THE MILITARY REGISTER; OR NEW AND COMPLETE LISTS OF ALL HIS MAJESTY'S LAND FORCES AND MARINES FOR THE YEAR 1771 -

London: Jane Wynne, 1843. First. Very Good. This is an extremely interesting book, written and published privately by a woman in early Victorian days to appeal her imprisonment in debtors' prison She was apparently married to a wealthy man who gave her cause to seek an annulment (after having a daughter with him) but who died before the legal annulment was completed Thus began a lengthy and convoluted chain of events and relationships that culminated in her losing her money and, in her view, being deceived by several men along the way, including the Marquis of Clanricarde She ended up writing the book to attempt to vindicate herself, but I can find nothing about her on the Internet except references to this book, and even the Marquis' Wikipedia entry doesn't mention any scandal at all From everything I can find, this appears to be the only copy currently available on the market The book itself is in quite good condition, in the original dark cloth, slightly rubbed with a small chip from the spine… Read More

London: G. Woodfall, 1754. First. Very Good. Elizabeth Canning (1734 â€"1773) was an English maidservant who claimed to have been kidnapped and held against her will in a hayloft for almost a month She ultimately became central to one of the most famous English criminal mysteries of the 18th century She disappeared on 1 January 1753, before returning almost a month later to her mother's home, emaciated and in a "deplorable condition" After being questioned by concerned friends and neighbors she was interviewed by the local alderman, who then issued an arrest warrant for Susannah Wells, the woman who occupied the house in which Canning was supposed to have been held At Wells' house, Canning identified Mary Squires as another of her captors, prompting the arrest and detention of both Wells and Squires London magistrate Henry Fielding (yes, the famous author of Tom Jones!) became involved in the case, taking Canning's side Further arrests were made and several witness statements were taken, and… Read More

London: T. and W. Boone, 1849. First. Good. Memoirs of the Life of Vice-Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson 2 vol, engraved portrait frontispieces, facsimiles and folding plates, contemporary full calf gilt, unfortunately 3 of 4 boards detached, thus good only Would be very good + if boards were intact, since the books and boards otherwise are in solid, undamaged condition, with tight text blocks 1) [xxxiv],501pp, portrait frontispiece, plate of facsimiles of Nelson's autographs, 3 facsimile letters, 5 facsimile autographs in text & 2) [ii]+668pp, portrait frontispiece, folding engraving of the Danish fleet at Copenhagen, 2 plates of Lady Hamilton, 7 facsimile letters and signatures Interestingly, both volumes include custom facsimiles on quality stock of period newspaper articles of Nelson related stories Most are undated, but one is dated 1853 These are bound in at the end of each volume, 11p in vol1 and 21 p in vol2 This is a quite important work, as it includes facsimile and transcribed Nelson letters… Read More

London: Rodwell and Martin, 1820. First. Good-. Horatio Walpole,4th Earl of Orford (1717 â€" 1797), known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and Whig politician n 1764, he anonymously published his Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto, regarded as the first Gothic novel He also wrote extensively on art and published biographies of several British monarchs He was the youngest son (though perhaps not biologically) of the first British Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole This four volume set of his correspondence is bound in contemporary ¾ calf that is significantly scuffed, with spines beginning to split on three volumes Lower half of spine leather missing on vol 2 8vo; pp lx, 508 [2], 511; 507; 566 [2] But all volumes are till intact with all boards attached Publisher's advertisements at the back of two (1 and 4) volumes Modest foxing, primarily on titles and endpapers Would be very good overall but for the worn boards Each volume has the armorial… Read More

London: Edward Arnold, 1897. First. Good. Albert Hartshorne (1839 â€" 1910) was an English archaeologist He developed a particular interest in church monuments, publishing The Recumbent Monumental Effigies in Northamptonshire between 1867 and 1876 His other work included Old English Glasses (1897), which explored the history of drinking glasses up to the end of the eighteenth century This book is in good to very good condition It is ¾ decorated vellum over black cloth, rear side of spine leather is splitting, corners are bumped and a bit wrinkling, but otherwise good Frontispiece color plate is loose, but the rest of the text shows only modest foxing and age toning Printed on thick art paper, this is a very heavy book, and it is common for the bindings to show weakness due to the sheer weight, but overall a handsome volume with little sign of wear Not ex-lib Interestingly, the half-title has a misprint "Old English Glasess" A letter from the publisher in 1925 (affixed to the ffep) explains… Read More