Commerell, Abb? de: [Lettsom, John Coakley, ed., trans.:] An Account of the Culture and Use of the Mangel Wurzel, or Root of Scarcity. London: printed for Charles Dilly, in the Poultry; and J. Phillips, George-Yard, Lombard-Street, 1788. Fourth edition. 8vo., pp.xxxix, [i], 52 + engraved hand-coloured frontispiece. Sporadic foxing throughout, including title-page. Slightly later half brown calf, marbled boards, rebacked in a lighter shade with large vertical label.. Rubbed, edges and corners worn, endpapers foxed, good overall. Ownership inscription, Jenkins, in an old hand to title-page. One of many works by the industrious Quaker philanthropist and physician John Coakley Lettsom (1744?1815), translated by him from the original French of the Abb? de Commerell. 'Alongside botany, fossils, and natural history, another subject in which Lettsom interested himself was scientific agriculture. He was involved in the introduction of the mangel-wurzel, first brought to notice by Sir Richard Jebb in 1786. Lettsom translated a pamphlet on the subject (An Account of the Mangel-wurzel, or Root of Scarcity, from the French of the Abb? de Commerell, 1787); he grew the seed himself and imported a large quantity, which he distributed to farmers and others in Britain as well as in Europe, America, and the West Indies.' (Payne, rev. Porter, ODNB) ESTC T68301. Ref: 55070show full image..
[Cook, Captain James:] Anderson, George William, ed.: A New Authentic and Complete Collection of Voyages Round the World, Undertaken and Performed by Royal Authority. Containing a New, Authentic, Entertaining, Instructive, Full, and Complete Historical Account of Captain Cook's First, Second, Third and Last Undertaken and Perfomed by Royal Authority. Containing a New, Authentic, Entertaining, Instructive, Full, and Complete Historical Account of Captain Cook?s First, Second, Third and Last Voyages, [...]. London: A[lexander] H[ogg], [1784]. First edition, folio, pp [iv], 654, [iv] + portrait frontispiece, folding General Chart and 153 further plates (of 155 called for). Lacks the final leaf before the unpaginated 4-page List of Subscribers, i.e. p.655, the end of the Concluding Remarks followed by a brief Contents list, with Directions to the Binder to verso First and last few leaves creased, title-page trimmed at bottom edge with loss of publisher's name and date, 8C only loosely inserted, small loss to bottom margin 2S2, South Side of Adventure Bay plate with a closed v-shaped tear to the centre (no loss), A Man of the Sandwich Islands plate with a closed tear to fore-edge (affecting image but with no loss), Winter Habitations of Kamtschatka plate coming loose, a little light sporadic foxing towards bottom edge with a very small area of light damp staining toward the rear. Many pressed dried leaves inserted between pages, but not affecting the surrounding paper. Slightly later simple brown calf, spine with raised bands gilt ruled and black gilt title label. Upper board detached but present, endcaps worn, lower joint split but cords holding firm, a little scuffed, corners frayed, without ffep. Includes the expeditions of Byron, Wallis, Carteret, Mulgrave, Anson, and Drake as well as those of Cook. Issued originally in 80 parts at a cost of sixpence a piece, this highly detailed and popular edition helped to spread the stories of Cook's travels among the general public. Often referred to as 'Anderson's Cook', although the name of the editor is likely a publisher's pseudonym. ESTC N5221 Ref: 54817show full image..
David, Saul: Prince of Pleasure: The Prince of Wales and the Making of the Regency. London: Little, Brown and Company, 1998. First edition. 8vo., pp. x, 484 + plates. Hardback: dark blue cloth, gilt-titled to spine. Dust-jacket. Light shelf-wear: a very good copy. Ref: 53566
Davila, Henrico Caterino: (Aylesbury, W. and Cotterell, C., trans.:) The Historie of the Civill Warres of France [...] translated out of the original. London, printed by R. Raworth [...] to be sold by W. Lee, D. Pakeman, and G. Bedell [...] 1647 [1648]. 2 parts as 1. Folio, pp. [viii], 1478, with printing privilege dated 7th January 1646 facing title-page. Large engraved monogram of the translators' initials on title-page, with dedication leaves, second part title dated 1648, woodcut initials, head- and tail-pieces throughout text, generous margins. Without errata leaf. Occasional spots and smudges, a few cloudy wax marks affecting but not obscuring text, Z3 top corner lost and 3L4 bottom edge lost but neither affecting text, closed tear to bottom margin leaf 3N3, tiny wormhole to fore-edge margins p.851 onward. Contemporary very dark brown calf, gilt spine, tan label, marbled edges. Neat repairs to head and tail of spine, joints worn, a bit rubbed but very good. Armorial bookplate (signed AW 1828) of Sir Montague Cholmeley, Bart. to front pastedown. Given the date, this is most likely Sir Montague Cholmeley, 2nd baronet (1802-1874), who followed his father as MP for Grantham. First English translation of a history of the sixteenth century French civil wars, ending with the peace treaty of 1598. Written at the behest of Charles I, it was a topical book, printed as the king lost his own civil war, and it carries its own evidence of that political turmoil, with the translators, in a dedication to Charles I dated shortly before the King was executed, wishing that "your majesty [...] soon re-establish as happy a Peace in all Your Kingdoms, as the great Henry your queen's heroick father did in France [...]". One, William Aylesbury, who was in the service of Charles and was once tutor to his favourite, the Duke of Buckingham, obtained a fourteen year privilege to exclusively publish the book, from parliament rather than the king, but from the royalist House of Lords rather than from the 'parliamentarian' House of Commons. ESTC R21290; Wing D413 Ref: 54185show full image..
Davis, J. C.: Fear, Myth and History: The Ranters and the Historians. Cambridge University Press, 1986. First edition. 8vo., pp. xiv, 208. Illustrations to text. Hardback: black cloth, gilt-lettered to spine. Dust-jacket, shelf-worn with fraying to corners and creasing to edges. Ownership inscription of W(illiam) Lamont, with a few of his annotations to text and more pen-scoring to outer margins against passages of particular interest. Ref: 53730
Demoulin, Bruno (Ed.): A Cultural History of Wallonia. Brussels: Mercatorfonds, 2012. First edition. 4to., pp. 399. Lavishly illustrated throughout. Laminated hardback: white, red-lettered to spine, gilt-lettered to upper board. Small bump to top of spine otherwise very good. Clear plastic protective jacket with light discolouration over spine. Ref: 53901
Foreman, Amanda: A World on Fire An Epic History of Two Nations Divided. London: Allen Lane, 2010. First edition. 8vo., pp. xliv, 988 + plates. Maps, some double-page, and illustrations. Hardback: red cloth, black-lettered to spine. Dust-jacket. A little dust-marked to edges, a hint only of shelf-wear to jacket: a very good copy. Ref: 53925
Gough, Richard: The History of Myddle. Firle, Sussex: Caliban Books, 1980. First edition thus, second impression. 8vo., pp. xxxii, 184, [vi (publisher's ads.)]. Hardback: burgundy cloth, gilt-lettered to spine, bottom corners lightly bumped, top edge dusted, still very good. Dust-jacket, price-clipped, creased along edges with small closed tears along top, still good. This edition, with an introduction by Peter Razzell and text abridged and modernised, first published 1979. Ref: 53577
Green, Edward: Prophet John Wroe: Virgins, Scandals and Visions. Stroud, Glos.: Sutton Publishing, 2005. First edition. 8vo., pp. ix, 246 + plates. Hardback: black cloth, gilt-lettered to spine. Dust-jacket. A touch of dust, jacket lightly creased to edges: still a very good copy. Ref: 53927
Harris, A. Katie: From Muslim to Christian Granada: Inventing a City's Past in Early Modern Spain. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007. First edition. 8vo., pp. xxi, 255. Illustrations to text. Hardback: orange cloth, black-lettered to spine. Dust-jacket. Unread, a hint only of shelf-wear: almost as new. Ref: 53615
