[Adams, John:] Index Villaris: or, an exact register, alphabetically digested, of all the cities, market-towns, parishes, villages, the hundred, lath, rape, ward, wapentake, or other division of each county: [?]. London: printed for T. Sawbridge, and M. Gillyflower [?], 1690. Second edition. Folio, pp.[viii], 419, [I] (with usual mistakes in signatures and pagination). Lacks map, as is often the case. Small pencil note to p.363, repair to pi3 and small closed tear at head margin pi4.Occasional smudgy marks and very faint marginal dampstaining. Contemporary Cambridge style panelled calf, neat modern reback with red gilt label, corners repaired. A bit scratched, edges chipped but still good. Contemporary inscription to head of title: 'Bought of Wm. Robins 1690'. Previous owner's signature crossed through and illegible. Upcott mentions only the 3rd edition, of 1700 (p.x). The full title reads as follows: Index villaris, or, An exact register, alphabetically digested, of all the cities, market-towns, parishes, villages, the hundred, lath, rape, ward, wapentake, or other division of each county, the bishopricks, deaneries, churches, chappels, hospitals, with the rectories and vicarages in England and Wales and their respective valuations in the King's books, the private seats of the King, nobility and gentry, the number of Parliament-men sent by cities or burroughs, the inns of court, colleges, inns of chancery, or other societies, the latitude of each particular place, and difference of longitude, East or West from London explained by words at length and symbols or characters in a plain and most intelligible method: hereto is added a perfect catalogue of the nobility of England and Wales to the present time, May 20, 1690, with their respective seats and the counties wherein they are scituate [sic]. ESTC R4927; Wing A480. Ref: 53819show full image..
Anon. [Lowndes, William:] A Report Containing an Essay for the Amendment of the Silver Coins. London: printed by Charles Bill, and the Executrix of Thomas Newcomb, deceas'd; Printers to the King 1695. First edition. 8vo., pp. 159, [i]. Woodcut initials. Slight dampstain along bottom margin occasionally affecting (though not obscuring) text, title-page a little grubby but otherwise only occasional light spots and smudges. Modern tan half calf, red morocco gilt title label to spine, marbled boards, endpapers renewed. A very good copy in a sound modern binding. The Essay is divided into five distinct points: 'First, Concerning the Standard of the Gold and Silver Coins, and the Establishment of a Just and Reasonable Foot for the Course of the same'; 'Second, Concerning the Present State and Condition of the Gold and Silver Coins'; 'Third, Whether it be or be not Absolutely necessary at this Time to Re-establish the same'; 'Fourth, The Proposing of Means that must be Obtained, and the Proper Methods to be used in and for the Amendment of the Silver Moneys'; 'Fifth, To Consider what must Supply the Commerce, Pay Taxes &c. Whilst the Clipt Money is under its New Fabrication.' (pp.11-13) Lowndes (1652-1724) took office as secretary of the Treasury on 24th April 1695 in the midst of a worsening coinage crisis which the government was already making efforts to resolve. 'The practice of 'clipping' hammered silver coin had reached the point where it was seriously affecting the Treasury's ability to pay its way in the war with France, and in late 1694 confidence in the silver coinage weakened dramatically. A complete reminting of the coinage was now imperative, but the problem facing a House of Commons committee early in 1695 was whether there should be a temporary devaluation in order to stabilize the currency while the old money was reminted, a primary concern being to offset the inevitable loss in the value of tax receipts.' (ODNB) As Lowndes and the philosopher John Locke published opposing views on the subject (Lowndes in favour of devaluation and Locke against) the episode came to be referred to by historians as 'the Locke-Lowndes controversy'. However more recent studies have suggested that the views published here under Lowndes name on behalf of the Treasury were not actually his own. 'In a written report to the Treasury board in January 1695 Lowndes actually ruled out any suggestion of devaluation. While modestly conceding a limited grasp of the complexities behind the issue, he envisaged an immediate loss of some ?150,000 in revenue, which would have to be met by a 'public tax', and a worrying increase in the cost of England's military payments abroad.' (Ibid). The Treasury board asked Lowndes to produce a detailed recoinage scheme but, 'since majority opinion on the board favoured devaluation it would appear that Lowndes was instructed to follow the scheme already proposed by the Commons. By mid-September his 'book', A Report Containing an Essay for the Amendment of the Silver Coins, was in Treasury hands. It embodied the Commons committee's resolutions and was fleshed out with much historical detail, but owing to the rapid increase in the market price of silver a devaluation rate of 20 per cent would now be necessary. William III and his ministers acknowledged Lowndes's ingenuity and scholarship but, disagreeing with the Treasury board, saw greater virtue in Locke's arguments for a recoinage at the old standard. Thus it was largely to assist the ministry's own scheme for recoinage in parliament that Lowndes's Report was subsequently published in November 1695, followed by Locke's Further Considerations Concerning Raising the Value of Money. While paying tribute to Lowndes's erudition, Locke was quick to point out that some of his arguments tended in fact to condemn devaluation of any kind. Moreover, the encouragement which Lowndes gave to Locke and other critics to publish their rebuttals of his Report would likewise suggest that Lowndes had never personally favoured devaluation. In January 1696 an act was passed for a recoinage at the existing standard.' (Ibid.) ESTC R39081; Wing (2nd ed.) L3323 Ref: 52379show full image..
Attreed, Lorraine: The King's Towns: Identity and Survival in Late Medieval English Boroughs. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2001. First edition. 8vo., pp. 376.. Hardback: laminated decorative boards. New, still in publisher's shrink-wrap. Ref: 53850
Baker, T. F. T. (ed.): The Victoria History of the County of Middlesex. Volume V. Oxford University Press for the Institute of Historical Research, 1976. First edition. 4to. Fully illustrated. Hardback: red cloth, gilt, fine. Dust-jacket, price-clipped, slightly creased to edges otherwise very good. Ref: 53996
Baker, T. F. T. (ed.): The Victoria History of the County of Middlesex. Volume VI. Oxford University Press for the Institute of Historical Research, 1980. First edition. 4to. Fully illustrated. Hardback: red cloth, gilt, fine. Dust-jacket, lightly shelf-rubbed,, slightly creased to edges otherwise very good. Ref: 53997
Battiscombe, C. F. (ed.): The Relics of Saint Cuthbert: Studies by Various Authors Collected and Edited with an Historical Introduction by C. F. Battiscombe. Printed for the Dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral at the University Press, Oxford, 1956. First edition. Large 4to. (316 x 248 mm), pp. xv, 561 + plates (inc. frontis.). Many illustrations to text. Hardback: dark blue cloth, boards gilt-embossed, gilt-lettering to spine, corners bumped otherwise very good. Dust-jacket, price-clipped, some fraying to edges and a longer closed tear from base of spine, grubby in places but still substantially good. Overall a handsome copy. Edition limited to 750 copies. Ref: 53986show full image..
Beal, Jane: John Trevisa and the English Polychronicon. Tempe: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2013. 8vo., pp. 172. Hardback: laminated boards. New: unopened in publisher's shrink-wrap. Ref: 53412
(Beeforth, G. l.:) Views of Scarborough. Scarborough: G. L Beeforth, n.d. [c.1853] 8vo. (225 x 145mm). 8 leaves of plates, each with two engraved images of Scarborough signed Rock & Co, London and dated between 1850 and 1853. Foxed. Blue cloth, blind-stamped, gilt title to upper board, yellow endpapers. A bit rubbed, but good. G. L Beeforth was a "Bookseller, Stationer, Print and Music Seller" of 3. St. Nicholas Street, Scarborough, who complemented his stock with pianofortes, desks, blotting paper and leather goods. Ref: 54142show full image..
Bellamy, J.G.: The Law of Treason in England in the Later Middle Ages. Cambridge University Press, 1970. 8vo., pp. xviii, 266. Cloth, gilt-lettered, edges dusted. Dust-jacket, browning to spine, shelf wear. Very good. Illegible ownership inscription in pencil to ffep. Cambridge Studies in English Legal History. Ref: 50837
Beresford, Guy: Caldecote: The Development and Desertion of a Hertfordshire Village. The Society for Medieval Archaeology, 2009. First edition. Folio (280 x 212 mm), pp. xi, 267. Illustrations to text. Paperback. Light shelf-wear, very good. The Society for Medieval Archaeology Monograph 28. Ref: 53591
