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
[Domesday Book] Return of Owners of Land 1873. England and Wales (Exclusive of the Metropolis). London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1875. 2 vols, folio. Chiefly tables. Some light foxing with title-pages most affected. Contemporary half polished sheep, spine gilt-ruled with black title and volume labels, blue cloth-covered boards, edges sprinkled red. Rubbed, boards dampstained, cloth peeling in some places, corners frayed with some leather coverings lost, endpapers creased and a bit foxed. Vol. I with some chips and a little loss to headcap, split starting at head of rear joint; vol. II joints starting particularly bottom of upper joint. Still good sound copies. Armorial bookplate of William Franks, recent bookplate of Josceline Grove to each volume. Detailed bookseller's catalogue description pasted to front endpaper vol. I. Known as the 'Second Domesday Book', the Return offered the first complete picture of the distribution of landed property in Great Britain and Ireland since the Domesday Book of 1086. It was created in an effort to dispel public outrage about 'monopoly of land', which had been growing since the findings of the 1861 Census implied (though this was in fact a misreading of the figures) that the whole of the United Kingdom lay in the hands of fewer than 30,000 landowners. In 1872 a return was prepared for England and Wales, excluding the Metropolis, the result of which is found in these volumes. Separate returns were prepared for Scotland in 1874, and for Ireland in 1876. Each shows the holding (in acres), roods and poles, and estimated yearly rental, of all holdings over 1 acre in size. Upon publication, whilst the 30,000 landowners assertion was shown to be wrong, the project did rather backfire. The England and Wales (excluding the Metropolis) survey revealed that only 710 people were in possession of 5000 acres or more, and that the holdings of these 710 amounted to over 25% of the total land area of England and Wales. The return recorded 269,547 people owning over an acre of land and 703,289 owning less than an acre, out of a population at the time of 19,458,009. Ref: 54575show full image..
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
Gardiner, Juliet. The Thirties. An intimate history. London: HarperPress, 2010. First edition. 8vo, pp. [xv], 957, with illustrations. Slight toning, else very good. Hardback, blue cloth, spine lettered in light blue, dust-jacket, upper edge a little creased, but still very good. Ref: 53543
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
Hart, Peter: The Last Battle: Endgame on the Western Front, 1918. London: Profile Books, 2018. First edition, second impression. 8vo., pp. x, 453 + b/w plates. Maps. Hardback: green cloth, gilt-lettered to spine. Dust-jacket. Unused: a fine copy. Author's ink inscription "To Charlie..." to title-page. Ref: 53920
Hickman, Katie: She-Merchants, Buccaneers & Gentlewomen: British Women in India. London: Virago Press, 2019. First edition. 8vo., pp. x, 390 + plates. 4 maps to text. Hardback: red cloth, black-lettered to spine. Dust-jacket. Slight waviness to pages towards outer edge, otherwise a fine, unread copy. Ref: 54061
