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ENGLISH
POLITICS
Capturing an Age
ONE BIOGRAPHY at a Time
(A GREAT AGE *&* a VERY GOOD “READ”).
[Clarke]. The Georgian era: Memoirs of the most eminent persons, who have flourished in Great Britain, from the accession of George the First to the demise of George the Fourth. London: Vizetelly, Branston, & Co., 1832–34. 8vo (19.5 cm, 7.65"). 4 vols. I: Frontis., 582 pp.; 12 plts. II: Frontis., [2], 588 pp. III: Frontis., [2], 588 pp. IV: Frontis., 588 pp.
Click the images for enlargements. 
politicians,
military and naval officers, jurists, physicians, voyagers and travelers, scientists,
writers, economists, architects, artists and musicians, etc. All the expectable
princesses, duchesses, and countesses are present, along with a handful of women
represented in other categories — the preponderance falling under the
“Vocal Performers” and “Actors” headings.
The first volume is illustrated with
12
plates each offering four rows
of small portraits, some intriguingly expressive; each volume opens with an
engraved frontispiece portrait of a royal George.
• NSTC 2C23867. Recent textured maroon cloth, spines with
gilt-stamped black leather title and volume labels; title-pages institutionally
pressure- (not rubber-) stamped. Scattered light spots of staining,
pages generally clean; first few leaves of voI. \ II with outer margins chipped.
A
hefty, substantive evocation of Georgian life and times. (30012)
This entry is repeated in the
An
Address to
the
“Livery”(Abolition).
To the livery of London. [London, 1791?]. 8vo (18.5 cm, 7.25").
24 pp. (lacking pp. 9–16).
• Not in ESTC. Marbled paper–covered boards, old style, front cover with printed paper label. Lacking pp. 9–16. Pages cockled and slightly browned; edges untrimmed.
REGICIDE
Pilloried — Sort
Of?
Anonymous.
Invisible John made visible: or, A grand pimp of tyranny portrayed,
in Barkstead’s arraignment at the barre, vvhere he stands impeached of
high treason, and other gross misdemeanours, as the late tyrant’s bum-bayliff
in his most arbitrary, oppressive and tyrannical invasions of the rights and
liberties of Engli sh-men, within the late cantonized county of Middlesex, the
City of London Tower, &c. Whereunto are added, five queries, to the Parliament,
Council of State, and Army.... London: no publisher/printer, 1659. Small 4to.
[1] ff., 6 pp. 
Click the image for an enlargement. There exist at least four different editions of this work. In this edition, line 9 of the title begins “VVhere” and line 19 has “Parliament, Council of State, and Army.”
• Wing (rev. ed.) I289aA; ESTC R234704. Removed from a nonce volume and now in later wrappers. (21001)
Military ScienceAnonymous.
Suggestions with regard to the education of officers in the British Army. London:
William Clowes & Sons, 1857. 8vo (19.8 cm, 7.75"). 21, [1 (blank)] pp., [1
(blank)] f. 
Rare: We were able to trace only one U.S. copy of this work via NUC Pre-1956, OCLC, or RLIN.
• NSTC 2ENG3884. Removed from a nonce volume. Light soiling and staining on title-page. Closely trimmed by binder, cutting off some sidenotes. Inked numeral in margin of title-page.
Very
PRETTILY
Serving the Interests
of 
CULTURE
Arnold, Matthew. Sweetness and light. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., [ca. 1890]. 12mo. 45, [3 (blank)] pp.
Binding: Publisher's textured cream paper–covered boards in very good imitation of morocco, front cover framed in green-stamped fillet, gilt-stamped title surrounded by gilt- and green-stamped floral sprays.
• Binding as above, paper chipping at corners and spine, spots of light discoloration around edges. Front free endpaper with nicely inked Christmas gift inscription dated 1900. Some pages with mild foxing along inner margins, otherwise clean. 
A light and sweet production. (28455)
For
a Broader Church . . .Arnold, Thomas. Principles of Church reform. London: Pr. [by R. Clay] for B. Fellowes, 1833. 8vo (20 cm, 7.875"). v, [1 (blank)], 88 pp.
Click the image for an enlargement. • NSTC 2A16362. On Arnold, see: DNB, II, 113–17. Removed from a nonce volume. A few dog ears, some shallow chipping, and traces of soiling. A little underlining and sidelining in old ink.
“Translated
Asgill”
Strikes
Back[Asgill,
John]. Mr. Asgill’s defence upon his expulsion from the House of
Commons of Great Britain in 1707. With an introduction, and a postscript. London:
A. Baldwin, 1712. 8vo (19.2 cm, 7.55"). 87, [1] pp.
his rapturous religious
tenets while affirming his belief in the Scriptures and denying
any wrongdoing—especially in the pesky land speculation matter. One might,
upon perusing Asgill’s arguments, agree with the assessment made by the
printer of the original treatise, who “fancy’d [Asgill] was a little
craz’d” (p. 40).
This example is apparently a variant state of the first edition of 1712 (ESTC does not distinguish between variants, grouping all entries under one listing), with p. 61, line 8 ending “of the Romish Persuasion.’
• ESTC T41498. On Asgill, see: The Dictionary of National Biography, II, 159–61. Removed from a nonce volume, now in a Mylar folder. Title-page with small numeric stamp, spots of discoloration. A few pages more notably browned than their neighbors; otherwise generally clean.
A
Different Take
onCromwell
vs. the King
[Bancks,
John]. The life of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth
of England, Scotland, and Ireland: Containing particularly his decent, his first
advances to popularity, his wonderful success in the civil wars, Battle of Worcester,
&c. &c. Stourbridge: Heming & Tallis, [ca. 1815]. 12mo (19 cm, 7.5").
Frontis., [2], [7]–28 pp.
Click the image for an enlargement. no institutional holdings of this sole edition thus. The biography is attributed to “A Gentleman of the Middle Temple,” but the text is for the most part adapted from of A Short Critical Review of the Political Life of Oliver Cromwell by John Bancks (or Banks, 1709–51), a bookseller, poet, and biographer; there seems to have been some confusion with the Restoration-era playwright John Banks (d. 1706).
The present rendition was excerpted from the first eight chapters of the Critical Review, and closes with a discussion of Cromwell's burial; much of Bancks's editorializing regarding the conduct of the king and other political matters has been removed, providing an interesting contrast to the original work. (According to the DNB, the work in its first state earned Bancks accusations of being an enemy of the monarchy due to its sympathetic tone towards Cromwell — a major difference from all previous biographies.)
This edition features a wood-engraved frontispiece done by Turnbull after Harper.
• Not in NSTC. On Bancks, see: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online. Recent light blue paper–covered boards, front cover with printed paper label. Frontispiece recto (back) with rubber-stamped numeral and pencilled annotation, no other markings. Pages age-toned with spots of minor staining, edges slightly ragged, corners bumped. An intriguing oddity. (28744)
Bertie's Own Bible — “A” Curious Imprint & aNorth Carolina Connection Bible. English. 1653. The Holy Bible: containing the Old Testament and the New: newly translated out of the originall tongues, and with the former translations diligently compared and revised. London: Evan Tyler for a Society of Stationers, 1653. 12mo (14.8 cm, 5.8"). [936] pp.
Click the images for enlargements. 
ruled in bright red with the dedication's text additionally surrounded by an ornamental type border of small fleurs-de-lis. The title-page, engraved by W. Marshall, isbeautifully hand-colored in shades of red, green, yellow, brown, grey, and purple. A separate woodcut title-page, elaborately red-ruled but uncolored, introduces the New Testament.
gilt supra-libros of Albemarle Bertie at the center of each board, gilt along the board edges and turn-ins in a floral roll pattern; spine gilt extra with a leafy flower tool in each of six compartments divided by gilt rolled raised bands; all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, and a green silk marker.
Provenance: Ownership signature of Albemarle Bertie, 9th Earl of Lindsey (1744–1818), British general and sometime member of Parliament for Stamford (front fly-leaf verso), with his supra-libros as above and his armorial bookplate (front pastedown). Small circular booklabel above Bertie's on front pastedown with initials “M.A.H.” beneath a crown, likely for the M.A. Huntley who signed the front fly-leaf in ink. Presentation inscription on front fly-leaf of the Rev. Payne Edmunds, the earl's cousin, to a “much valued & esteemed freind” [sic] whose name (M.A. Pegus?) cannot quite be made out, dated 14 March 1840.
The coat of arms forBertie County, North Carolina, incorporates the same shield, helm, and crest, as the arms of our Albemarle Bertie, whose relatives James and Henry Bertie acquired that land from the original Lord Proprietors before 1729.
This Bible isscarce: Just two copies were found in U.S. libraries via WorldCat and NUC Pre-1956.
• Wing B2237; Herbert 631; ESTC R229989 (bound with Sternhold & Hopkins' Book of Psalms); L. Wilson, Bibles . . . in English, I, 183. Not in Darlow & Moule. On Bertie County, see: “James & Henry Bertie, Namesakes of the County,” in The Bertie Historical Association, vol. II, no. 2 (Oct. 1954). Binding as above; leather darkened more or less evenly all over to a rich russet, lightly worn along the front joint with an old inch-long repair at the top, board corners lightly bumped, front supra-libros rubbed from use, at the spot, imaginably, where Bertie put his thumb. One small tear to a later leaf, the very lower outer corners of a few leaves torn away to no adverse effect, and a minute chip to the edge of the title-page; text remarkably clean with instances of off-setting from the hand-coloring the only “stains.” (30139)
“The
Uninterrupted Harmony”
of theNew
TestamentBible.
N.T. English & Greek. 1825. Scientia biblica: Containing
the New Testament, in the original tongue, with the English Vulgate, and a copious
and original collection of parallel passages, printed in words at length. London:
W. Booth, 1825. 8vo (23.2 cm, 9.2"). 3 vols. I: xvii, [3], 592 pp.; 1 plt. II:
[4], 669, [3 (2 adv.)] pp. III: [4], 546, [2], [547]–551, [1] pp.
prominent
member of the Chartist movement — as well as an active
Freemason who was a “constant contributor to the London Freemason,”
according to his obituary in the 1874 New England Freemason.
Click
the interior image for an enlargement.
Vol. I opens with a copper-engraved dedication to the king; vol. III closes with a list of subscribers.
Complete sets in good condition are not commonly found on the market.
• Herbert 369; NSTC 2B26321. Original boards (signed binding:
each front pastedown with small ticket of G. Peck, bookbinder), newly rebacked
in the style of the era with tan paper spines in mottled tones bearing new
printed paper labels; corners and edges rubbed, sides showing moderate wear.
Each front pastedown with early inked numeral. Page edges untrimmed; pages
lightly age-toned, with intermittent spotting. 
A
very good set. (25087)
The Secret (Bloody!) OathBolron, Robert. The papists bloody oath of secrecy, and letany of intercession for the carrying on of this present plot. With the manner of taking the oath, upon their entring into any grand conspiracy against the Protestants. London: Printed for Randal Taylor , 1680. Folio (28.5 cm; 11.25"). 23, [1] pp.
Click the images for enlargements. Title-page strikingly set in black and red. Also, partly in black-letter.
• Wing (rev. ed.) B3502; ESTC R19392. Removed from a nonce volume. Very good condition. (32243)
“ALL THE WHILE Mrs. Dorothy Sherborn Kept anIntimate Correspondence with Me”Boys, William. The narrative of Mr. William Boys, citizen of London: faithfully relating what came to his knowledge concerning the late horrid Popish plot, and the death of Sir Edmund-Bury Godfrey, by his acquaintance with and attendance upon Mr. Miles Prance, before and after his being taken and imprisoned. London: Printed for Dorman Newman, 1680. Folio (28.5 cm; 11.25). [2], 17, [1] pp.
Click the image for an enlargement. • Wing (rev. ed.) B4067; ESTC R19616. Removed from a nonce volume. Very good condition. (32239)
It WasALL the Court of St. James's Fault Brissot de Warville, Jacques-Pierre, & Jean François Ducos. Exposé de la conduite de la nation française envers le peuple anglais, et des motifs qui ont amené la rupture entre la République française et le roi d'Angleterre, précédé du rapport prononcé par Brissot, au nom du comité diplomatique & du discours de Ducos; imprimé par ordre de la Convention nationale, envoyé aux départemens & aux armées. Paris: De l'Imprimerie Nationale, 1793. 8vo (19.7 cm, 7.75"). [2], 34, 10, 95, [1] pp.
Click the image for an enlargement. Uncommon: WorldCat and NUC locate only nine U.S. institutional holdings.
• Martin & Walter 5290. Removed from a nonce volume. Title-page slightly darkened, with paper shelving label in lower inner corner, pencilled initials in upper outer corner, and inked numeral above header; verso institutionally rubber-stamped (marked duplicate). One leaf with tear from upper margin extending into text, with old repair. Occasional light spotting, overall clean. (30959)
Nonconformist DebateBritish Anti-State-Church Association. Proceedings of the first Anti-State-Church Conference, held in London, April 30, May 1 & 2, MDCCCXLIV. London: Pr. for the British Anti-State-Church Assocation, 1844. 12mo (19 cm, 7.5"). xi, [1], 142
pp.
Click the images for enlargements. • NSTC 2LON952. Removed from a nonce volume. Title-page with inked numeral in upper outer corner. First two leaves with small nicks to outer edges; pages clean.
Political /Jurisprudential / Theatrical SATIRE [Broome,
Ralph]. Letters from Simpkin
the second to his dear brother in Wales, containing an humble description of
the trial of William Hastings, Esq. with Simon's answer. Dublin:
P. Byrne & J. Moore, 1788. 8vo
(18.5 cm, 7.25"). 46 pp. (lacking half-title). 
Click the images for enlargements. • ESTC N2497. Recent marbled-paper wrappers, front wrapper with paper title label. Lacking half-title. Title-page with lower corner neatly off, otherwise in excellent, clean condition. (3247)
Memorizing Monarchs — Royalty in RhymeBrown, Louisa. Historical questions on the kings of England, in verse. Calculated to fix on the minds of children some of the most striking events of each reign. Boston: Munroe & Francis, No. 4 Cornhill, and David Francis, 90 Newberry Street, [1823?]. 12mo (14.8 cm, 5.8"). 35, [1] p.
Click the images for enlargements. woodcut portrait in a handsome circular frame at the top and two rhyming questions below. For example, “Who was it that in night's dark hour,/ Murder'd his nephews in the Tow'r,/ And then usurp'd the kingly pow'r? Richard the Third”; and “When fam'd Elizabeth was dead,/ Who govern'd England in her stead,/ Whom Guy Fawkes gave much cause of dread?/ James the First.” The final verso contains a publisher's advertisement for other titles, among which Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper, and Mother Goose's Quarto.Provenance: Signature in early ink of Mary Elizabeth Williams on title-page.
• Shoemaker 1597. Original printed paper boards with title-page reproduced on the front board and a publishers' advertisement on the rear, stained and dust-soiled. Foxing and dampstaining throughout, generally light and marginal but severe on final verso; deckle preserved at fore-edge of one leaf; small closed tear in one outer margin. A less than ideal but still decent copy and a very uncommon title in the marketplace. (31401)
Corruption Trial & Ultimate Vindication Buchan,
David Stewart Erskine, Earl of. Letters of Albanicus to the
people of England, on the partiality and injustice of the charges brought against
Warren Hastings, Esq., late Governor General of Bengal. London: Pr. for J. Debrett,,
1786. 8vo (19.5 cm; 7.5"). [1] f., vii, [1 (blank)], 97, [1 (blank)] pp.
Attributed to the Earl of Buchan by Halkett & Laing (vol. 9 [1962 ed.]).
• Goldsmiths’-Kress 13204; ESTC T143537. Recent full brown speckled calf, covers gilt-tooled in the Cambridge style. Raised bands on spine accented with gilt beading on bands and defined by gilt rules above and below each band. Title-page printed aslant or trimmed somewhat askew, and with a few small old inkspots; pamphlet otherwise clean, with occasional light instances of foxing. (21735)
LEC: Burke on the American Controversy — Ward Engravings Burke, Edmund. On conciliation with the colonies and other papers on the American Revolution. Lunenberg, VT: The Limited Editions Club, 1975. 8vo (26 cm, 10.25"). xxix, [1], 267, [3] pp.
Click the images for enlargements. wood
engravings by Lynd Ward and marking the first LEC production for
which Ward did wood engravings, according to the newsletter. Ward provided
12 full-page two-color engravings, six roundels for sectional title-pages,
and eight “scutiform tailpiece decorations”; the volume was designed
and printed by Roderick Stinehour at the Stinehour Press, and the Tapley-Rutter
Company bound it in “full Schumacher cloth with an allover multicolor
Colonial pattern.” 
signed
at the colophon by the artist. The appropriate LEC newsletter is
laid in.
• Bibliography of the Fine Books Published by the Limited Editions Club, 491. Binding as above, in original glassine wrapper and paper-covered slipcase; wrapper with a few tiny nicks at spine extremities, slipcase showing minimal shelfwear, volume fresh and clean. A handsome, crisp copy. (30718)
A SET of This Anglican Classic inRed Morocco Burnet, Gilbert. The history of the reformation of the Church of England. London: W. Baynes & Son (pr. by Charles Wood), 1825. 6 vols. 12mo (15 cm, 5.9"). I: Frontis., add. engr. t.-p., xxxvi, 474 pp. II: Add. engr. t.-p., [4], 456 pp. III: Frontis., add. engr. t.-p., xliv, 536 pp. IV: Add. engr. t.-p., [4], 494 pp. V: Frontis., add. engr. t.-p., lxiii, [1], 399, [1] pp. VI: Add. engr. t.-p., [4], 457, [3] pp.
Click the images for enlargements. 
Bindings: Contemporary crimson straight-grain morocco, covers framed in gilt double fillets surrounding one gilt and one blind-tooled roll. Spines with gilt-stamped titles, three wide bands of gilt-stamping, and raised bands with triple gilt-stamped fillets. All edges gilt.
• NSTC 2B60409. Bindings as above, spines and board edges slightly darkened, corners and edges showing minor wear, spine leather with small surface cracks, two spines with extremities refurbished, one volume with front joint carefully repaired. Front pastedowns each with institutional presentation bookplate, front fly-leaves each with early inked ownership inscription. Vol. V with front fly-leaf and frontispiece separated; vol. VI with outer edges of three early leaves tattered and some lower corners dog-eared. Pages very slightly age-toned, otherwise clean. A lovable set. (25537)
Foreigners Aren't Wanted & Drunks Are Better Dead than Alive Campbell, John. The Naturalization Bill confuted, as most pernicious to these United Kingdoms. To which are annexed, some remarks upon the Geneva Act, and a new scheme proposed.... London: Pr. for the author, sold by G. Woodfall & M. Cooper, 1751. 8vo (20.3 cm, 8"). 24 pp.
Click the image for an enlargement. Scarce: A search of WorldCat and ESTC locates only two U.S. institutional holdings, and only one U.K.
• ESTC T206417. Removed from a nonce volume; upper outer corners creased, some leaves with small edge chips and/or dust-soiling, half-title with spots of staining. A very uncommon example of a particular, enduring mindset. (29928)
One
Newly Titled —
One
New AccountEntirely
Chamberlayne,
John. Magnæ
Britanniæ notitia: Or, the present state of Great Britain, with divers
remarks upon the antient state thereof...the two and twentieth edition of the
south part call'd England, and first of the north part call'd Scotland; with
improvements.... In two parts. London: Pr. for Timothy Goodwin, Matthew Wotton, Benjamin Tooke, Daniel Midwinter,
and George Wells, 1708. 8vo (20 cm, 7.9").
Frontis., [10], x, [10], 756, [27 (index)], [1 (blank)] pp.
The
frontispiece portrait, engraved by R. White, depicts Queen Anne.
• ESTC T54583. Contemporary calf, blind-panelled and spine with printed paper title and shelving labels; worn and abraded, with loss of leather to head of spine. Title-page with line reading "Present State" excised, repaired some time ago by backing upper part of page with similarly colored paper; title-page and one other with inked ownership inscriptions. Endpapers and pastedowns doodled on in an early hand, with lower inner portion of front free endpaper torn away; frontispiece with a few small ink marks. Pages age-toned.
Intrigue with EnglandChauvelin, Bernard-François, & Grenville, William Wyndham Grenville.
Exposé historique des motifs qui ont amené la rupture entre la République
Française & S.M. Britannique. [Paris: Imprimerie nationale, 1793]. 8vo (21.8 cm, 8.6"). 95, [1]
pp.
Click the image for an enlargement. • Martin & Walter 5290. Removed from a nonce volume. Lacking title-page and preliminary reports as described above; this portion complete in itself. First page with annotation in old red pencil. Page edges untrimmed and slightly ragged, signatures unopened. (30768)
He GaveHimself the Last WordChurchill, Charles. The conference. London: G. Kearsly, 1763. 4to (25.2 cm, 9.9"). [2], 19, [1 (blank)] pp. (lacking half-title).
• ESTC T1702. Recent marbled paper–covered boards, front cover with printed paper label. Half-title lacking. Title-page and two others stamped by a now-defunct institution; leaves with reinforced tears at inner margins.
Churchill to Sir AlgernonChurchill, Winston. Winston S. Churchill to Sir Algernon West. 18 February 1898. New York: Kelly Winterton Press for Glenn Horowitz, Bookseller, 1988. 8vo (19.8 cm, 7.75"). [6] ff.
Click the images for enlargements. Taken from an original letter then in the collection of Malcolm Forbes, Jr., the text is handsomely printed on handmade paper using Baskerville type, with acaricature of Churchill on an elephant brandishing a polo mallet by M.G. Lord, and blue ornaments. Of two hundred copies printed, this isnumber one, signed by the artist below the colophon.
• On West, see: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online. Stitched in publisher's light blue speckled wrappers, title stamped in navy blue on front. Protective mylar wrappers. Light fading at bottom of wrappers. (31289)
Clarendon's Rebellion — Three Folio Vols. from Oxford “at the Theater”
Clarendon, Edward Hyde, Earl of. The history of the rebellion and civil wars in England, begun in the year 1641. With the precedent passages, and actions, that contributed therunto, and the happy end, and conclusion thereof by the King's blessed restoration, and return upon the 29th of May, in the year 1660. Oxford: Pr. at the Theater (by Ro. Mander & Guil. Delaune), 1702–04. Folio (39.7 cm, 15.75). 3 vols. I: Frontis., [4], xxiii, [1], 557, [1] pp. II: Frontis., [14], 581, [1] pp. III: Frontis., [22], 603, [23] pp. (half-titles lacking).
Click the interior image for an enlargement. Each volume commences with a copper-engraved frontispiece and title-page vignette, the former done by Robert White after a painting by Lely, the latter signed M[ichael] Burg[hers]. Burghers also engraved a substantial number of head- and tailpieces for the work, as well as decorative capitals.
• ESTC N9847, N9850, T147811; Brunet, I, 81; Allibone 385. Contemporary speckled calf panelled in blind with plain calf, decorated with blind-tooled corner fleurons, spines with gilt-stamped leather title-labels; edges and extremities rubbed, joints cracked or starting, some acid-pitting to speckled portions, spines each with small paper shelving label. Each front pastedown with institutional bookplate over private collector's bookplate, and with early inked gift inscription. Title-pages with small institutional rubber-stamp in lower margin; half-titles lacking. Pages generally clean; occasional minor spotting mostly confined to margins. One instance of early inked marginalia. (24574)
For more SETS, click here.
TheUncensored, “Restored” Text — Gilt Spine ExtraClarendon, Edward Hyde, earl of. The history of the rebellion and civil wars in England ... a new edition, from the original manuscript, with copious indexes. Oxford: University Press, 1843. 8vo (25 cm, 9.9"). [4], 1364 pp.
Single-click any image where the hand appears on The complete Oxford editions are generally seen bound as seven volumes, but the work appears here as one very large volume, in an attractive contemporary binding.
• NSTC 2H39552. Contemporary diced dark blue/black calf, covers framed in blind rolls and single gilt fillet, gilt spine extra; slight wear to corners and extremities, joints just starting at top and bottom. Front pastedown with private collector’s bookplate and with institutional bookplate. Pages clean. All edges marbled. Handsome!
Capturing an AgeONE BIOGRAPHY at a Time[Clarke]. The Georgian era: Memoirs of the most eminent persons, who have flourished in Great Britain, from the accession of George the First to the demise of George the Fourth. London: Vizetelly, Branston, & Co., 1832–34. 8vo (19.5 cm, 7.65"). 4 vols. I: Frontis., 582 pp.; 12 plts. II: Frontis., [2], 588 pp. III: Frontis., [2], 588 pp. IV: Frontis., 588 pp.
Click the images for enlargements. politicians,
military and naval officers, jurists, physicians, voyagers and travelers, scientists,
writers, economists, architects, artists and musicians, etc. All the expectable
princesses, duchesses, and countesses are present, along with a handful of women
represented in other categories — the preponderance falling under the
“Vocal Performers” and “Actors” headings.
The first volume is illustrated with12
plates each offering four rows
of small portraits, some intriguingly expressive; each volume opens with an
engraved frontispiece portrait of a royal George.
• NSTC 2C23867. Recent textured maroon cloth, spines with
gilt-stamped black leather title and volume labels; title-pages institutionally
pressure- (not rubber-) stamped. Scattered light spots of staining,
pages generally clean; first few leaves of voI. \ II with outer margins chipped.
A
hefty, substantive evocation of Georgian life and times. (30012)
“I am anxious you should do a writing portrait . . . ” Cook, Eliza. A.L.s. (“Eliza”) to “My dear Sec.” London: 6 June 1860. 12mo (7.25" x. 4.5"). 1 p.
Click the image for an enlargement. a Chartist poet, author, and proponent of political and sexual freedom for women. She writes, “I am again here for a few days . . . and want to know if you can receive me on Friday about eleven. I am anxious you should do a writing portrait to see which will afford you most satisfaction. I will bring the proofs of the sonnet with me.”
Provenance: Residue of the stock of Seven Gables Bookshop (1930–79), via the son of Michael Papantonio (2009).
• Very good condition. Tipped onto a slightly larger sheet. With the integral blank. (25726)
One American Merchant Writes Another on the
American RevolutionFIERCE Sea Battle Waged after YorktownCrawford, James. A.L.S. to John Brown (“Care of Governor Hancock, Boston”). Philadelphia: 16 April 1782. Small 4to (9" x 7.5'). 1 p., with integral address leaf.
Click the image for an enlargement. nothing new since my last, exceptCapt. Barney in the ship Hyder Aly taking the King ship Monk of 10 nine pounders, in an action of 30 minutes. The Hyder Aly mounted 6 nines & 10 sixes, there never was more execution done by the same force in the same time. The Monk had every officer except two, killed or wounded, amongst the latter was the Capt. She had in all 21 kill'd & 32 wounded. The Hyder Aly had 4 kill'd & 11 wounded, from such slaughter no doubt you'd conclude one of them boarded, but it was not the case, a fair action within pistol shot.
Although the land battles of the American Revolution had ended with the surrender at Yorktown, sea battles continued until receipt of the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The account above refers to Comm. Joshua Barney's capture on 8 April off Cape May, NJ, of the sloop of war General Monk. In a wonderful twist of fate, the intrepid Barney had only arrived in Philadelphia in March — having been occupied since the previous May with his escape, recapture, and second escape from Portsmouth prison! into which stronghold he had been clapped by the British for his previous maritime (infr)actions.
Having, then, been given command of the Hyder Ally (a.k.a., Hyder Ali) only a few weeks previously, and having been charged with clearing the Delaware River and Bay of privateers, Barney had met the General Monk while pursuing that task — and, in a Revolutionary War naval action eclipsed only by that of the Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis, took on and thoroughly defeated a King's ship of superior firepower in a bloody, 26-minute battle.
Following this capture of the General Monk, Congress voted Barney a sword for his gallantry and offered him command of his prize after renaming her General Washington. In November, 1782, he was ordered to sail to France in the Washington with dispatches for Benjamin Franklin who was negotiating the Treaty of Paris. He returned with news of the signing of the preliminary peace treaty and with money from the French.
Barney was an American Hornblower!
• On Barney, see: Dictionary of American Biography and Appleton's Cyclopedia. Very good condition. Small blank portion of the integral address leaf torn with loss where the sealing wax was attached. Old dealer's (Sessler's) coding in pencil at base of letter. (31069)
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