Hakluytus Posthumus, or Purchas His Pilgrimes; Contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells by Englishmen and others. Volume I [continuous through] Volume 20 [complete set] by Purchas, Samuel - 1905

Glasgow: James MacLehose and Sons, Publishers to the University of Glasgow, 1905. Hardcover. Reprint in its entirety, in general good shape, maps and all illustrations are clean. First off, this was a library holding. "Ex" markings are virtuously minimal (described below) and there is no question of provenance. Set is cased into publisher's blue/black cloth boards gilt, nice devices gilt, top edges gilt, rubricated titlepages, folded plates on special paper, printer/publisher's progress report laid into v.3. All volumes have startlingly foxed textblock edges, untrimmed (gilding has preserved top edges). Foxing recurs within but much less severely. Five spine panels bear a short hairline splash of white paint. Expect lost-sizing areas to cloth boards (hazing fore edges). Vols 1, 7, 9 and 16 have sustained quarter-inch pull-tears to top rim. Finally, the ex library business: this set was held by a law library in Dublin, irrelevant stock being then de-acquisitioned and sold through Southeby's. On the plus side, a pleasant set to hold and view, presswork is top-notch, all hinges hinge and all joints join, it's a good buy.