A New and General Biographical Dictionary; containing an Historical and Critical Account of the Lives and writings of the Most Eminent Persons in every Nation

Fifteen volumes, octavo, a lovely set in a full calf binding of the period, red spine label; front board of each volume blind stamped with family crest. A new and enlarged edition of the great biographical dictionary, prepared under the scrutiny of English clergyman William Tooke (1744-1820). The breadth and scope of the work is impressive, in some degree reflecting the prodigious intellect and energy of its editor. Tooke was a capable translator of German, French and Russian, and as a close friend of the publisher John Nichols was responsible for numerous English editions. Appointed chaplain of the Russia Company at St. Petersburg in 1771, Tooke initiated a long-term correspondence with Nichols and became a primary informant on Russian affairs for the London gentry of the period. Much of the value of the present work lies in its provision of good information outside the standard scope of British biographical sources, and it provides evidence of what late?18th?century British compilers considered the canon of "eminent persons," including many continental and Russian figures under?represented elsewhere, making it a useful source on reception and reputation as well as on facts. . Provenance: J.N. Webb (name inscribed on endpaper of each volume; family armorial crest blind-stamped on bindings).…