Le Neve, John: Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae: Or, an Essay towards deducing a Regular Succession of all the Principal Dignitaries in each Cathedral, College Church or Chapel (now in being) in those Parts of Great Britain called England and Wales, from the first Erection thereof, to this Present [London] in the Savoy, printed by J. Nutt: and Sold by Henry Clements [...] Charles King [...] and E 1716. First edition. Folio, pp. xii, 535, [v]. A little toned, some light foxing, a few wax spots, title-page a little grubby. Contemporary Cambridge panelled calf boards with simple modern reback in a slightly lighter shade, raised bands, burgundy and black morocco spine labels, endpapers renewed. Scuffed, a few light scrapes, corners bumped, very good. Library ink stamp to both sides of title-page, and to a few other pages seemingly at random. At head of title-page a crossed-through ownership inscription, just about legible as Thomas Beckwith of York, with a date possibly of 1768. Quite likely to be the painter, genealogist and antiquary Thomas Beckwith, born 1731 in Rothwell, West Yorkshire and died in 1786 in York. Some annotations and underlining in old hands (ink and pencil), small page of ms notes loosely inserted at p.115. First edition of this important biographical list of ecclesiastical dignitaries. The copy contains manuscript additions (including new names) in the hand of an eighteenth-century antiquarian. The next printing was in 1854. John Le Neve (1679-1741), of Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, also took holy orders, and was imprisoned for insolvency (CDNB). This was his principal work. Graesse IV 160. Lowndes 1841: "According to Browne WIllis, Le Neve has the name and credit of this work, yet Bishop Kennet was the real author of it". Ref: 55057show full image..
Leigh, Charles: The Natural History of Lancashire, Cheshire, and the Peak, in Derbyshire: with an Account of the British, Phoenician, Armenian, Gr. And Rom. Antiquities in those Parts. Oxford: printed for the author; and to be had at Mr. George West's, and Mr. Henry Clement's, booksel 1700. Folio, pp. [xxii], 4, [ii], 164, [xvi], 181-190, [ii], 1-97, [iii], 80, [iv], 81-112, [xxxvi] + portrait frontispiece, folding map, 2 plates of engraved arms of the subscribers and 22 further plates. Occasional very light spots and smudges, a few small marginal losses towards the rear not affecting text, final page a bit grubby. Sympathetically rebound in dark brown calf, raised bands, red morocco title label to spine, blind-tooled Cambridge boards, endpapers renewed. A little rubbed with a few scratches, endpapers a little toned and split at hinges, a very good, robust copy. Two illegible library ink stamps to title-page, and one to first leaf of dedication. Leigh (1662-1701?), a physician and naturalist, had some papers read before the Royal Society, and 'printed in Philosophical Transactions. He also published the following separate works: Phthisologia Lancastriensis, cui accessit tentamen philosophicum de mineralibus aquis in eodem comitatu observatis (1694, reprinted Geneva, 1736), Exercitationes quinque, de aquis mineralibus; thermis calidis; morbis acutis; morbis intermittentib.; hydrope (1697), and The natural history of Lancashire, Cheshire, and the Peak in Derbyshire; with an account of the British, Phoenic, Armenian, Gr. and Rom. antiquities found in those parts (1700). He wrote three pamphlets in 1698 in reply to R. Bolton's Heat of the Blood and one in reply to John Colebatch on curing the bite of a viper. According to T. D. Whitaker, Leigh's 'vanity and petulance' were 'at least equal to his want of literature'. His Natural History is little more than a translation of his earlier Latin treatises.[?]' Leigh was thought to have died the year after the publication of this, his final work. However, 'there is some doubt on this point, as evidenced by Thomas Hearne, writing on 30 October 1705: 'I am told Dr Leigh, who writ the Natural History of Lancashire, has divers things fit for the press, but that he will not let them see the light because his History has not taken well' (MS diary, iv. 222).' (Sutton, rev. Bevan, ODNB). ESTC R20833; Wing L975. Ref: 55081show 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..
Lucretius Carus, Titus: De Rerum Natura Libri Sex. Birminghamae [Birmingham]: Johannis Baskerville, 1772. First Baskerville edition. 4to., pp. [ii], 280. First and last leaves (and endpapers) toned at edges, occasional very faint foxing. Contemporary tree calf, spine gilt, red morocco label, edges pale yellow, marbled endpapers. A little loss to endcaps, upper joint split but cords firm, rear joint just starting, corners frayed with a little loss of leather to bottom corner of upper board, still very good overall. Strangely-deteriorated (has become dark reddish-brown) bookplate of William Downes to front paste-down. William Downes, 1st Baron Downes PC (1751-1826) was one of the most prominent Irish judges of his time. He was Lord Chief Justice of Ireland from 1803 to 1822. The first Baskerville edition of Lucretius (a duodecimo followed the next year). In a somewhat backhanded fashion, Dibdin comments that this edition is remarkable for its typographical beauty though nothing else. ESTC T50365; Dibdin II (4th edn.), 203; Gaskell 43; Gordon 20; Schweiger II, 577 Ref: 54592show full image..
Lucretius, Carus Titus: [Philippe, ?tienne Andr?:] De Rerum Natura libri sex. Accedunt selecta lectiones dilucidando Poemata apposita. Lutetiae Parisiorum [Paris]: Typis Josephi Barbou, 1754. 12mo., pp.xxxvi, 288 + 7 finely engraved plates, including frontispiece. Woodcut initials, typographic and engraved head- and tail-pieces, ample margins. A few small marks (possibly wax?), but clean and bright. Contemporary tan mottled calf, spine gilt with red morocco label, plain gilt ruled borders, a.e.g., gilt dentelles, turquoise marbled endpapers. Lightly rubbed, upper joint neatly repaired, upper corner of rear board slightly frayed, very good indeed. An attractively printed pocket edition from Barbou's series of classical texts. The frontispiece and six plates are reduced versions of those from Havercamp's 4to edition of 1725 (Gordon, 503), skillfully reproduced by Claude Duflos from van Mieris's originals. Each book also has an engraved headpiece above its first lines. Text from Philippe's Parisian edition of 1744. Gordon, 504B; Schweiger II, 576 Ref: 54921show full image..
Madox, Thomas: Baronia Anglica. An History of Land-Honors and Baronies, and of Tenure in Capite. Verified by Records. (Bound before) A Compleat Index to Mr Madox's History of the Exchequer. London: Printed for Robert Gosling 1736; 1741. First editions. Folio, 2 works in 1, pp. [2], 292 [xxviii]; [216], title of second is a cancel (second issue), engraved vignette to first title, a few large engraved initials and engraved headpieces. First title and verso of last leaf a little dusty, slight toning, small clean tear at gutter of one leaf, occasional very slight marginal spotting. Modern half calf over marbled boards, modern endpapers. Modern ex-libris of Robert Smith, dated 2008 to ffep; early biographical annotation on author; occasional early marginalia. The first edition, posthumously published, of this study by the celebrated legal antiquary Thomas Madox (1666-1727), who was historiographer-royal from 1714, and who is singled out by David C. Douglas ('English Scholars 1660-1730') for special praise, with the assessment (p. 243) that "even to-day, he seems to move among the moderns as if, apart from the immensity of his productions, he were one of themselves". The 'Index' was prepared by the editor of 'Baronia Britannica', and first issued with that work in 1741. It is a detailed glossary of the uncommon words used in Madox's 'History of the Exchequer', with which it was reprinted in 1769. The 'Index' title reads at the top: 'This Day is Published, (Price Half a Guinea, Sewed,).' ESTC T97064. Lowndes 1448. Brunet III 1289. Graesse IV 332. Ref: 53550show full image..
[Martial] Martialis, Marcus Valerius: (Farnaby, Thomas, ed.:) Epigrammata. Amsterdami [Amsterdam]: Ex officina Janssonio-Waesbergiana, 1670. 12mo., pp.456. Illustrated title page, engraved initials and end-pieces. Internally very clean. Contemporary vellum school prize binding, title inked to spine, plain gilt borders, gilt centrepiece with arms of Amersfoot. Vellum a little greyed with some small spots and stains, ties lost, slight separation at gutter between ffep and title-page but sewing all intact, very good. Thomas Farnaby (1574/5?1647) was a celebrated schoolteacher and grammarian. 'The success of his establishment allowed Farnaby to devote himself to a long-held obsession: the systemization of the grammatical principles of classical Latin and Greek in print. Commencing with the satires of Juvenal and Persius (1612), he annotated many of the classical authors?Seneca, Martial, Lucan, Ovid, Virgil, and Terence?in a manner intended to render their works intelligible to schoolboys [...] He also corresponded with the Dutch intellectuals Gerardus Johannes Vossius and Daniel Heinsius, both of whom acknowledged their own debts to his learning.' (ODNB) His edition of Martial first appeared in London in 1615. Schweiger 598; Spoelder 4. Ref: 54551show full image..
Meibom, Johann Heinrich: Maecenas, sive de C. Cilnii Maecenatis vita, moribus & rebus gestis: liber singularis. Accessit C. Pedonis Albinovani Maecenati scriptum epicedium, notis illustratum. Lugduni Batavorum [Leiden]: apud Johannem & Danielem Elsevier, 1653. Small 4to. (193 x 155mm), pp. [xii], 186, [viii], 11, [ix], including errata leaf usually lacking. Engraved portrait vignette to title-page, woodcut initials and head-pieces, small numismatic illustration in text. Sporadic light foxing a little heavier to a few leaves. Very neat modern binding, tan quarter calf, raised bands and red morocco gilt title label to spine, marbled boards, edges sprinkled red, endpapers renewed. Very slight shelf wear, a very good copy. An account of the early life of Gaius Cilnius Maecenas (68 BC?8 BC) the famous patron of letters (notably to the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil), by the German physician and humanist Johann Heinrich Meibom (1590-1655). This copy includes the final errata leaf which, as Willems notes, appears to have been added afterwards and is missing in most examples. Schweiger II, 588; Willems 731 Ref: 52319show full image..
