Lot 687
MILTON John
Auction: 21 July 2004 at 11:30 BST
Description
The poetical works … with a life of the author by William Hayley … 3 volumes, 5 engraved portraits (including a mounted portrait engraved by Houbraken extra to the publication), 31 other engraved proof plates by Westall engraved by various hands, mostly mounted on india paper and with 3 in two states (i.e. trial and finished proofs), with the addition of a specially printed contents page, contemporary full crimson morocco, the covers with elaborate gilt borders incorporating acanthus leaves, the central panel with a diamond shaped lozenge formed by two filets within a rectangle formed by two further gilt filets, the corners filled in with gilt hatched and floral tooling, the spines decorated gilt in compartments, inner gilt doublures, heads, tails and corners a little rubbed, some instances of foxing normally in conjunction with the tissue guards, folio on large paper, London: printed by Bulmer, Shakespeare Printing Office, for John and Josiah Boydell, and George Nicol, 1794 [3]
Note: This sumptuously bound and unique set was presented by the publisher George Nicol to his wife Mary, who was a Miss Boydel before her marriage, and her leather book label is at the front of vol. 1. Afterwards, it was in the possession of the Duke of Buckingham, whose bookplate is in vol. 3.