The History of the Reign of the Emperor Charles V. With A View of the Progress of Society in Europe, From the Subversion of the Roman Empire, to the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century.

The first edition three-volume set of Robertson"s landmark Enlightenment history of Charles V, uniformly bound in contemporary calf. Uniformly bound in full contemporary calf.First edition.Complete in three volumes.With errata slip laid down to final page of volume I. Errata leaf to rear of volume III.Bound without frontispieces. Half-title is present to each volume.Robertson"s major historical work, combining a narrative of the reign of Charles V with an extensive introductory survey tracing the development of European society from the fall of the Roman Empire to the early modern period. A member of the House of Habsburg, Charles V presided over the dynasty at the height of its power, ruling an extensive empire as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, and Lord of the Netherlands as Duke of Burgundy.Robertson (1721-1793), a leading figure of the Scottish Enlightenment and Principal of the University of Edinburgh, was one of the most influential historians of his time.With the bookplate of Sir Egerton Leigh, 2nd Baronet (1762-1818) to the front pastedowns, Anglo-American aristocrat and founding minister of Rugby Baptist Church, Warwickshire. Uniformly bound in full contemporary calf. Externally, a little worn. Marking and damp staining to boards with the odd scratch resulting in slight loss to calf. Front joints of vols I and II cracked, with front board slightly loose but holding. Small area of tape affixed to rear board. Spine label lifting. Bookplate of Egerton Leigh to front paste downs. Shelf annotation to front free endpaper of volume I. Slight splaying to boards. Damp staining to front board of vol II extending to front endpapers, with red staining to rear board. Spine label to volume II reading "Johnson"s Works," instead of "Vol II", with slight loss. Internally, generally firmly bound. Pages generally bright if slightly age toned. The odd spot, heavier to first and last few leaves. Damp staining to gutter of volume II apparent up until Pp. 9, with damp staining to rear apparent from pp. 439 onwards. Damp staining to first leaves of volume III evident until pp. 25. With damp staining to index of volumes I and II to rear of volume III. Good.…