PART I - Books published before 1833
2 BACON, John. Liber Regis, vel Thesaurus Rerum Ecclesiasticarum. With an Appendix, containing Proper Directions and Precedents relating to Presentations, Institutions, Inductions, Dispensations, &c. and a complete Alphabetical Index. Printed for the Author by John Nichols, 1786. £120
FIRST EDITION, 4to., pp.viii,1391; a good copy in contemporary tan calf, morocco label; hinges cracked but sides held on cords; ex librais Hugh Cecil Earl of Lonsdale. Bacon was justly criticised for failing to acknowledge his debt to John Ecton on whose Thesaurus of 1711 this work is based.
3 BIBLE. [PEARSON, John. Editor] [Greek letter] Vetus Testamentum Graecum ex versione Septuaginta Interpretum. Juxta Exemplar Vaticanum Romae editum. Johannem Field, Cantabrigiae, 1665. £150
12mo., pp.(2)19(1)755(1)516; head margin close trimmed, short tears in two leaves (without loss) but generally well preserved in old calf, worn; recent rather unsympathetic reback in calf, morocco label; 'E Libris Johannis Harper 1735'. Edited, with a Latin preface, by J[ohn] P[earson]; this issue without Apocrypha and with woodcut title arms inscribed 'Alma Mater Cantabrigia' & motto 'Hinc lucem et pocula sacra'.
4 BOSWELL, James. The Life of Samuel Johnson. [with] Copious Notes and Biographical Illustrations by [Edmund] Malone. In four volumes. Printed by J.F. Dove for R. Baynes [& many others] 1824. £165
4 vols., pp.(2)439; (2)448; (2)426; (2)472; engraved portrait (offset on title) & folding plate of the round robin & facsimiles of Johnson's hand; a good set in contemporary calf, modern gilt-lettered reback; ex libris Frederick Charles Spencer.
5 BOYER, A. The Royal Dictionary abridged. In two parts I. French and Engliah. II. English and French. Containing above five thousand words. The Sixth Edition, carefully Corrected. Printed for R. Wilkin [& many others] 1738. £55
Unpaginated [c1000pp.), publishers' advert. leaf at end; bound without the frontispiece; one leaf torn without loss, a few corners creased but generally well preserved in contemporary calf, crimson morocco label, neatly rehinged.
6 BRIDGE, Rev. B. A Treatise on the Elements of Algebra. Sixth edition, enlarged and corrected. T. Cadell, 1826. £38
Pp.(8)224; tears in one leaf repaired without loss; intermittent spotting but generally well preserved; some pencilled marginalia; contemporary half calf, backstrip gilt, marbled sides; rubbed but sound.
7 [BROWN, John.] Athelstan. A tragedy. As it is acted at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. Printed for Lockyer Davis and Charles Reymers, 1756 £25
FIRST EDITION, pp.viii,77(3)epilogue & advert.; a very good copy in modern wrappers. Apparently the only edition although Brown's first play, Barbarossa, had been a great success two years earlier. Now best known for his Estimate of the manners and principles of the times.
9 [BYRON, Lord George Gordon.] Don Juan. [Complete in XVI Cantos.] Printed by Thomas Davison, Whitefriars, [Cantos I-V] John Hunt, [Cantos VI-XVI] 1819-1824. £750
FIRST EDITION of all but vol.1 which is 2nd. 'new' ed.; 6 vols. bound in 3; pp.(4)227; (4)218; vii(3)184 + advert. leaf; 151; 168; 129 + advert. leaf & erratum slip; with half-titles to vols I & II, (not called for in the Hunt volumes); some light spotting but a very good uncut set in contemporary half blue calf, marbled sides; a little rubbed but sound & attractive.
10 BYRON, Lord George Gordon. The Works [In three volumes] John Murray, 1819. £85
3vol., pp.xvi,479; (4)491(3); viii,330; bound without half-titles but with final 'Notes to Beppo' leaf at end of vol.2; slight spotting, small piece torn from head margin of vol.3, otherwise a good set of this generously margined edition in later 19th full maroon russia, hinges rubbed, backs a little faded; early ownership signature of Ann H. Murray at head of titles; later bookplate of David Murray.
11 COMMINGES, Comte De. Lettre a sa Mere, suivie diune Lettre de Philomele a Progné. Nouvelle Edition. De l'Imprimerie de Sébastien Jorry, A Paris, 1765. £35
Pp.54; two engraved plates & four vignette after Eisen; a good copy of this handsome production on heavy paper in modern boards.
12 CRUIKSHANK, George. [COMBE, William?] The Life of Napoleon, A Hudibrastic Poem in Fifteen Cantos by Doctor Syntax, embellished with Thirty Engravings by G. Cruikshank. Printed for T. Tegg, Cheapside, Wm. Allason, New Bond Street & J. Dick, Edinburgh. 1817. £350
Pp.260; pictorial title & 29 tinted aquatint plates dated 1814/15, one of which, 'Pursued by Cossacks', 1815, is additionally hand-coloured, edges trimmed, and evidently inserted from another copy; some sections of text lightly browned, occasional off-setting, but generally a good untrimmed copy in modern morocco-backed marbled boards, lettered in gold on backstrip. First published in 1815, this copy of the second printing contains all the errors of pagination and caption recorded by Abbey as unique to the 1815 printing! 'The book was reprinted verbatim in 1817, and the check [of errors] is useful in the case of copies that might be suspected of 'making up' from the 1817 or second edition.' An argument which this copy would seem to undermine. Abbey, Life 356. Tooley 151.
13 DODINGTON, George Bubb, Baron of Melcombe Regis. The Diary... from March 8, 1749 to February 6, 1761. With an Appendix, containing some curious and interesting papers... Published from his Lordship's Original Manuscripts by Henry Penruddocke Wyndham. The third edition. G. and T. Wilkie... and E. Easton, Salisbury, 1785. £110
Pp.xvi,504; with the half-title; a very nice copy bound into two volumes; contemporary tree calf, backstrips gilt with double morocco labels; bookplates of Sir Thomas Hesketh & Easton Neston. First published the previous year; an important source 'almost unbelievably frank in [the] revelation of his own and his friends' seamy side in the politics of the period.' Basil Williams.
14 DOW, Alexander. Zingis. A tragedy. As it is performed at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane. The second edition. Printed for T. Becket and P.A. De Hondt, 1769. £20
Pp.(8)84(2); very good in modern wrappers. Same year as the first edition. A Lt.Col. from Perthshire, Dow is best known for his History of Hindostan which is advertised here.
15 DRYDEN, John. The Vindication: or the Parallel of the French Holy-League, and the English League and Covenant, Turn'd into a Seditious Libell against the King and his Royal Highness, by Thomas Hunt and the Authors of the Reflections upon the Pretended Parallel in the Play called The Duke of Guise. Printed for Jacob Tonson, 1683. £85
FIRST EDITION, 4to., pp.(2)60; lightly browned throughout, first & final leaf soiled, top margin cut close & final line of imprint largely cropped away, otherwise well preserved in modern calf-backed boards, morocco label. First performed in 1683, Dryden’s Duke of Guise, provoked attacks from Thomas Hunt and Elkanah Settle to which Dryden promised to respond in the printed version of the play. Wing D2398.
16 EURIPIDES. The Hecuba, Orestes, Phoenician Virgins, and Medea. Literally translated into English verse from the text of [Richard] Porson. [bound with] The Hippolytus, and Alcestis... from the text of [James Henry] Monk. Printed for D.A. Talboys, Oxford, 1820/21. £45
First Editions of these translations; pp.(2)242; (2)93; slight browning, occasional marginalia but well preserved in contemporary diced calf, backstrip decorated in gold & blind, sides scuffed & rubbed but sound.
17 FLAMANVILLE, Mme. De. Eugénie, ou Le Calendrier de la Jeunesse, contenant douze contes pour les douze mois de l'année... A La Librairie d'éducation de Pierre Blanchard, Paris, 1818. £55
FIRST EDITION, 12mo., pp.(8)vi,247 + table; engraved frontispiece & five other plates, each with two captioned images; some off-setting, otherwise well preserved in contemporary crimson half roan, lettered in gold; extremities rubbed but sound. Gumuchian 2541.
18 FONTENELLE, Bernard De. Entretiens sur La Pluralité Des Mondes, Nouvelle Edition, Augmentée des Dialogues des Morts. Chez la Veuve Regnard, Imprimeur de l'Académie Francoise... A Paris, 1769. £85
Pp.(4)192; (2)304; large folding plate of the solar system (short tear along fold without loss), corner torn from A1 (vol.I) well clear of text, otherwise a very good copy in contemporary calf, re-backed, a little worn at corners; early ownership signature of 'Char. Myddelton'. First published in 1686, Fontenelle's Plurality of Worlds offers a lucid account of astronomy according to Copernicus and Descartes, enlivened by speculations on life on other planets. Presented as six lectures given over six evenings in the form of after-dinner conversations with a Marquise, it represents the first major attempt to convey scientific knowledge to the layman in an accessible literary form.
19 FOOTE, Samuel. The Knights; a comedy in two acts... Printed for W. Lowndes, 1807 £15
Pp.48; a good copy with large margins, modern wrappers. First performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in 1754.
20 FOOTE, Samuel. The Lyar; a comedy... Printed for W. Lowndes, 1805 £15
Pp.72; a good copy, well printed with large margins; modern wrappers. First performed in 1762.
21 FOOTE, Samuel. The Patron: A comedy in three acts... A new edition. Printed for W. Lowndes, 1794 £15
Pp.64; a good copy in modern wrappers. First performed thirty years earlier.
22 GAY, John. The Beggar's Opera. As it is Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Lincolns-Inn Fields. The Third Edition: With the Ouverture in Score, The Songs, and the Basses... Curiously Engrav'd on Copper Plates. Printed for John Watts, 1729. £350
Third Edition, 4to., pp.(8)60 + 46pp. engraved musical score; engraved head- & tail pieces throughout, title in red & black; a remarkably fresh copy; contemporary calf-backed marbled boards; sides rubbed, short splits at head of hinges but sound in pleasingly unsophisticated state. Early ownership mark cropped at head of title, later signatures of Emily C. Brackenbury (19thC) and George Barbar. Originally published the previous year, this first quarto edition was enlarged to include the full score of this most successful musical of the 18thC.
23 GRAY, Thomas. The Works... containing his poems and correspondence, with... Memoirs of his life and writings, by W. Mason. The third edition, carefully corrected. In two volumes. Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe [& others] 1807. £55
2 vols., pp.xii,316; xiii(3)324; engraved portrait & advert. leaf in vol.II; slight spotting but a good set in contemporary diced calf, gilt; a little wear at hinges but sound. Wilson's well printed volumes on thin paper reduce the 4vols. of the second edition to two. Mason garbled the letters but his edition remains indispensable.
24 GRILLPARZER, Franz. Saffo. Tragedia in cinque atti...versione Italiana did Guido Sorelli, Fiorentino. Presso Giovanni Marenigh, Firenze, 1819 £35
First Italian edition; pp.140 + advert. leaf; a good large copy of this attractive edition in contemporary half green calf, backstrip gilt with morocco label, snag in top section of backstrip. The same year as the original German (Vienna) edition.
25 HARRIS, William. An Historical and Critical Account of the Life and Writings of Charles I... After the Manner of Mr. Bayle. Drawn from Original Writers and State-Papers. Printed for R. Griffiths, T. Field, and C. Henderson, 1758. £65
FIRST EDITION, pp.(8)428 + errata/advert. leaf; a good copy in (early 19thC?) full calf, morocco label; rubbed but sound; attractive contemporary heraldic ex libris of Thomas Webb.
26 HORACE. Q. Horatius Flaccus. [Opera] Cum commentarius selectissimis Variorum: & Scholiis integris Johannis Bond... Accurante Corn. Schrevelio. Ex Officina Hackiana, Leyden, 1663. £85
Pp.(16)832(56)indexes; engraved title by P. Philippe; a good copy of this highly regarded edition in contemporary calf, backstrip gilt; a little wear at head & tail of backstrip, upper hinge split but but board secure on cords; contemporary ownership signature 'E libris Eduardi Medley...'
27 JOHNSON, Samuel.] The Idler. By the Author of the Rambler. In two volumes. The Third Edition. With additional essays. T. Davies, J. Newbery and T. Payne, 1767. £150
Second collected edition, 2vol., pp.(4)294; (4)330; margins of first & final leaves in each vol. browned from the binder's paste, otherwise well preserved in contemporary tan calf, backstrips gilt with crimson titling labels (lacking numerals); hinges vol.I split but sides secure, vol.II re-hinged, extremities worn but still attractive contemporary dress; contemporary heraldic ex libris of Frederick Hotham. This edition collects for the first time the Essay on Epitaphs; Dissertation on Epitaphs written by Mr Pope, and Bravery of the English Common Soldier. Courtney & Nicol Smith
29 LAROCHEJAQUELEIN, Donnissan, Marchioness De. Memoirs of the Marchioness De Larochejaquelein. With a map of the theatre of war in La Vendee. Translated from the French. Printed by George Ramsay.. for Archibald Constable, Edinburgh; and Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, London, 1816. £65
First English Edition, pp.viii,535; folding hand-coloured map; a good copy in contemporary tan calf, rebacked retaining old crimson morocco label.
30 LYDIAT, S. Spicilegium: Sive, Nova quorundam Graecorum Epigrammatum Collectio, Versione Latina, Et Necessaris Notis explicata. Cum Indice cum Verborum tum Rerum. Editio altera emendatior. In Usum Scholae Felstediensis, Com. Essexiae. Impensis R. & J. Bonwicke, 1712. £110
Pp.100(20) index & advert.; text in Greek & Latin; some light browning but well preserved in 18thC calf, backstrip worn but serviceable, hinges & morocco label renewed; ex libris Sir Anthony Wagner, ownership signature of his cousin Henry Michele Wagner; interleaved throughout with some old manuscript translations. First published in 1696 and sufficiently in demand for third & fourth editions in 1724 & '38. ESTC [N23642] gives British Library, UCLA & Texas copies only of this second edition. 'Near [Braintree] is Felsted, a small place, but noted for a free school of an ancient foundation, for many years under the mastership of the late Rev. Mr. Lydiat, and brought by him to the meridian of its reputation.' Defoe, Tour through the Eastern Counties, 1722.
31 [MARTYN, Thomas] The English Connoisseur: containing an Account of whatever is curious in Painting, Sculpture, &c. In the Palaces and Seats of the Nobility... Volume I [of II] Printed for L. Davis and C. Reymers, 1766. £25
FIRST EDITION, 12mo., pp.(2)x,192; a sound copy in contemporary calf, morocco label; extremities rubbed & a little worn, splits in upper hinge, but still an attractive copy. This first volume covers collections of John Barnard and Charles Jennens, and at Belvedere House, Blenheim, Chatsworth, Chiswick, Devonshire House, Ditchley, Hampton Court, Houghton, Kensington Palace, The Leasowes, London and Hagley-Park, the seat of the Lyttelton family whose copy this was. Also contains early ownership signature of 'B: Firebrace' on fly-leaf.
32 MASON, William. The English Garden: A Poem. Book the First. Sold by R. Horsfield and H. Dunoyer... 1772. £55
FIRST EDITION, 4to., pp.(4)30(2)advert. for Mason's Life of Gray; unobtrusive tear in gutter of first two gatherings with small tape marks on blank versos of first two leaves, otherwise well preserved in modern boards, paper label (frayed). Begun in 1767, shortly after the death of his wife, Mason's major poetical work was not completed until 1781. Gaskell 11.
33 [MAUDUIT, Israel] Considerations on the present German War. Fourth Edition. [bound with] [ANON] A Full and Candid Answer to a Pamphlet, entitled, Considerations... Printed for J. Pridden, J. Burd and J. Gretton, 1760. £55
FIRST EDITION of second work; two pamphlets bound together; pp.144; (2)86; both works with half-title; some light staining across one corner, otherwise well preserved in old half calf, marbled sides, worn; rebacked in calf with new morocco label. Mauduit's work, which provoked many answers, was supported by Lord Hardwicke and defended in parliament by Charles Yorke. According to Horace Walpole it was ‘shrewdly and ably written, having more operation in working a change on the minds of men than perhaps ever fell to the lot of a pamphlet,’ as, after its publication, England remained neutral on the differences between the various German states. The author of the 'Full and Candid Answer...' is not known.
34 [MOORE, Thomas.] Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress. with a preface, notes and appendix. By One of the Fancy. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1819. £110
FIRST EDITION, pp.xxxii,88; a very good uncut copy in original boards, unobtrusively re-backed retaining most of original paper label, small piece torn from front free endpaper; contemporary ownership signature of 'E.N. Hurt' on pastedown. One of Moore's 'brilliant trifles'; a satire on the Holy Alliance and the Congress system using the cant of pugilism on the grounds that the ending of war by the Holy Alliance has rendered prize fighting the only means of settling disputes between nations. Moore uses the contemporary champion prize fighter, Tom Cribb, providing full notes on pugilistic terms and items of boxing history
35 NELSON, Robert. A Companion for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church of England... The Thirteenth Edition. for R. and J. Bonwicke [& others] 1726. £70
Pp.(2)xxii(4)636(16)index; allegorical frontispiece engraving; some light soiling but a very good copy in contemporary panelled calf, rebacked with morocco label. This readable account by an able scholar first appeared in 1704 and remained in print for two centuries.
36 [PIGOTT, Charles] The Jockey Club, or a Sketch of the Manners of the Age. Part the First. The Sixth Edition, considerably improved and enlarged. [bound with] Part the Second. H.D. Symonds, 1792. £45
FIRST EDITION of Part Two; 2 vols. bound in one; pp.(14)187 [LACKS final leaf]; (30)186; first & final pages of each volume lightly soiled; vol.II with half-title & errata leaf; ownership signature of Revd. J. Williams at head of each title; contemporary speckled calf neatly-- rebacked retaining original morocco label. Scurrilous satires on a London society familiar to the author, which rapidly ran to multiple editions and a third part (not here present).
37 PLINY. C. Plinii Caecilii Secundi. Epistolarum Libri X. & Panegyricus. Accedunt Variantes Lectiones. Ex Officina Elseviriorum, Leyden, 1640. £70
First Elzevier Edition; 24mo., pp.(24)414(28)index; occasional early marginalia, light stain across corner of final gatherings, but generally well preserved in old calf, modern reback & morocco label. The first Elzevier printing of the Epistles, Jean & Daniel Elzevier produced a new edition in 1653, reprinted 1659. Willems 506.
38 POMFRET, John. Poems upon Several Occasions. The eleventh edition, corrected. With some account of his life and writings. To which are added his Remains. for D. Brown [& many others] [1759] £30
12mo., pp.xii,132,vi,18; bound without half-title; first & final leaves browned with minor loss at corners, otherwise well preserved in contemporary calf, rebacked with morocco label; bookplate of 'John Yorke Esq. Richmond'. The Remains with separate pagination & title, are the Fifth Edition, dated 1759.
39 PSALMS. PLAYFORD, John. The Whole Book of Psalms: with the Usual Hymns and Spiritual Songs. together With all the Ancient and Proper Tunes sung in Churches, with some of Later Use. Compos'd in three parts. Cantus, Medius, & Bassus: In a more Plain and Useful Method than hath been formerly Published. The Eighteenth Edition; Corrected and Amended. W. Pearson, for the Company of Stationers; 1729. £75
Pp.(12)307(1)advert.; engraved frontispiece; head margin cut close, clipping many headlines, otherwise well preserved in old calf, rubbed, hinges cracked but sides secure. First published in 1677, Playford's modified version of the Psalter posed the first major challenge to the century-long dominance of Sternhold and Hopkins
40 QUAKERS. A Collection of Testimonies concerning several ministers of the Gospel among the people called Quakers, deceased: with some of their last expressions and exhortations. Luke Hinde, 1760. £85
FIRST EDITION, pp.(xxii)372; contemporary panelled calf, some wear to head of backstrip & lower corners, later paper label. The index lists 126 Friends, many of them women.
41 QUAKERS. PENINGTON, Isaac. The Works of the long mournful and sorely distressed whom the Lord... relieved by the ministry of this despised people called Quakers... the second edition [enlarged]. Sam. Clark for J. & T. Kendall, Booksellers in Colchester, 1761. £150
2vol., 4to., pp.lvi,713(5); (vi)680(6); contemporary panelled calf, morocco labels, some wear to corners but a very good set. Assailed by religious doubts from his time at Cambridge, Penington progressed from Independent to Quaker after hearing George Fox preach at Reading in 1657. Wm. Penn married his step-daughter and his son Edward became Surveyor-General of Pennsylvania, establishing a dynasty of Peningtons in that state. Isaac's 19 separate publications range from the political to an answer to Muggleton's pamphlet 'The neck of the Quakers broken'. They were collected in 1681, folio.
42 [REEVE, Clara] Fatherless Fanny; or a Young Lady's first Entrance into Life. By the late Miss Taylor. Edited and enlarged by Mrs Sarah Green. Henry Fisher, 1822. £110
First Edition thus; pp.762; engraved pictorial title & 8 plates (browned, one torn - & repaired - without loss); occasional soiling and several marginal tears (without loss) but generally well preserved; bound from the original 31 parts in contemporary cloth-backed boards, rubbed; rebacked retaining original backstrip. First published in 1811 as 'By the Author of the Old English Baron', this edition's ascription to 'the late Miss Taylor' has often been attributed (on no sound textual basis) to Jane Taylor of Ongar who was, however, very much alive in 1822 (she died in 1824). John Reeves' fascinating article 'The Mother of Fatherless Fanny', convincingly argues that the novel is likely based on Reeve's 'Castle Conner - an Irish Story', the manuscript of which was lost when sent to London in May, 1787, on the Ipswich blue coach. As predicted by Reeve in her preface to 'The Exiles', it seems likely that the lost manuscript became the nucleus for several novels by 'those servile imitators who, like caterpillars, prey on the young plants of genius, and meanly pilfer a momentary subsistence from the labours of others.' Block lists nine novels by Sarah Green, published 1812-25, but not this. The prolificThomas Prest also produced a much-reprinted version. Copac records only the British Library copy of this edition which has the 1822 engraved title but 'engraved plates dated 1830-35'. The plates in this copy are dated 1821/2.
43 REYNOLDS, Frederick. Management: A comedy in five acts. As performed at the Theatre-Royal, Covent-Garden. The second edition. Longman and Rees, 1799 £20
Pp.(4)83 + advert.; a very good copy in modern wrappers of this relatively early work from the prolific dramatist. Same year as first edition.
44 SCOTT, Sir Walter. Ballads and Lyrical Pieces. Second Edition. James Ballantyne, Edinburgh, 1806. £45
Pp.(6)182); occasional slight spotting & soiling but a good copy of this early work in contemporary tan calf by Barratt of Oxford with his ticket, a little rubbed with short splits in hinges but sound. Same year as the first edition.
45 [SCOTT, Sir Walter.] Chronicles of the Canongate. Second Series. In three volumes. Cadell and Co., Edinburgh... 1828. £65
FIRST EDITION, 3vol., pp.(2)336; (2)336; (2)348; some spotting, largely confined to first & final leaves in each volume, but a good set in contemporary half calf, double morocco labels, repairs to head & tail of backstrips.
46 SCOTT, Sir Walter. The Vision of Don Roderick and other poems. The Second Edition. John Ballantyne and Co., Edinburgh... 1811. £35
Pp.164(3)adverts.; contemporary half calf, morocco label, gilt rolls at corners & sections of backstrip, by David Jones, Aberystwyth. Several poems were added to this first 'trade' edition, the first edition (of the same year) having been privately printed..
47 SHIPP, John. Memoirs of the Extraordinary Military Career of John Shipp, late a lieutenant in His Majesty's 87th Regiment. Written by Himself. [In three volumes] Hurst, Chance, and Co., 1829. £210
FIRST EDITION, 3vol., pp.xvi,296; (4)295; (4)299; stipple-engraved frontispiece portrait (lightly browned & offset on title) occasional slight spotting but a good uncut set in original boards, sometime rebacked with modern paper labels; contemporary printed sheet of the Balliol Book Club with ms. entries on front pastedowns of each volume. Born in Saxmundham, Suffolk, in 1784, Shipp progressed from the parish poor-house to a distinguished military career, notably in the Ghurka War of 1815-16, returning home to a writing career and governorship of the Liverpool Workhouse in 1830. His memoir became something of a best-seller although this first edition attracted only c150 subscribers,
48 [SMOLLETT, Tobias.] The Expedition of Humphry Clinker. By the Author of Roderick Random. The Second Edition. [In three volumes.] Printed by W. Johnston and B. Collins, 1772. £150
3vol., pp.xvi,250; (4)249; (4)275; occasional slight browning but a good set with the half-titles of Smollett's epistolary masterpiece in contemporary sheep imitating speckled calf, morocco labels; extremities worn, hinges cracked & backstrips chipped, but sound & serviceable; ownership inscription of 'Mary Stewart 1778'. First published the previous year.
49 STRYPE, John. Annals of the Reformation and Establishment of Religion, And other Various Occurences in the Church of England; during the First Twelve Years of Queen Elizabeth's Happy Reign... John Wyat, at the Rose in St. Paul's Churchyard, 1709. £220
FIRST EDITION, folio, pp.(24)contents & subscribers,591,63 + advert. leaf,24, appendices & errata; a very fresh copy in contemporary full panelled calf, backstrip gilt but lacking most of label; hinges cracked but sides firmly held on the cords, corners worn. Neat small stamp of the John Fricker collection. Strype's magnum opus which was extended to four vols. with the third edition of 1735/7.
50 VENERONI, Giovanni. Le Mâitre Italien, ou La Grammaire Françoise et Italienne... Nouvelle Edition... Chez Bruyset Frères, A Lyon, 1792. £28
Pp.(2)x,511(7)table; a good copy of this standard 18thC. grammar; contemporary calf, morocco label (chipped); rubbed with short splits in hinges but sound.
51 [VICTOR, Benjamin.] The Widow of the Wood. Printed for C. Corbett, 1755. £120
FIRST EDITION, 12mo., pp.(4)iv,208; burn spot on title otherwise well preserved with half-title & postscript leaf in 19thC tan cloth, morocco label, bookplate of Gerorge W. Marshall. ESTC differentiates four issues without establishing precedence, this with squirrel ornament on title, bust within floral scroll frame on 206 & vase with scroll on 208. The racy account of Anne Northey's four marriages (one bigamous) within the Staffordshire gentry, supposedly suppressed by her husband's families, evidently with little success.
52 WILLETTS, Jacob. The Scholar's Arithmetic, designed for the use of schools, in the United States. Second Edition. Paraclete Potter, Poughkeepsie, 1817. £55
Pp.210 + three advert. leaves; light browning throughout, small paper flaw in A2 clipping 5 words, otherwise well preserved in modern calf-backed marbled boards, morocco label. First published the previous year, this popular sequel to Willetts' Geography had reached a 55th New York edition by 1844, but early editions are scarce; NSTC fails to locate a first edition & no UK holdings before 1844.
53 [WOODWARD, Josiah?] A Help to a National Reformation. Containing An Abstract of the Penal-Laws against Prophaneness and Vice... To which is added, An Account of the Progress of the Reformation of Manners in England and Ireland... and the Special Obligations of Magistrates... The Fifth Edition with great Additions. Printed and Sold by Joseph Downing in Bartholomew Close, 1706. £65
Pp.(16)131 + advert; engraved frontispiece of the Queen; a nice copy in original speckled sheep; sides starting to warp, minor wear at extremities, but sound. First published in 1700 (Wing H1404), another 'fifth editon, enlarged' of this legal guide appeared in 1720.