Books

Charles Dickens Ist Edition Of Dombey & Son From the Shandon Collection of Robert Napier Half Bound With Marble Leaves. With Illustrations by Hablot Knight Browne "Phiz." One Of The Greatest Of All His Works

Our most popular book purchases from The Lanes Armoury, for gifting at Christmas, will always be a fine Charles Dickens 1st edition! An heirloom for generations to come, that combines to be a fabulous read as well as an antiquarian joy.

London: Bradbury and Evans, 1848 Frontispiece, vignette title, and 38 plates by Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz); plate 35 being the first published example of a "dark plate" Normal staining and foxing to the frontispiece,with foxing as usual, to the plates, browned and stained. A very good copy. The one dark plate in Dombey and Son is "On the Dark Road," p. 547. The smooth blending of light and shadow on this illustration vividly contrasts it with the other illustrations in the novel and is a fine example of the dark plate process"

There's no writing against such power as this - one has no chance' William Makepeace Thackeray.

First edition, this novel is "now recognized as one of the greatest of all his works... It is also the first one to have an explicitly contemporary setting"

Following issue in parts from September 1846 to March 1848, Bradbury and Evans issued the novel in book form in the present cloth. In the 19th number of the part issue, a slip advertised the novel, ready for delivery on 12 April, at £1 1s. in cloth, or £1 4s. 6d in half morocco. The slip goes on to note "Subscribers desirous of having their copies bound in a similar style can have them done by Messrs. Chapman & Hall, 186, Strand, or through their Booksellers, at the following prices:– Whole bound, morocco gilt edges 6s. 6d. Half bound, marble leaves, 4s. 6d. In cloth, lettered 1s. 6d".

For Dickens's novels, the publisher kept a stock of first edition sheets, and bound up copies and issued them over time as demand required. So too, owners of the parts could make use of the binding services long after publication.


A compelling depiction of a man imprisoned by his own pride, Dombey and Son explores the devastating effects of emotional deprivation on a dysfunctional family. Paul Dombey runs his household as he runs his business: coldly, calculatingly and commercially. The only person he cares for is his little son, while his motherless daughter Florence is merely a 'base coin that couldn't be invested'. As Dombey's callousness extends to others, including his defiant second wife Edith, he sows the seeds of his own destruction.
Robert Napier, (1791-1876, second son of James Napier of Dumbarton and Jean Ewing of Rosneath was born at Dumbarton on 18th June 1791. Like his cousin David, he was educated at Dumbarton Public School. One of his teachers, a Mr Traill, recognised his aptitude for mechanical and architectural drawing and encouraged him in developing this skill. Being the eldest son (his brother having died in infancy) and in accordance with Scottish custom, the intention had been that he should enter the Church. However, he felt more forcefully drawn towards following the blacksmith’s trade and at the age of fourteen began working for his father. In 1812 he went to Edinburgh, obtaining a post at Robert Stevenson's works. He returned to Glasgow in 1815 and opened a small blacksmith’s business in Greyfriar’s Wynd. His success there led him to lease the Camlachie works from his cousin David, when David moved his own business to Lancefield. At Camlachie his main business was ironfounding and engineering, constructing marine engines for steamships.

In 1827 he moved his business to larger premises at the Vulcan Foundry in Washington Street, which was nearer the harbour, and in 1835 he took over the foundry at Lancefield when his cousin David moved to London. Combining this with the Camlachie and Vulcan works, Robert Napier thus pioneered an integrated engineering and shipbuilding firm. At Lancefield between 1836 and 1840 he supplied engines for a number of vessels, including those of the East India Company and vessels which would run between England and New York. In 1840 he first became involved in supplying engines to Samuel Cunard, for vessels carrying mail to North America. At his recommendation Cunard was persuaded to increase the size of these vessels, and to enter into partnership with others, a move which proved to be the origin of the Cunard Company. Robert Napier supplied engines for all the paddle-wheel ships operated by Cunard over the next fifteen years. Napier's business was concerned mainly with supplying engines until 1841, when he opened a shipbuilding yard at Govan, building his first ship, the Vanguard, in 1843 for the Glasgow Dublin route. In 1818 he married his cousin Isabella, daughter of John Napier and sister of David. His sons James Robert and John were taken into partnership in 1853. He owned a country estate at West Shandon, and was a prolific collector of works of art and of pottery, his collection becoming known as the Shandon Collection. He died at West Shandon, Glasgow on 23 June 1876.

A very good and beautiful copy with one small corner tear on a later plate.
One picture in the gallery is from an original newspaper showing his play Dombey and Son being advertised {for information only}  read more

Code: 25955

An Absolutely Beautiful Antiquarian Dickens 1st Edition, The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby; With Illustrations by "Phiz." Frontispiece After a Portrait Painted by Daniel Maclise, With Faithfully Yours, Charles Dickens Beneath

Our most popular book purchases from The Lanes Armoury, for gifting at Christmas, will always be a fine Charles Dickens 1st edition! An heirloom for generations to come, that combines to be a fabulous read as well as an antiquarian joy.

Dickens, Charles
Published by Chapman and Hall, London, 1839
Pages: 624 complete, list of plates, or contents - this is complete. Bound in half Morocco.
The cloth was the cheapest option for buyers of the time of printing, and then a price premium was put on the half Morocco and full Morocco. A complete suite of plates by Phiz. 624p.p. 8vo.

Two blank front endpapers, two blank rear endpapers one small corner torn. All 39 plates present, though have browning at edges; foxing to the first few pages. The interior is in good clean condition with the pages in good order bar the odd spot however some of the plates have a certain amount of minor soiling - some more than others

Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, is the third novel by English author Charles Dickens, originally published as a serial from 1838 to 1839. The character of Nickleby is a young man who must support his mother and sister after his father dies.

Background
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the Nickleby Family1 saw Dickens return to his favourite publishers and to the format that proved so successful with The Pickwick Papers. The story first appeared in monthly parts, after which it was issued in one volume. Dickens began writing Nickleby while still working on Oliver Twist.  read more

Code: 25956

1st Edition Hardback. The Third Man and The Fallen Idol by Graham Greene Publisher Heinemann. Frequently Voted As One of The Greatest Films of All Time.

Publication date: January 1, 1950 Hardback with original dustjacket, unclipped, priced 6 shillings, 188 pages, overall in super condition, original cloth binding {under the dust-jacket} is near mint. London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1950. Original presentation recipient's name and date on the inner first leaf

Complete with a loose newspaper clipping in the book {likely from the 1960's} detailing the burial of the actual "Third Man" Nikolaus Borrisov aka Benno Blum. And, as a smuggler of cigarettes and kidnapper of Russian born fleeing emigre's, returned into the hands of Russian Intelligence over the Austro Hungarian border, Borrisov was earning an incredible sum of around £2,500,000 per year from his enterprise of smuggling and kidnapping from 1947 to 1950. This fantastic sum today would likely be, the equivalent, of over one billion pounds a year.

First hardcover edition, and the first time Greene's novelization of his famous screenplay saw print. "Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, black-market opportunist Harry Lime and thus begins this legendary tale of love, deception, and murder." Basis for the Oscar-winning 1949 film directed by Carol Reed, starring Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten.

The Third Man is a 1949 British-American film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene, and starring Joseph Cotton as Holly Martins, Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt, Orson Welles as Harry Lime and Trevor Howard as Major Calloway. Set in post-World War II Allied-occupied Vienna, the film centres on American writer Holly Martins, who arrives in the city to accept a job with his friend Harry Lime, only to learn that he has died. Martins stays in Vienna to investigate Lime's death, becoming infatuated with Lime's girlfriend Anna Schmidt.

The use of black-and-white German expressionist-influenced cinematography by Robert Krasker, with its harsh lighting and Dutch angles, is a major feature of The Third Man. Combined with the use of ruined locations in Vienna, the style evokes exhaustion and cynicism at the start of the Cold War.

Greene wrote a novella as a treatment for the screenplay. Composer Anton Karas' title composition "The Third Man Theme" topped the international music charts in 1950, bringing international fame to the previously unknown performer. The Third Man is considered one of the greatest films of all time, celebrated for its acting, musical score, and atmospheric cinematography.

In 1999, the British Film Institute voted The Third Man the greatest British film of all time. In 2011, a poll for Time Out ranked it the second-best British film ever

Henry Graham Greene OM CH (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century, and one of the The Lanes Armoury's, partner's, father's, drinking companions when he was in Brighton and imbibing in the Cricketer's Inn, Brighton's 500 year old oldest pub, and one of our neighbours here in The Lanes.

Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a reputation early in his lifetime as a major writer, both of serious Catholic novels, and of thrillers (or "entertainments" as he termed them). He was shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times. Through 67 years of writing, which included over 25 novels, he explored the conflicting moral and political issues of the modern world. The Power and the Glory won the 1941 Hawthornden Prize and The Heart of the Matter won the 1948 James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Best of the James Tait Black. Greene was awarded the 1968 Shakespeare Prize and the 1981 Jerusalem Prize. Several of his stories have been filmed, some more than once, and he collaborated with filmmaker Carol Reed on The Fallen Idol (1948) and The Third Man (1949).

Presented to Richard Whittington-Egan who was a British writer and criminologist in 1950, the author of Liverpool Colonnade and Liverpool Roundabout, two colourful chronicles of Liverpool's historical characters, crimes and mysteries. And was considered in his day to the greatest living authority on Jack the Ripper.

First edition. The Third Man was written in eight weeks as "the screen treatment that Greene created as a first step in the production of the film version, which appeared in 1949 and which won first prize at the Cannes film festival" (ODNB). This is the first appearance of the story as a novel.

The Fallen Idol was based on Greene's 1935 short story "The Basement Room", which was adapted into the Oscar nominated film in 1948.

Original black boards, spine lettered in perfect silver, light brown endpapers. With dust jacket unclipped. named to presented original author owner dated 20th July 1950  read more

Code: 25961

A Unique Leaf From The Published Work of Nicolas Jenson Printed in 1472

A single original surviving leaf from one of the earliest and rarest books ever printed. A complete volume of this work, if were ever to be on the open market could be worth well over a million pounds. Nicolas Jensen, who is roundly considered one of history?s greatest printers and typographers, turned out beautiful volumes from his Venetian workshop in the 15th century. There is a similar leaf from Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Philosophers by the Jensen Press, 1475. In resides in the Salisbury House Permanent Collection. A great and incredibly rare treasure from the very earliest days of printed text, with original handwritten annotations. This is a Folio. 6pp plus and original unique leaf from Ambrosius Aurelius Theodosius Macrobius's "In Somnium Scipionis Exposito". In Publisher's wrappers. 1 of only 73 ever published folio's that contained an original unique leaf from the master's great work of 1472. In very good condition. In The Manual Of Linotype Typography, the folio containing the rare single leaf was published in 1923, he clearly regarded him as one of the three greatest master printers of all time, alongside Gutenberg and Aldus. To own an original unique piece of Jenson's work, with annotations may be considered by some as one of the greatest privileges afforded to admirers of the printed word. An entire volume would be priceless, or at the least exceeding a million pounds or considerably more. Some hypothesize that Jenson studied under the tutelage of Gutenberg, the man who printed the rarest and most valuable book of all time, the Gutenberg or Mazarin Bible [one was apparently lost on the Titanic]. Jenson worked before the greatest English printer, the legendary William Caxton, and the very first book ever to be printed in English by Caxton was in 1473, "Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye" Jenson's story; In October 1458, while acting as Master of the French Royal Mint, Jenson was sent to Mainz, by King Charles VII, to study the art of metal movable type. Jenson then went to Mainz to study printing under Johannes Gutenberg. In 1470 he opened a printing shop in Venice, and, in the first work he produced, the printed roman lowercase letter took on the proportions, shapes, and arrangements that marked its transition from an imitation of handwriting to the style that has remained in use throughout subsequent centuries of printing. Jenson also designed Greek-style type and black-letter type. By 1472, Jenson had only been printing for two years. Even so, his roman type quickly became the model for what later came to be called Venetian oldstyle and was widely imitated. Though Jenson's type was soon superceded in popularity by those of Aldus and Garamond, it was revived again by William Morris in the late 19th century and became the model of choice for a number of private press printers.

Twentieth century commercial interpretations include Centaur and Cloister lightface, and most recently, ITC Legacy and Adobe Jenson. The books of Johann and Wendelin de Spira were printed with a new fount, a roman
type; this was a style of type that is familiar to the present day, but was at the time a radical innovation. A year later, in 1470, a new, slightly lighter and more elegant version appeared in books with a new imprint, that of Nicolas Jenson. In the colophons of books
printed from 1470 his name appears along with praise for his typographical skills. It is here that we see for the first time statements that leave no room for doubt. Jenson hasrightly become famous as the designer and cutter of the punches for the new roman typefaces as well as other founts that for a long time were the standard for legal and
theological works. Confirmation of his status as typographer is found in his last will and testament, written in 1480, where he made careful dispositions for what should be done
with his punches, the tangible results of a life?s experience and work that he wished to be protected. All these circumstances together lead to the notion that it was Jenson who improved the production of movable type by cutting excellent punches, a skill that he
had brought from the traditions of the Mint in Paris, and that he may first have applied inMainz to the long-lasting types used by Fust and Schoeffer.It is only in the last ten years of his life that Nicolas Jenson abandoned his anonymity,
and became prominent as a printer of magnificent books. Executed in sober, almost sculptural layouts they became models for centuries of printing. A famous example is the monumental edition of Pliny?s classical encyclopaedic work, his Historia naturalis, published by Jenson in 1472. An Italian translation, also published by Jenson, appeared in 1476 . The translation and printing were commissioned by the Florentine merchant Girolamo Strozzi, who also took care of the marketing.
Following in the tradition of Thomas Jefferson, whose library contained numerous works on European history, politics, and culture, the Library of Congress has many comprehensive European collections. The rarest of these works come to the Rare Book and Special Collections Division.
A special category of the division's European holdings is its collection of incunabula--books printed before 1501. Printed during the first decades of printing with movable type, these very rare and valuable books cover the whole spectrum of classical, medieval, and Renaissance knowledge and represent many of the highlights of the division's European materials. Over its nearly two-hundred-year history the Library of Congress has collected nearly 5,700 fifteenth-century books, the largest collection of incunabula in the western hemisphere. When Congress originally established its Library in 1800 and saw its collections destroyed by fire in 1814, it had no fifteenth-century books. Neither did the collection that Thomas Jefferson sold to Congress in 1815. This is not surprising because the books in the first Library served the need for general literature, and Jefferson primarily collected modern, scholarly editions in handy formats.

For the first fifty years or so after the acquisition of Jefferson's collection, the Library acquired incunabula very sparingly. The 1839 Catalogue of the Library of Congress lists only 2 incunabula: the Chronecken der Sassen (Mainz: Peter Schoeffer, 6 March 1492) and Ranulphus Hidgen's Polychronicon (Westminster: Wynkyn de Worde, 13 April 1495). The earliest incunabulum with a recorded date of acquisition is a 1478 edition of Astesanus de Ast's Summa de casibus conscientiae (Venice: Johannes de Colonia and Johannes Manthen, 18 March 1478).
The date that marks the real beginning of the incunabula collection at the Library of Congress is April 6, 1867, when the last shipment of Peter Force's library was received at the Capitol. His personal library held approximately 22,500 volumes, including 161 incunabula. The collection had some important books. The earliest imprint was Clement V's Constitutiones (Mainz: Peter Schoeffer, 8 October 1467); also included were a copy of Hartmann Schedel's Liber chronicarum (Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 12 July 1493) and Jenson's printing of Pliny's Historia naturalis (Venice: Nicolaus Jenson, 1472).
Gutenberg, Aldus and Jenson  read more

Code: 22403

A Large Volume of Foxe's Book of Martyrs 1570, by An Impartial Hand. Detailing the Burning at the Stake of the Protestant Martyrs Under Queen ‘Bloody’ Mary the 1st’s Rule, Published 1741, Formerly Part of the Richard Hoare Collection.

This would make a superb gift, or addition to a collection for a devoted antiquarian bibliophile.

Bearing original Richard Hoare’s Ex-Libris bookplate. One of the most foremost and important books of the 16th century, and a fabulous book for those that wish to have a most impressive rare book as a statement piece for an eclectic collection of unusual artefacts covering a broad spectrum. An absolute beauty. The Book of Martyrs: Containing an Account of the Sufferings and Death of the Protestants in the Reign of Queen Mary. ... Illustrated with Copper-plates. Originally Written by Mr. J. F., and Now Revised and Corrected by an Impartial Hand. One of the martyrs was Derek Carver, owner of a Brighton brewery barely 150 yards from our Brighton gallery. He was burnt at the stake in 1555, in our local Sussex market town of Lewes, while stood in a beer barrel, around 12 miles distant from us. A most fine example formerly from the library and private collection [with family crest and library plate] of Richard Hoare descendant of famous abolitionist and 'Sign of the Black Horse' founding banker, Samuel Hoare Jr. Richard, of Marden Hill Hertfordshire, was born in 1824, son of the banker Samuel Hoare (1783-1847) who was grandson of Quaker and abolitionist Samuel Hoare Jr. whose bank, Barnetts, Hoares, Hanbury & Lloyd, first used The Sign of the Black Horse as it's symbol, that was taken over and used by Lloyds Bank as it's logo in 1884. We show a portrait of young Richard Hoare painted by Royal Academician George Richmond
The book was originally produced in 1563 and illustrated with over sixty distinctive woodcut impressions and was to that time the largest publishing project ever undertaken in England. Their product was a single volume book, a bit over a foot long, two palms-span wide, too deep to lift with only one hand, and weighed about the same as a small infant. Foxe's own title for the first edition (as scripted and spelled), is Actes and Monuments of these Latter and Perillous Days, Touching Matters of the Church. Long titles being conventionally expected, so this title continues and claims that the book describes "persecutions and horrible troubles" that had been "wrought and practiced by the Roman Prelates, speciallye in this realm of England and Scotland". Foxe's temporal range was "from the yeare of our Lorde a thousand unto the tyme nowe present"

Following closely on the heels of the first edition (Foxe complained that the text was produced at "a breakneck speed"), the 1570 edition was in two volumes and had expanded considerably. The page count went from approximately 1,800 pages in 1563 to over 2,300 folio pages. The number of woodcuts increased from 60 to 150. As Foxe wrote about his own living (or executed) contemporaries, the illustrations could not be borrowed from existing texts, as was commonly practiced. The illustrations were newly cut to depict particular details, linking England's suffering back to "the primitive tyme" until, in volume I, "the reigne of King Henry VIII"; in volume two, from Henry's time to "Queen Elizabeth our gracious Lady now reygnyng..The title plate bears a hand penned note dating the entry in 1847 at Marden Hill. n the 1540s the Black Lion brewery was purchased by a Flemish man named Deryk Carver. A Protestant, Carver had fled religious persecution in his home country and had settled in England. At this time, England was a Protestant country following Henry VIII’s break with Rome and the establishment of the Church of England in the early 1530s. Unfortunately for Carver, this policy was reversed in 1553 when Queen Mary I succeeded to the throne. Mary restored Catholicism as the state religion, and revived a series of heresy laws that outlawed Protestant practices. In late 1554 a series of persecutions began, which have left Mary with the nickname of ‘Bloody Mary’.

Carver, who acted as lay preacher in his house in Brighton, was an early victim. He was arrested in October 1554, and tried in London the following year. When questioned by Bishop Bonner on his beliefs, Carver refused to recant his Protestant practices. Sealing his fate, Carver made a fierce attack on the Catholic faith:

‘..your doctrine is poison and sorcery. If Christ were here you would put Him to a worse death than He was put to before. You say that you can make a God: ye can make a pudding as well. Your ceremonies in the Church be beggary and poison.’ (Quoted in John Ackerson Erredge, History of Brighthelmstone 2005, p.120).

Carver was found guilty and burnt at the stake in Lewes on 22 July 1555. In order to mock his profession, he was placed in a barrel prior to his execution.

Carver is one of several Protestant martyrs whose death is marked by the bonfire celebrations in Lewes. But he has never been forgotten in Brighton. John Ackerson Erredge, the first historian of Brighton, dedicated an entire chapter of his History of Brighthelmstone to his execution. The Black Lion brewery was regarded as one of the oldest buildings in Brighton until it was demolished in about 1970. It was partially rebuilt in 1974 as a near-replica of the original building. David Hawkins [senior] attempted to buy the original former brewery, in order to save it for posterity, and donate it to the town, but his offer was sadly rejected, and an office block architecturally inspired by a shoebox, was built on its main site. In 1970 building regulations in Brighton were woefully inconsiderate to historically important buildings. Book dimensions; 9.75 inches x 15 inches x 2.25 inches 713 pages , plus index of the victims up to 'H'.  read more

Code: 19180

Owned by the Earl of Portsmouth, Two Large and Beautifully Bound Antique Volumes,The History of the Life of King Henry IInd. by George Lord Lyttelton Printed for W. Sandby and J. Dodsley, 1767

And of the age in which he lived, in five books,: to which is prefixed, a history of the revolutions of England from the death of Edward the Confessor to the birth of Henry the Second / by George Lord Lyttelton Printed for W. Sandby and J. Dodsley, 1767 second printing 2 impressive and original leather bound volumes, from the personal library of the Earl of Portsmouth. Three books of the set are contained in these two, beautiful, large volumes. George Lyttelton, studied at Eton (1725) and Oxford (1726) before touring the Continent (1728-31) before becoming intimate with Pope's circle at Twickenham. He was secretary to the Prince of Wales (1732-44), member of Parliament from Okehampton (1735-56); succeeded as 5th baron Lyttleton 1751, and was lord of the treasury (1744-54) and Chancellor of the Exchequer (1755-56). As an opposition politician, Lyttleton was allied to the Prince of Wales; as a poet he was associated with his near-neighbor at Hagley Park, William Shenstone.

His life was detailed by Samuel Johnson's Lives of the Poets series, published in 3 volumes between 1779 and 1781. In it Dr Johnson states 'His last literary production was his "History of Henry the Second," elaborated by the searches and deliberations of twenty years, and published with such anxiety as only vanity can dictate. The story of this publication is remarkable. The whole work was printed twice over, a great part of it three times, and many sheets four or five times. The booksellers paid for the first impression; but the changes and repeated operations of the press were at the expense of the author, whose ambitious accuracy is known to have cost him at least a thousand pounds. He began to print in 1755. Three volumes appeared in 1764, a second edition of them in 1767, a third edition in 1768, and the conclusion in 1771.

Andrew Reid, a man not without considerable abilities and not unacquainted with letters or with life, undertook to persuade Lyttelton, as he had persuaded himself, that he was master of the secret of punctuation; and, as fear begets credulity, he was employed, I know not at what price, to point the pages of "Henry the Second." The book was at last pointed and printed, and sent into the world. Lyttelton took money for his copy, of which, when he had paid the pointer, he probably gave the rest away; for he was very liberal to the indigent. When time brought the History to a third edition, Reid was either dead or discarded; and the superintendence of typography and punctuation was committed to a man originally a comb-maker, but then known by the style of Doctor. Something uncommon was probably expected, and something uncommon was at last done; for to the Doctor's edition is appended, what the world had hardly seen before, a list of errors in nineteen pages. Each volume is 11.5 inches x 9.25 inches x 2 inches  read more

Code: 22555

1st Edition Napoleon, by Hewiston W. B. The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte. In Two Volumes Printed in 1814

London: Printed & Published by J. Wallis, and sold by S. A. Oddy, J. Goodwin, and Davies & Eldridge, Exeter, c. 1810
London: Wallis, 1814. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Two volume set. Good condition.

Illustrated with numerous b/w engraved plates. A popular British life of Napoleon. The two volumes are the first edition which ends with Napoleon's abdication to Elba. Photos to add of both books on Monday 23rd. Each volume is 8.25 inches x 5.25 inches x 1.25 inches
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), also known as Napoleon I, was a French military leader and emperor who conquered much of Europe in the early 19th century. Born on the island of Corsica, Napoleon rapidly rose through the ranks of the military during the French Revolution (1789-1799). After seizing political power in France in a 1799 coup d’état, he crowned himself emperor in 1804. Shrewd, ambitious and a skilled military strategist, Napoleon successfully waged war against various coalitions of European nations and expanded his empire. However, after a disastrous French invasion of Russia in 1812, Napoleon abdicated the throne two years later and was exiled to the island of Elba. In 1815, he briefly returned to power in his Hundred Days campaign. After a crushing defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, he abdicated once again and was exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena, where he died at 51. Napoleon was, and remains, famous for his battlefield victories, and historians have spent enormous attention in analysing them. In 2008, Donald Sutherland wrote:

The ideal Napoleonic battle was to manipulate the enemy into an unfavourable position through manoeuvre and deception, force him to commit his main forces and reserve to the main battle and then undertake an enveloping attack with uncommitted or reserve troops on the flank or rear. Such a surprise attack would either produce a devastating effect on morale, or force him to weaken his main battle line. Either way, the enemy's own impulsiveness began the process by which even a smaller French army could defeat the enemy's forces one by one.
After 1807, Napoleon's creation of a highly mobile, well-armed artillery force gave artillery usage increased tactical importance. Napoleon, rather than relying on infantry to wear away the enemy's defences, could now use massed artillery as a spearhead to pound a break in the enemy's line. Once that was achieved he sent in infantry and cavalry.  read more

Code: 23379

History of United Netherlands From The Death of William the Silent,To The Twelve Years Truce - 1609. by John Lothrop Motley. New Edition With Portraits. 4 volumes,

All in fine bindings with clean and polished calf in red, two gilted leather title labels on the spines of each, 5 raised bands. Marble cover and interior pages. Marbled edges.

Published 1875/6 by John Murray Albemarle St. London. Motley, who served as United States ambassador to Austria during the Civil War and later as ambassador to Great Britain, said of his affinity for the Netherlands: "I had not first made up my mind to write a history and then cast about to take up a subject. My subject had taken me up, drawn me on, and absorbed me into itself." Although he spent much of his life abroad, Motley was a member of the Boston literary circle that included Hawthorne, Lowell, Longfellow, and Motley's future biographer, Oliver Wendell Holmes. William I, Prince of Orange (24 April 1533 ? 10 July 1584), also known as William the Silent or William the Taciturn (translated from Dutch: Willem de Zwijger), or more commonly known as William of Orange, was the main leader of the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs that set off the Eighty Years' War (1568?1648) and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1581. He was born in the House of Nassau as Count of Nassau-Dillenburg. He became Prince of Orange in 1544 and is thereby the founder of the branch House of Orange-Nassau and the ancestor of the monarchy of the Netherlands. Within the Netherlands he is also known as Father of the Fatherland (Dutch: Vader des Vaderlands).

A wealthy nobleman, William originally served the Habsburgs as a member of the court of Margaret of Parma, governor of the Spanish Netherlands. Unhappy with the centralisation of political power away from the local estates and with the Spanish persecution of Dutch Protestants, William joined the Dutch uprising and turned against his former masters. The most influential and politically capable of the rebels, he led the Dutch to several successes in the fight against the Spanish. Declared an outlaw by the Spanish king in 1580, he was assassinated by Balthasar G?rard (also written as "Gerardts") in Delft in 1584. A fine set, very collectable and much sought by collectors. Philip II of Spain berating William the Silent Prince of Orange by Cornelis Kruseman.  read more

Code: 22358

Rare 1st Edition 'Reveries or Memoirs Upon The Art of War', Printed in 1757

An important classic. First Edition in English. (8-1/4 x 10-1/2 inches) leather bound of 195 pages, and a page of advertisements for other books by the publisher. 40 copper plates, some fold out, on 34 pages. First edition in English of a classic 18th century military work by Saxe (1696-1750) the renowned soldier. The book is divided into 2 parts, the first examining the raising, feeding, clothing, exercising, paying, encamping, and moving of an army, and the 2nd covering the strategic aspects of combat, including attack and defence in various terrains. A nice rare copy with former owner's and name plate, Thomas Best of Park House, Boxley, Kent. Added some original Letters, upon various Military Subjects, wrote by the Count to the late King of Poland, and M. de Folard, which were never before made public: Together with His Reflections upon the Propagation of the Human Species. Translated from the French. This is the first edition in English of a classic military work by one of the world's most famous soldiers. At the age of twelve, Dresden-born Maurice de Saxe (1696?1750) entered the Saxon army, beginning a long and successful military career that culminated in his promotion to Marshal of France, where he retained full command of the main army in Flanders directly under Louis XV. Again and again, de Saxe achieved enormous victories over his enemies, becoming one of the greatest military leaders of the eighteenth century. Combining his memoirs and general observations with brilliant military thinking, Reveries on the Art of War was written in a mere thirteen days. Introducing revolutionary approaches to battles and campaigning at a time of changing military tactics and leadership styles, it stands as a classic of early modern military theory.
De Saxe's Reveries offered numerous procedural innovations for raising and training troops. His descriptions for establishing field camps were soon standard procedure. His ideas advanced weapon technology, including the invention of a gun specially designed for infantrymen and the acceptance of breech-loading muskets and cannons. De Saxe heightened existing battle formations by introducing a specific attack column that required less training, and he rediscovered a military practice lost since the ancient Romans ? the art of marching in cadence. He even delved into the minds and emotions of soldiers on the battlefield, obtaining a deeper understanding of their daily motivations.
Written by a military officer of great acumen, Reveries on the Art of War has deeply impacted modern military tactics. Enduringly relevant, this landmark work belongs in the library of anyone interested in the history, tactics, and weapons of European warfare. We show a wax miniature of the books owner, Thomas Best, in full military uniform. The miniature is held as part of the Victoria and Albert Museum Collection.  read more

Code: 21247

A Rare Admiralty Publication of A List of the Flag Officers and Other Commissioned Officers of His Majesty's Fleet In 1st January 1818. Printed By S Brooke, Paternoster Row, London. Superbly Bound In Red Morocco Leather With Gold Titling

Excellent condition for age overall.

Due to their intended use and frequent updates, original copies of these lists are rare surviving examples.

Acquired with the family’s Crimean War Land Transport sword (now sold) and their WW2 FS commando knife, 2nd Pattern {now sold} and WW2 combat helmet.

A List of Flag Officers and other Commissioned Officers of His Majesty's Fleet; with dates of their respective commissions.
Including, and bound within, book two, An Alphabetical List of the Post Captains, Commanders, and Lieutenants of His Majesty's Fleet with the dates of their respective commissions. The two books lists are within this single volume.


His Majesty's Fleet included a list of Flag Officers and commissioned officers, published by the Admiralty in London January 1818. This list, titled "A List of the Flag-Officers of His Majesty's Fleet...", was likely organized by rank and seniority, with dates of commission, and also included an alphabetically organized list by rank for easier reference. The list would have included several elderly officers who served in the 7 Years War, American Revolutionary War, and later in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars,and War of 1812 published by the Admiralty Ist January 1818

Beautifully bound in red Morocco leather with gilt tooling embellishment throughout, naturally aged and most beautiful. Also it is an essential piece of original history, perfect for officer research of all currently still serving after the Napoleonic Wars

It served as an official record and was likely used for administrative purposes within the Admiralty.
Historical Significance:
The document is valuable for understanding the structure and personnel of the Royal Navy during specific periods, including those who served during major conflicts like the American War of Independence and the Napoleonic Wars.
Rarity:
Due to their intended use and frequent updates, original copies of these lists are rare surviving examples.  read more

Code: 25880