Howard, Robert: The History of the Reigns of Edward and Richard II. With reflections, and characters of their chief ministers and favourites. As also, a comparison between those Princes Edward and Richard the Second, with Edward the First, and Edward the Third. Written in the year 1685. London: printed by F. Collins, for Thomas Fox, at the Angel in Westminster-Hall, 1690. 8vo., pp.[vi], xvi, [i], 183, [i]. Occasional light spotting but very clean within. Contemporary dark brown speckled calf, gilt spine with title and raised bands, edges sprinkled blue and red. Old paper label to foot of spine, upper joint cracked but holding firmly, a little toning to endpapers, very good indeed. Later work by Sir Robert Howard (1626-1698), politician and playwright, published during a particularly consequential period in an already notoriously turbulent life. 'Under James II, Howard helped bring about the revolution that put William of Orange on the throne. He served in William's first parliament, contending in the Commons on 22nd January 1689 that James II had in effect 'abdicated the government' (Oliver, 256). Several years later Howard was to sign the 'association' of 1696, an agreement to defend William against the Jacobites. As in the past, Howard tried to strike a balance between his royalist sympathies and his belief in the rights of parliament. In February 1689 the king appointed him to the privy council, the crowning achievement of his political career. Howard's final years were taken up with both professional and literary concerns. Late in 1694 he helped Betterton and his actors to procure a licence for the new theatre at Lincoln's Inn Fields; and in 1695 he renewed his friendship with [his brother-in-law] John Dryden. Meanwhile, he had published his History of the Reigns of Edward and Richard II (1690), involving him in the ongoing controversy concerning the divine right of kings, and The History of Religion (1694), an anti-Catholic tract.' (Vander Motten, ODNB) ESTC R2296. Ref: 55085show full image..
Johnston, Robert: Historia rerum Britannicarum: Ut et multarum Gallicarum, Belgicarum, & Germanicarum, tam Politicarum, quam Ecclesiasticarum, ab anno 1572, ad Annum 1628 [...] Adjectus est rerum ac Personarum, de quibus in hoc volumine, Index absolutissimus. Amstelaedami [Amsterdam]: sumptibus Joannis Ravesteynii [colophon:Goudae [Gouda], typis Guilielmi va 1655. First edition. Folio, fols. [ii] 737 [xi]. Text in Latin. Printer's vignette to title-page, woodcut initials and head- and end-pieces. Ink spot to bottom edge encoaching very slightly onto bottom margin. Very light toning to edges, 2P4 with paper flaw causing ragged fore-edge, a few other very minor paper flaws. 18th-century vellum, title inked to spine in an old hand and partially obscured by a recent brown and gilt title label, edges sprinkled dark blue, an old catalogue entry pasted to ffep. Vellum a little darkened with some marks and scuffs, fore-edges worn with boards partly exposed, still very good overall. First complete edition, of Johnston's history of England and Scotland; parts of which had already been published in English. The work covers the period 1572-1628, during all of which time King James VI and I was reigning in Scotland or also England. Johnston (1567?-1639) was a member of the first class to graduate from the University of Edinburgh (M.A., 1587), and spent his working life as a clerk in London. "'A work of great merit, whether we consider the judicious structure of the narrative, the sagacity of the reflections, the acute discernment of characters, or the classical structure of the style' - Lord Woodhouselee" (Lowndes). Lowndes 1223: Ref: 54524show full image..
Justinian: (Corvinus, Arnoldus:) Institutiones D. Justiniani ss. Princ.: typis variae, rubris nucleum exhibentibus : accesserunt ex Digestis tituli de verborum significatione et regul. juris. Pariis [Paris]: Apud Guillelmum de Luyne, 1676 16mo, pp. [8], 391, [103], [2], including added engraved title, text in red and black. Light water stain to first and last few leaves. Contemporary full speckled calf, raised bands, spine gilt and gilt-lettered, edges sprinkled red, corners a little bumped, extremities minimally rubbed. Contemporary autograph Ja[cques?] Maule to verso of title, 'Monsieur' to verso of last blank. A fresh copy, in an attractive contemporary binding, of this pocket-size pirated edition of Justinian's legal milestone - printed in red and black. It reprises an edition of the same text printed by Daniel Elzevier in Amsterdam in the same year (Willems 1519), including the design of the engraved title, with a revised imprint. Ref: 53556show full image..
Juvenalis, Decimus Junius: (Dryden, John, trans.:) The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. By Mr Dryden, And Several other Eminent Hands. Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus [...] London: Printed for Jacob Tonson [...] 1697. Second edition. 8vo. pp. [ii], xc, 501, [iii] + frontispiece and 17 further engraved plates. Trimmed a little close at head just touching letters of headline p.v, light dampstain to bottom edge and a little worming pp. 5-20 and pp.345-356, slightly foxed, small tear to head of pp.213-4, occasional small wax spots. Contemporary dark brown mottled calf, raised bands with gilt filets, red label, blind-tooled frame and corners to boards, edges sprinkled red. Roughly 1.5cm loss to head cap, spine creased, some scuffs and scrapes, small loss to bottom corner of upper board and top corner of lower board, good. Ownership inscriptions of Tom S. Gowland, Old Park House, Ripon dated Easter 1947 to front pastedown; Gerrard Thomas (Ferrand?) to frontispiece verso. The first edition in 8vo format, following first publication in folio in 1693. Translations by Dryden, Tate, W. Bowles, Charles Dryden, G Stepney, Stephen Harvey, Mr Congreve, Mr Power, Mr Creech, J, Dryden Jnr. The fourth, anonymous satire translated by R. Duke. ESTC R031548; Wing J1289. Ref: 54733show full image..
Kilburne, Richard: A Topographie or Survey of the County of Kent. With Some Chronological, Historicall, and Other Matters Touching the Same: and the Several Parishes and Places therein. London: Thomas Mabb for Henry Atkinson [...], 1659. First edition. Small 4to. (177 x 135mm), pp. [viii], 422, [xii] + portrait frontispiece. Numerous errors in pagination as usual, list of Contents incorrectly bound before the dedication rather than after. Woodcut initials and head- and tail-pieces. Occasional light smudges and spots of foxing, a little toning along head of title-page, a smudge of red pigment to tail edge of final leaf perhaps indicating the original edge colour. Late 19th- or early 20th-century brown polished sheep neatly rebacked with original spine retained, gilt title and blind tooling to spine, blind-tooled borders to boards, edges marbled, grey endpapers. A little rubbed but a very good copy overall. Recent armorial bookplate of Robert Edmund Lloyd-Roberts to front paste-down. Two MS pencil notes to the ffep verso, the first concerning the placement of the list of Contents, the second recording that this book was 'acquired at the sale at Godmersham Park, the home of Mrs Robert Tritton. 8th June 1983.' Built in 1732 by Thomas May (later Knight), Godmersham Park was inherited by Edward Austen (brother of Jane Austen) in 1794. He was a cousin of the Knight family, who had adopted him in the early 1780s; when his adoptive mother died in 1812 he changed his name to Knight. Jane was a regular visitor to Godmersham Park and is said to have used the house as a model for Mansfield Park. The house passed through several more hands before being bought in 1935 by Robert Tritton and his wife Elsie, whose death in 1983 prompted the Christie's auction mentioned above. In his 'Epistle Dedicatory', Kilburne writes of his intention to present 'the Kent of his own day', and to depict 'the county as it was before the Civil War'. Hasted, in his 1797 History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, dismisses Kilburne's work as being 'little more than a Directory'. However, 'Kent was not well served by early topographers, and Kilburne's small survey was extensively quoted on sixteen occasions by Robert Furley and, over the years in Archaeologia Cantiana, as a first source of reference, and not without some praise. The Topographie devoted disproportionate attention to Hawkhurst: 10 pages out of 422, or, in the words of one writer, 'as much space to it as to twenty other average parishes' (Archaeologia Cantiana, 5, 1863, 59). Kilburne justified this, however: "In respect I finde not any description of this Parish ? it having been the place of my habitation for above twenty eight years last past (God's Providence having also there lent me an inheritance), I thought fit to enlarge my selfe upon this place. (Kilburne, 126)"'. (ODNB) Wing K434 Ref: 50494show full image..
[La Calpren?de, Gaultier de Coste seigneur de]; (Phillips, J., trans.:) Pharamond: or The History of France. A Fam'd Romance in Twelve Parts. The Whole Work Never Before Englished. London: T. Bassett, T. Dring and W. Caderman, 1677. Second edition. Folio, pp. [iv], 415, [i]; 758. Title page in red and black, woodcut initials. Very slightly foxed, faintly toned toward rear. Title a little grubby, some tiny scorch marks and a small scorched hole to 3O4 affecting a few letters, tiny marginal worm trails to gatherings 2Q-2V, 2I-2K and 3C-3E, small hole (paper flaw?) To 4Z4 affecting a few words to verso. Plain, modern dark brown calf, raised bands, green Morocco title label to spine, blind-tooled borders, endpapers renewed, edges faintly marbled. Spine and board edges a little rubbed, joints slightly creased, some bookseller's pencil notes to ffep. A very good, soundly rebound copy. La Calpren?de's (1610-1663) Merovingian historical romance, begun in 1661. It remained incomplete (in seven volumes) at his death two years later and was continued by Pierre d'Ortigue de Vaumori?re (1610-1693), with the 12th and final volume appearing in 1670. The first edition of the then-extant text in English was published in 1662 by Samuel Speed. ESTC R19768; Wing (2nd ed.) L126. Ref: 54593show full image..
[Le Ma?tre de Claville:] Trait? du vrai m?rite de l'homme [?]. A Paris: chez Saugrain, Grande Salle du Palais, a la Providence. 1737. Third edition. 2 vols., 12mo., pp.[viii], 359, [v]; [viii], 380, [vi]. With half-title to each vol., woodcut initials and headpieces. Vol.I leaf Q1 is errata, Q2 is blank, errata and privilege at end of vol.II. Vol.II with tiny scorch mark to pp.23-4 affecting a couple of letters, marginal closed tears neatly repaired to pp.209-12. Attractive contemporary calf, spines gilt with red morocco labels, all edges red, marbled endpapers. Spines a bit rubbed but very good. To each volume, armorial bookplate of F. Routy D.M. and modern bookplate of Peter Stewart Young of Tillingham to front paste-downs. Illegible name to vol. I, p.1, lower margin. A stylishly-written treatise on 18th-century moral philosophy, widely read in its time. Ref: 54410show full image..
Libanius: (Wolfius, J.C., ed.:) Epistolae. Quas nunc primum maximam partem e variis codicibus, manu exaratis, edidit, Latine convertit & notis illustravit. Amstelaedami [Amsterdam]: Apud Janssonio-Waesbergios. 1738. Editio princeps. Large folio, pp. [20], 865, [1], lacking final blank. With half-title, title page in red and black, engraved printer's device to title, double column in Greek and Latin. Half-title, title and a handful of other leaves slightly foxed, occasional toning. Contemporary Dutch vellum, traces of ties, gilt ruled to a panel design, gilt centrepieces with arms of Amsterdam, small gilt arms of Amsterdam to corners, raised bands, small gilt arms of Amsterdam to spine, title inked to spine, modern shelfmark label to upper cover. Corners a bit bumped. Modern stamp of Maastricht library to ffep. A sumptuously bound, large folio prize book - a clean and well-margined copy. The first collected printing of the letters of Libanius, the 4th-century AD rhetorician. More than 1500 of his letters survive, the largest extant collection from antiquity, and only brief selections had been previously edited. Wolf's magisterial volume not only prints as many as were known but also includes Latin translations for each letter; Smith called it 'the best edition' (Dict. Gr. & Rom. Bio.), and it is still cited in modern editions. Brunet III, 1050; Graesse IV, 195; Hoffman II; Spoelder, 493 (Amst. 12). Ref: 53359show full image..
Lipsius, Justus: Admiranda, sive, de Magnitudine Romana Libri Quattro (3rd ed.); De Militia Romana Libri Quinque, Commentarius ad Polybium (3rd ed.); Analecta sive Observations Reliquae ad Militiam et Hosce Libros; Poliorceticon sive de Machinis. Tormentis. Telis. Libri Quinque. Ad H Antverpi? [Antwerp]: Ex Officina Plantiniana, apud Ioannem Moretum, 1605; 1602; 1602; 1605; 1604; 1604. 6 parts in 1 vol. 4to., pp.223, [ix]; 366, [ii] + 1 folding plate; xxix, [vii]; [ii], 219, [iv]; 55, [i], [ii], 59-77, [vii] + 2 folding plates; 136, [iv] + 4 double-page plates. Many further illustrations in the text, engraved printer's devices. Occasional toning, some faint staining, tiny burn hole to leaf d4 Amiranda. Contemporary vellum, title inked to spine, overlapping fore-edges, edges sprinkled red. Vellum a little grubby, a few spots, but very good. Lipsius's (1547-1606) Opera Militaria, comprising six essays on Roman military power with plates depicting armaments, machinery, fortresses, gladiators and amphitheatres. First published in 1595 (Antwerp: Plantijn-Moretus). Ref: 54052show full image..
Lucian of Samasota: (Mayne, Jasper, trans.:) Part of Lucian Made English from the Originall. In the Yeare 1638. Oxford: R. Davies, 1664. FIRST PART ONLY. 1st edition 2nd issue, folio, pp. [xvi], 398, [iv] + portrait frontispiece of Lucian signed: W: Faithhorne sculpsit.. As usual pp.162-167 and pp.316-317 are misnumbered as 182-187 and 306, 311 respectively. Woodcut device to title-page, woodcut initials and head- and tail-pieces. Some old repairs to frontis at gutter, to title-page verso (particularly head and tail edges) plus a few other places e.g. head of first dedicatory leaf, M1, Z1, and some other smaller repairs; small worm trail to bottom corner of fore-edge margin roughly pp.202-281, repaired in some places; light browning and possible dampstaining to head and tail edges near front and rear; occasional wax spots and tiny scorch holes, final blank leaf laid down.. Contemporary speckled calf boards neatly rebacked in polished sheep, raised bands and morocco gilt label to spine, blind-tooled borders, edges sprinkled red, endpapers replaced. Endcaps, raised bands and joints rubbed, a little chipping to edges, corners worn, a few light scuffs and scrapes. A good copy, soundly repaired. To the front paste-down: small book label of Charles Whibley. To frontispiece verso: various pen trials and doodled faces, plus inscriptions of Thos. Hartopp and Elizabeth Mallory 'Her Booke, 1694'. To title-page recto: two more inscriptions of Tho. Hartopp, and one of Ralph Welles. To final blank: another inscription of Elizabeth Mallory dated 1694 and another (seemingly in the same handwriting) of Elizabeth Welles; in the same hand a quotation, 'One moment gives Invention to Destroy / What to Rebuild would A whole Age Imploy'. This comes from William Congreve's play The Double-Dealer, which was first produced at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in November or December of 1693 and first appeared in print the following year. There are also what appear to be faded signatures on the leather of the lower board, though these are illegible. This version, with its title-page dated 1664, seems to be a reissue of the original 1663 first (the title-page of the first issue is dated 1663 and there is no portrait). The second part of the work is not found here; titled "Certain select dialogues of Lucian: together with his true history, translated from the Greek into English. By Mr. Francis Hickes", it has separate pagination, register, and title page with the imprint "printed for Richard Davis,... 1663". It appears that it was also issued separately (Wing L3425). ESTC R23081; Wing L3435 Ref: 52318show full image..
