Lot 237
Scottish history and topography
Collection of works, 19th century
Auction: From the Library of Professor Roland Paxton | 01 October 2026 from 10am | Lots 221 to 252
Description
Marwick, Sir James D. Sketch of the History of the High Constables of Edinburgh. Edinburgh: for private circulation, 1865. First edition, the author's own copy, on large paper, presented to him by the commissioner and dedicatee of the work Charles Lawson Jr, ex-moderator of the High Constables of Edinburgh (with inscription ‘James D. Marwick Esqre, from Charles Lawson Junr, 1866’ to recto of frontispiece, and letter from Lawson to Marwick mounted to initial blank), 4to (28 x 21cm), contemporary straight-grain red morocco gilt over bevelled boards, all edges gilt, bookplate of Sir James D. Marwick to front pastedown;
Ibid. The River Clyde and the Clyde Burghs. The City of Glasgow and its Old relations with Rutherglen, Renfrew, Paisley, Dumbarton, Port-Glasgow, Greenock, Rothesay and Irvine. Glasgow: James Maclehose & Sons, 1909. First edition, deluxe issue, one of 60 large-paper copies with the text printed on handmade paper with the plates on Japanese vellum, 4to (24.8 x 17.6cm), original red crushed morocco gilt, top edge gilt, others untrimmed, all plates and maps as called for, letter addressed apparently to the author's widow mounted on initial blank;
MacGeorge, Andrew. Old Glasgow: the Place and the People. From the Roman Occupation to the Eighteenth Century. Glasgow: Blackie and Son, 1880. First edition, 4to, contemporary red morocco (probably the publisher's deluxe binding), all edges gilt, all engraved plates as called for;
Henderson, John. Caithness Family History. Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1884. First edition, 4to, original green quarter morocco, cloth sides (mottled), top edge gilt, others untrimmed, bookplate, ownership inscription to half-title;
Shepherd, Thomas. Modern Athens! displayed in a Series on Views: or Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century. London: Jones & Co., 1829. First edition, 4to, contemporary green half morocco gilt, all edges gilt, 88 engraved plates including frontispiece, engraved additional title-page;
and 17 others (these not collated, including: Bannatyne Club, The Buke of the Howlat, 1823, and Adversaria, 1867; Forfarshire Illustrated, 1848, engraved plates; Chambers, Gazetteer of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1848, contemporary tree calf; and similar) (23)
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.