Lot 234
Arnot, Hugo
The History of Edinburgh
Auction: From the Library of Professor Roland Paxton | 01 October 2026 from 10am | Lots 221 to 252
Description
From the Earliest Accounts to the Present Time. To Which is Added, An Appendix … Embellished with Twenty Engravings of Public Buildings and Views, and an Elegant and Correct Plan of the City, as it is now. Edinburgh: William Creech, 1779. First edition, 4to, later half morocco with raised bands to spine and gilt title (original title label retained and laid in), engraved frontispiece, engraved folding plan, extra-illustrated with 17 plates, folding plan and the title-page from the second edition of 1788, browning, repairs to folding plates, damp staining [ESTC T142880];
Maitland, William. The history of Edinburgh, from its foundation to the present time. Edinburgh: Hamilton, Balfour and Neill, 1753. First edition, folio, viii rebacked contemporary boards with raised bands to spine, title page with paper repair to lower margin, p. 1 fold-out Plan of the City and Castle of Edinburgh with small paper repair to left edge, p. 149 fold-out plate of The Holyrood Palace House with small paper repair to left edge and closed short tear to lower margin, boards worn, ink and pencil inscriptions to front pastedown, pencil annotation to front free endpaper, some foxing and dampstaining [ESTC T100092];
Thomson, William [Thomas Newte]. Prospects and Observations; On a Tour in England and Scotland. Natural, oeconomical, and literary. By Thomas Newte, Esq. London: G.G.J. and J. Robinson, 1791. First edition, 4to, viii 440 pp., 24 plates including fold-out frontispiece map, contemporary tree calf, gilt heraldic arms of the Fox Family (Barons Holland) to front board, gilt decoration to spine with later gilt calf title label, head and tail of spine perished, boards rubbed and corners bumped, Holland House book plate with shelf mark to front pastedown [ESTC T1309];
Campbell, Alexander. A Journey from Edinburgh through parts of North Britain. London: T.N. Longman and O. Rees, 1802. First edition, 2 volumes, 4to, 44 tinted aquatint plates as called for, rebacked contemporary half-calf with spines laid down, gilt title to spine labels, front pastedowns with Burnett of Leys bookplates attached, boards rubbed, vol. I p. 31 with near-contemporary newspaper cutting tipped-in and pp. 109, 243 and 408 with near-contemporary newspaper cuttings attached, pp. 41 and 89 with small areas of loss to lower margins and pencil annotation to front free endpaper, vol. II p. 221 with near-contemporary newspaper cutting attached and pencil annotation to rear free endpaper, dampstaining [Abbey Scenery 485];
Ainslie, John. Scotland on Nine Imperial Sheets … With the Railways and Other Additions to 1840. Edinburgh: W. & A.K. Johnston, 1840. 11th edition, 182 x 165cm in total, hand-coloured engraved map, dissected on linen, in 2 folded sections folding into original gilt purple morocco covers, some browning to horizontal folds;
together with 5 similar (11)
Provenance
From the collection of the late Professor Roland Paxton MBE FICE FRSE (1932-2025), 'Britain's foremost historian of civil engineering' (Telegraph, obituary, 12th November 2025); Professor Paxton was also a leading conservationist of Britain's engineering heritage, and led successful campaigns to restore two of the world's most important railway structures, the Laigh Milton Viaduct in Ayrshire, the world's oldest surviving railway bridge, and the Union Chain Bridge, the world's oldest suspension bridge still carrying road traffic.