The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Six volumes complete, 1776-1788 - Volume One - viii, [4], 586pp, [2], lxxxviii, [2]; Volume Two - [14], 640pp; Volume Three - [26], 640pp; Volume Four - [4], viii, [8], 620pp; Volume Five - [12], 684pp and Volume Six - [14], 646pp, [52]. Uniform contemporary half calf and marbled paper over boards, raised bands, spines in six panels, title label to second panel, contrasting volume label to third.
Volume one has minor repairs to spine ends with small amount of loss to head, volume six has a minor repair to foot of spine, some darkening to spines, especially to volume five, slightly rubbed generally. Internally some light browning and occasional foxing, damp stain to fore-edge of Ll in volume one, staining to foot of endpapers and half-title in volume three, 3M4 lacking corner (not affecting text) in volume four and 3P stained in volume five, these faults notwithstanding generally fairly bright and clean.
Volume one is a first edition, second variant, with X4 unsigned and the Preface dated February 1, 1776, volumes two and three are second editions (though as Norton points out, they are actually 'reissues of the first editions with cancel half-titles and titles'), and volumes four, five and six are first editions.
With the half-titles, two folding maps to volume two and one to volume three, engraved portrait frontispiece by John Hall after Sir Joshua Reynolds, has been laid onto the reverse of the ffep to front of volume one.
Norton 20, 25 and 29; PMM 222, a "masterpiece of historical penetration and literary style"; Rothschild 942 (1st edition)
4to
Good+
Half Calf and Boards
London
1776
First Edition
RELATED ITEMS
 in volume four and 3P stained in volume five, these faults notwithstanding generally fairly bright and clean. Volume one is a first edition, second variant, with X4 unsigned and the Preface dated February 1, 1776, volumes two and three are second editions (though as Norton points out, they are actually 'reissues of the first editions with cancel half-titles and titles'), and volumes four, five and six are first editions. With the half-titles, two folding maps to volume two and one to volume three, engraved portrait frontispiece by John Hall after Sir Joshua Reynolds, has been laid onto the reverse of the ffep to front of volume one. Norton 20, 25 and 29; PMM 222, a "masterpiece of historical penetration and literary style"; Rothschild 942 (1st edition)){kind=link}