The Pageant of London Volume I & Volume II

Detailed first-edition history of London, wonderfully illustrated with 40 colour plates. First edition.Complete in two volumes.In publisher's original blue cloth binding.Featuring 40 colour plates total, including a frontispiece to each volume, 16 plates to Volume I and 22 plates to Volume II. By notable artist and illustrator John Fulleylove. Collated, complete.Includes 40 pages of publisher's advertisements to the rear of Volume I.With a bookplate from The Grosvenor Gallery Library to the front paste down of both texts.From journalist Richard Davey, author of titles like The Sultan and his Subjects and Sand, Sea, Etc. This work explores the vast history of London. Volume I follows 40 B.C. through to 1500, including Roman London, or "Londinium", and the reign of Henry VIII. Volume II concentrates on the remaining years up until 1900, featuring the Elizabethan, Georgian and Victorian eras, among others. In publisher's original blue cloth binding. Externally, smart with bumping and rubbing, resulting in moderate loss of cloth, especially to Volume I, which also features a small closed tear to the spine. Slight marking, most noticeable to the rear board of Volume I. Each volume features a bookplate from The Grosvenor Gallery Library to the front paste down. Volume I is signed by a previous owner to the front free endpaper. Internally, firmly bound. Pages suffer from moderate spotting throughout, heavier to the first and last few pages. Good.…