental in the founding of the Providence Library and the Providence Athenaeum. The binding here deserves special mention. According to Ramsden, our binder Simon Kaufmann joined the firm of Lucien Broca in London ca. 1875, and established his own premises in Soho three years later, operating a workshop there until 1889. This set, with its rich crimson leather sparkling with gilt, is particularly pleasing on the shelfquite fitting for the sort of bibliophile's library the Browns and Ticknor cultivated.

Zustand: Near Fine. Superbly extra-illustrated with more than 500 mounted portraits. Added title pages for each volume, printed in red and black. Numerous folding plates. 11 vols. 8vo. An abundantly extra-illustrated set of Boswell's classic biography of the great lexicographer Samuel Johnson. Full red morocco gilt, doublures gilt, t.e.g. Bookplate of Nicholas Frederic Brady (1878-1930) by J. & E.B. Spines a bit toned; top of upper joint of Index volume with small repair, a near fine and very handsome set Superbly extra-illustrated with more than 500 mounted portraits. Added title pages for each volume, printed in red and black. Numerous folding plates. 11 vols. 8vo.

260 x 185 mm. (10 1/4 x 7 1/4"). 98 pp. ELEGANT DARK BROWN CRUSHED MOROCCO, GILT IN A GROLIERESQUE DESIGN, BY P. B. SANFORD (stamp-signed on front turn-in), covers with intricately interlacing strapwork forming compartments accented with gilt stippling and leafy fronds, raised bands, compartments with leafy sprig centerpiece, gilt lettering, pastedowns framed with decorative rolls and floral garlands, leather hinges, maroon marbled endpapers, top edge gilt. With 20 plates original to the text and 40 EXTRA ILLUSTRATIONS ON 28 PLATES, comprised of 21 portraits, five printer's devices cut from Plantin books, 12 decorative initials from Plantin books, an engraved title page from 1606 and the Plantin coat of arms. Grolier Club "Lists of publications, 1884-1905," VIII. A touch of rubbing to extremities, occasional light offsetting from added illustrations, but A FINE COPY with almost no signs of use. Produced for a subscribing member of the Grolier Club, our copy of this history of the Plantin Press is extra-illustrated with Plantin-related material, and comes in an appropriately Grolieresque binding. Our author, Theodore Low De Vinne (1828-1914), was one of the most eminent American printers of his day, as well as a printing historian and a co-founder of the Grolier Club. The American Printing History Association sums up his impact by saying "his encyclopedic understanding of the craft, his advancement of its technology and design, his appreciation of its history, his business leadership, and his many writings earned him, among his contemporaries, the designation 'Dean of American Printers.'" Part history, part travelogue, the present work tells the story of the famed Plantin Press and the Plantin-Moretus Museum, which opened the year before this publication. Christopher Plantin (1520-89) initially set up shop in Antwerp as a bookbinder in 1549, but turned to printing in 1555. He soon rose to the top of his trade, both as a printer and type designer. The press stayed in the family (descending through Plantin's son-in-law, Jan Moretus) for the next three centuries--and, unlike many other presses, retained the types and equipment of its founder. In 1876, Edward Moretus sold the press to the city of Antwerp, and the following year it opened as a public museum, which has operated ever since. According to the Boston City Directory of 1917, P. B. Sanford's firm occupied premises at 78 Bedford at that time. While in Boston, Sanford taught binder Mary Sears Crease; later in his career he worked for the Carnegie Library in Philadelphia. As seen here, Sanford's bindings are refined and well executed, and the present example is distinguished by its very fine condition. FIRST EDITION. ONE OF 300 COPIES on paper (and three on vellum).

218 x 138 mm. (8 1/2 x 5 1/2"). vii, [1], 280 pp. ELEGANT DARK BLUE MOROCCO, GILT, BY BAYNTUN (stamp-signed on front turn-in), covers with gilt fillet frame, stippled volute cornerpieces, UPPER COVER WITH LOVELY MINIATURE PORTRAIT of a fashionable lady, the painting under glass and surrounded by a gilt-tooled frame, raised bands, spine compartments with volute frame, gilt lettering, gilt-framed turn-ins, ecru moir? silk endleaves, all edges gilt. WITH 21 PLATES OF FASHIONABLE PEOPLE, five of these called for (one color), and 16 EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED (seven of these in color, one double-page, and nine in black & white), all with tissue guards. Spine gently sunned to navy blue, just a hint of rubbing to joints, but still quite a fine copy--clean and fresh internally, and with almost no signs of use inside or out. This handsomely illustrated look at the London social scene during the Victorian and Edwardian eras and after the Great War comes in a suitably chic binding by the last Victorian bindery still in family hands. Author Ralph Nevill (1865-1933) was a denizen of the world he writes about, being the son of one of the leading hostesses of the day, Lady Dorothy Walpole Nevill (1826-1913); DNB notes that "family tradition" held that Ralph's father was her close friend, Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Beaconsfield. Nevill has a wide array of insider anecdotes to share about country house life, the pleasures of London society, and prominent politicians and journalists. He makes it clear that the Victorian era was preferable to the 20th century, and nothing is more drab that the post-war world. The illustrations feature portraits of prominent men, landscapes of stately homes, and scenes from the balls, operas, and royal occasions that made up the London Season. The very pretty binding is in the Cosway style made popular by bookseller Henry Sotheran and the Riviere bindery, characterized by a miniature painting set under glass on the covers or doublures. Our binding was done by the venerable English firm founded in Bath by George Bayntun in 1894. Among the great English workshops of the Edwardian "golden age" of lavish bindings, Bayntun has the distinction of being the only one located outside London's West End to be sought after by bibliophiles. Bayntun was a worthy rival to the likes of Sangorski & Sutcliffe and Riviere & Son (the latter being subsumed by Bayntun in 1939). Bayntun of Bath continues to create fine hand bindings for bibliophiles. Unusually, the miniature painting in our binding is signed by the artist, but we were unable to decipher the signature, and the Bayntun bindery did not have any information about the painter's identity.

FIRST EDITION. 322 x 274 mm. (12 3/4 x 10 3/4"). One volume extended to two. SUMPTUOUS CRIMSON STRAIGHT-GRAIN MOROCCO, GILT, BY MORRELL (stamp-signed on front turn-ins) covers with wide frame decorated with Neoclassical ornaments, raised bands, spine compartments framed by volutes and flowers, gilt lettering, gilt-framed turn-ins, scarlet watered silk endleaves, leather hinges, top edges gilt. WITH 30 HAND-COLORED PLATES, as called for, including a double-page view of the Battle of Waterloo, a folding battle plan for Ligny, and a folding map of the route from Brussels to Paris, the last two expertly repaired and backed in linen, and EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED WITH 66 PLATES, eight of these hand-colored, most portraits of military leaders. With "Portraits of General Officers" used as the frontispiece, as in Abbey, in place of the seldom-seen plate, "Waterloo, in Memory of Shaw of the Life Guards," that appears in some copies (but is not on the list of plates). With an ALS dated Dublin Castle, 1st Oct[?] 1819, signed by Lord Whitworth. Front flyleaves with engraved armorial bookplate of Frederick S. Peck. Abbey "Life" 372; Tooley 336; Cohn, "Cruikshank" 556. âJoints, edges, and corners with visible but not serious wear, one plate with neatly repaired marginal tear just touching edge of image, occasional mild foxing, additional trivial imperfections, otherwise fine--clean and fresh internally, with richly colored plates, in a lustrous binding bright with gilt. This is a very attractively illustrated celebration of Wellington's victorious campaign against Napoleon, offered here in a special copy enhanced by additional plates, many depicting principal actors in the conflict, and a stately Neoclassical binding. Famed illustrator George Cruikshank drew the frontispiece depicting the seven general officers for the British side, along with the ebullient illustrated title depicting victory, the double-page plate of the fateful Battle of Waterloo, and the ignominious "Flight of Bonaparte." The plates contributed by James Rouse mostly depict the countryside and villages in the area where fighting was taking place. Journalist and novelist William Mudford (1782-1848) wrote the text with assistance from primary sources, among these the Duke of Wellington himself, to whom the work is dedicated. Mudford was the editor of the "Courier," an evening journal with a conservative stance on politics. His prose is described as "vigorous" by the "Dictionary of Literary Biography," which also notes his flair for creating atmosphere. These gifts were brought to bear on the present account, rendering this historic campaign in vivid terms. The manuscript letter inserted into the second volume was written by Lord Charles Whitworth (1752-1825), Lord Lieutenant of Ireland at the time of writing. He had been the British Ambassador to France when Napoleon was first consul, and had gained much respect for the determination and dignity with which he had handled the mercurial Bonaparte's tirades against his country. Here, he recommends to an unknown recipient the person who had conducted financial affairs for him in France. The present bindings are the work of the London bindery of W. T. Morrell, established about 1861 as successor to the firm begun by Francis Bedford, who, in turn, had taken over the famous bindery of Charles Lewis. Prideaux in her "Modern Bookbindings" says that Morrell at that time had a very large business that supplied "all the booksellers with bindings designed by his men," which were "remarkable for their variety and merit." The scion of an old and prosperous New England family, former owner Frederick Stanhope Peck (1868-1947) was an avid collector of books and manuscripts, amassing a collection of more than 8,000 titles. When his library went to auction in 1944, it was noted for its fine bindings and excellent condition.

228 x 150 mm. (9 x 6"). Two volumes. Very attractive 19th century red morocco by Capé (stamp-signed in gilt on front turn-in), French fillet border, raised bands, compartments with central quatrefoil surrounded by lacy gilt tooling, gilt lettering, gilt dentelles, all edges gilt. Housed in a later marbled slipcase. WITH engraved frontispiece by Gaucher and 21 ENGRAVED PLATES after Marillier, Monsiau, and Ponce (as called for), AND EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED WITH 46 PLATES (comprised of a suite of 20 small plates, a suite of 21 large plates, and five portraits). Verso of front free endpaper with the bookplate of Jacques Bastenet. Cohen-de Ricci 1035; Graesse VI, 393. See also: Cohen-de Ricci 1047-48 for the plates by Moreau. âTwo three-inch abrasions on one cover and a hint of wear to joints (both very well disguised by refurbishment), leather faintly soiled, but the decorative bindings still lustrous and quite pleasing, without any significant condition issues. Occasional, mostly light, foxing (never serious, and most of the plates clean, but noticeable enough to be regrettable), some of the smaller extra-illustrations slightly browned due to paper stock, but still a book with considerable appeal, inside and out, with the engravings richly impressed. This printing of Voltaire's mock-heroic "Pucelle," a licentious burlesque based on the Joan of Arc story, features the same beautiful engravings found in the Didot edition of 1795 (but without the frames), plus two additional suites of plates taken from other editions. The set of 20 small plates seem to be close copies of Gravelot's illustrations from the 1762 Geneva edition of "La Pucelle"; the set of 21 larger images are by Moreau, all but two being before letters. The latter set probably comes from the suite of images for Voltaire's "Oeuvres" published by Renouard in 1802, of which there were just 40 copies before letters, according to Cohen-de-Ricci. Capé was one of the most distinguished binders in France in the middle years of the 19th century, being especially well known for the delicacy of his work (as evidenced by our spines). He was the binder to the Empress Eugénie, and Béraldi calls him "the Bozérian of the second Empire.".

170 x 105 mm. (6 3/4 x 4 1/4"). 10 volumes. VERY PRETTY PURPLE CRUSHED MOROCCO, GILT, BY BAYNTUN OF BATH (stamp-signed on front turn-in), covers with gilt rule border, central panel diapered in gilt with knots at line intersection, central compartment filled with floral tools, raised bands, spine compartments with large fleuron, gilt lettering, gilt-ruled turn-ins with trefoil at corners, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. With a total of 51 ILLUSTRATIONS, consisting of: engraved frontispiece and extra engraved title page with vignette in each volume, a folding map, a folding facsimile plate, and one double-page plate, as called for, all by Edward Francis Finden and all hand-colored, AND EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED WITH 28 PLATES (10 portraits, nine views, nine folding facsimile plates, four with vignette views), ALL COLORED BY HAND, all with tissue guards. Pottle 92. Spines just slightly and evenly sunned to a very pleasing burgundy, one front hinge exposed (with no hint of looseness), offsetting from and onto the folding facsimiles, other trivial imperfections, but A LOVELY SET, clean and fresh internally with attractively colored plates, in a luscious and lustrous binding with virtually no signs of use. This is the first illustrated edition of the work generally considered to be the greatest biography in any language, here embellished with additional portraits of Johnson's associates and views of important places in his life. First published in 1791, Boswell's account of Dr. Johnson reveals the most fully realized figure in literature, and it prefigures modern biography in emphasizing the character of the subject, rather than his deeds. It is also a tribute to Boswell's genius in that the bulk of the text is made up of accounts by the author of situations that he himself created so that his subject would be prompted to behave in a revealing and memorable way. Boswell "was a consummate impresario, stage-managing the setting and 'dramatis personae' amidst which Johnson would glitter, and then providing topics and opinions to elicit the magnificent rejoinders of Johnson." The result is that we see an unforgettable portrait of a man brilliant and profound and at the same time dogmatic, overbearing, prejudiced, and irascible. (Day) This edition also includes Johnson's journal of his visit to the Hebrides Islands and "anecdotes by Hawkins, Piozzi, Murphy, Tyers, Reynolds, Steevens, &c., and notes by various hands" in the two final volumes, which have the running title "Johnsoniana." Our handsome set is a good example of the early 20th century decorative work typical of the Bayntun firm, founded in Bath in 1894 and now the last of the great Victorian trade binderies still in family ownership. It is not terribly uncommon to encounter extra-illustrated examples of this and similar sets of major literary works, but it is unusual to find such a set with all the illustrations hand colored. First Illustrated Edition, Croker's Second Edition.

FIRST EDITION. 220 x 138 mm. (8 3/4 x 5 1/2"). Four volumes. HANDSOME BURGUNDY MOROCCO BY BAYNTUN (stamp-signed in gilt on front turn-ins), covers with triple gilt-ruled frame interlinking with a triple-gilt-ruled diamond, raised bands with gilt dots, gilt ruled compartments with gilt diamond shapes, gilt lettering, gilt-ruled turn-ins with a floral tool at each corner, all edges gilt. With 18 portraits as called for, four of these with hand coloring, and EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED WITH AN ADDITIONAL 60 PLATES. Only the barest hint of wear to extremities, spines just a shade darker than covers, a handful of portraits a bit foxed, but A FINE SET, clean and fresh internally, the bindings lustrous, and the set obviously very little used. This is a very attractively bound set containing the biographies of 38 notable Englishwomen, extra-illustrated with plates depicting some of the people and places integral to the subjects' lives. Covering the period from the reign of Queen Elizabeth I to the 18th century, these four volumes include many women of noble birth and position, such as Arabella Stuart, Elizabeth Cromwell, and Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia; poets and artists such as Susanna Centlivre, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, and Mary Beale; and women famous for their fantastic deeds, such as Jane Lane, who assisted Charles II during his escape after the Battle of Worcester. Our author Louisa Stuart Costello (1799-1870) was a miniaturist, poet, and writer of biographies, travel stories, and fiction. According to DNB, "her biographies of royal and noble women--which clearly traded on the popularity of similar works by Lucy Aikin, the Strickland sisters, and Mary Anne Everett Green--were creditable examples of this literary genre and generally involved some original research." For the present work, Costello relied heavily on access to the library and papers of the duke of Devonshire, whom she thanks in her introduction. In addition to 18 portraits called for in the contents (several of which were drawn by Costello herself), this set has been "grangerized" with 60 additional plates that further illustrate the life and times of these illustrious women. The lustrous bindings by an eminent British firm are an additional source of pleasure, making a beautiful appearance on the shelf.

FIRST EDITION. 222 x 146 mm. (8 3/4 x 5 3/4"). Three volumes extended to six. Edited by Lady Theresa Lewis. EXCEPTIONALLY PRETTY CRIMSON CRUSHED MOROCCO, HANDSOMELY GILT, BY MORRELL (signed on front inner dentelles), covers bordered with double rules, raised bands, spines gilt in compartments featuring drawer pull and cinquefoil cornerpieces and elegant floral centerpiece, elaborately gilt inner dentelles, top edge gilt, other edges rough trimmed. EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED WITH MORE THAN 275 ENGRAVED PLATES (30 of them views, the rest portraits, four of the plates folding, and eight in color). One plate with small, skillfully repaired tear at fore edge, a few leaves and a dozen plates with sprinkled foxing, isolated light offsetting and minor stains and soiling in the text, but AN EXTREMELY FINE SET, THE LOVELY BINDINGS UNUSUALLY BRIGHT AND VIRTUALLY UNWORN, and internally very fresh and clean. This lavishly illustrated and handsomely bound set documents the very long and meaningful life of a spinster devoted to her father and her sisterand to literature. Mary Berry (1763-1852) grew up in a family of modest fortune, yet she knew a great many important people, including Princess Caroline of Wales (the estranged wife of the Regent), their daughter Princess Charlotte, and the author Mme. de Stael, who described Mary as "by far the cleverest woman in England." Mary met Lord Byron and Napoleon, but her greatest friend was Horace Walpole, the society wit, letter-writer, and builder of the neo-gothic extravaganza Strawberry Hill. Walpole, who met Berry and her younger sister Agnes when they were in their twenties, became so fascinated by their wit and wisdom that he persuaded them to settle with their father near him at "Little Strawberry Hill," which he bequeathed to them in his will. He left them his manuscripts as well, and Mary Berry became the editor of his works. She also authored a play and a study of English and French society, but our collection of her journal entries and letters, put together by Lady Theresa Lewis (1803-65), is Mary Berry's most enduring legacy. The journal begins when Mary at 20 sets out with her father and Agnes for a tour of Holland, Switzerland, and Italy, where she looks at paintings, attends plays, and records the ups and downs of stagecoach travel. The letters and entries in her journal, written until her death, give a rare picture of her times and her clever and endearing personality. At the same time, some entries are melancholic, in which she attributes falling short of achievements commensurate with the level of her abilities and never experiencing marriage and motherhood. Besides charming portraits of the Berry sisters, the illustrations in our expanded set depict the authors they read (Dryden, for example), the painters whose works they viewed, the many notable figures they met or gossiped about (royalty, politicians, actresses, people of fashion), and views of the places they visited. Our lovely set was produced by the London bindery of W. T. Morrell, established about 1861 as successor to the firm begun by Francis Bedford, who, in turn, had taken over the famous bindery of Charles Lewis. Prideaux in her "Modern Bookbindings," published in 1906, says that Morrell at that time had a very large business that supplied "all the booksellers with bindings designed by his men," bindings that were "remarkable for their variety and merit." The six volumes here look remarkably attractive on the shelf.

190 x 125mm. (7 1/2 x 5"). xii, 128 pp.; 1 p.l. (volume II title page handwritten in ink), 129-312 pp. One volume expanded to two. Fine crimson crushed morocco by the Guild of Women Binders (stamp-signed in gilt on front pastedown), raised bands, stylized gilt lettering on spines, all edges gilt. With five portraits, as called for, and EXTRA-ILLUSTRATED WITH 264 PLATES, 31 of these colored, 12 folding, about half of them scenes or views, the rest portraits. Also containing the bookplate of David Garrick (mounted on card at p. 10); an autograph letter, signed, from George Smart; an invoice or accounting signed by Eliza Matthews; and five other autographs mounted on heavy stock. Occasional trivial offsetting from inserted plates, but A VERY FINE COPY, clean and fresh internally, in unworn bindings. Richly extra-illustrated with depictions of the people, places, and events discussed in the text, this joint biography of brothers James and Horace Smith was simply and tastefully bound by members of the Guild of Women Binders. Although James (1775-1839) was a lawyer and Horace (1779-1849) a successful stockbroker, both had literary aspirations and enjoyed being part of theatrical and artistic circles. Their dreams were realized when in 1812 the Drury Lane Theatre offered a £50 prize for an address to be recited on the theater's reopening following repair of fire damage. The Smiths hit on the idea of producing parodies of popular poets, with James imitating Wordsworth, Southey, and Coleridge, while Horace took on Byron, Moore, and Scott. Their humorous publication was an unexpected runaway hit, going to seven editions in three months. According to Britannica, "'Rejected Addresses' are the most widely popular parodies ever published in England, and take classical rank in literature. . . . A striking feature is the absence of malice; none of the poets caricatured took offence, while the imitation is so clever that both Byron and Scott are recorded to have said that they could hardly believe they had not written the addresses ascribed to them." In addition to being witty, both men were kind and generous friends, often helping impecunious artists. Percy Shelley and Horace became friends after competing in a sonnet-writing contest (which Shelley won by producing "Ozymandias"). Before leaving for Italy, the poet entrusted his financial affairs to Horace, of whom he said, "Is it not odd that the only truly generous person I ever knew who had money enough to be generous with should be a stock-broker? He writes poetry and pastoral dramas and yet knows how to make money, and does make it, and is still generous." The binding here was produced by the Guild of Women Binders, established by bookseller Frank Karslake in 1898 to give an organizational identity to a group of women already at work binding books in various parts of Britain, often in their own homes. Karslake first became interested in women binders when he visited the Victorian Era Exhibition at Earl's Court in 1897, held to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. He was impressed with a number of bookbindings at the Jubilee exhibit, prominent among them being those of Mrs. Annie MacDonald of Edinburgh, and he invited the women to exhibit their work in his shop at 61 Charing Cross Road. The Guild was formed soon thereafter, and operated until 1904. As Tidcombe notes, "because the women were generally unaware of the long history of traditional bookbinding design, they produced designs that were freer and less stereotyped than those of men in the trade." Our binding is more restrained that other Guild works, but the spine lettering, which juxtaposes curves and sharp angles, stands out as a distinctive feature.