Diary of John Evelyn, Esq., F.R.S. To which are added a Selection from His Familiar Letters and the Private Correspondence between King Charles I and Sir Edward Nicholas, and between Sir Edward Hyde (afterwards Earl of Clarendon) and Sir Richard Browne. Edited from the Original MSS. by William Bray. A New Edition in Four Volumes, with a Life of the Author by H.B. Wheatley. [ 4 vols, complete set ]

Evelyn, J. ; Wheatley, H.B.

Published by Bickers and Son, London, large-paper "Edition de Luxe", 1882, 1882

About this Item

Limited edition of 60 numbered sets, signed by the publisher. 4 vols, quarter-leather and cloth, untrimmed edges, large 8vo, 30 x 21 cm, cxxv, 299 + 491 + 487 + 497 pp, 100 engraved and 24 Woodbury-type portraits and views, The text of this edition is taken from Colburn's scarce third edition of 1827; the introductory 88 page life of the author by the distinguished bibliographer and librarian H.B.Wheatley is new. The "Woodburytype" method of illustration - of which the set includes 24 examples - was a photomechanical printing process invented in 1865 and mainly used for book illustration, where the prints were glued onto the page (as here). Woodburytypes can be mistaken for true photographic prints. The process - which ends with a lead plate being inked with a pigmented gelatin and mechanically printed -was complex and expensive and capable of very attractive results. An association copy linking two of Britain's celebrated diarists: this set belonged to the novelist and diarist Arnold Bennett, with his bookplate on each pastedown endpaper. Set no 58, signed by the publisher. The set would benefit from rebinding as it has substantial wear with some loss and scrapes to the leather spines and the boards of volumes I and II are very worn and discoloured, seemingly from water damage. Internally the set is generally Good but has some foxing (principally to prelims), waterstaining to some plate margins and some staining to a few gutters, duststaining to the untrimmed edges, frontispiece plate in volume III nearly detached and some tissue-guards torn, creased, foxed or detached. Seller Inventory # ABE-52725

Bibliographic Details

Title: Diary of John Evelyn, Esq., F.R.S. To which ...

Publisher: Bickers and Son, London, large-paper "Edition de Luxe", 1882

Publication Date: 1882

Binding: Hardcover

Edition: 1st Edition