The History of Greece, From the Earliest Period to the Death of Agesilaus by William Mitford. Continued to the Death of Alexander the Great by R.A. Davenport. In Eight Volumes. London: Printed for Thomas Tegg and Son, et. al., 1835.
An incredibly beautiful set of William Mitford's famous History of Greece. Here with the extension by R.A. Davenport up to the Death of Alexander the Great. This set is perhaps the most beautiful set we have encountered with the spines being very fine and bright. The winner of this auction will be very happy with this set, whether for themselves or a gift for another interested in ancient Greek history and beautiful books.
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William Mitford, an English Member of Parliament and historian, gained renown for his work, The History of Greece. After marrying Miss Fanny Molloy in 1766, he settled in Exbury, dedicating himself to the study of the Greek language. Following his wife's passing a decade later, Mitford traveled abroad in October 1776. Encouragement from French scholars he met in Paris, Avignon, and Nice spurred him to delve deeply into Greek history. Edward Gibbon, a fellow officer during their time in the South Hampshire Militia, guided Mitford on the structure of his work. Starting in 1784, Mitford released the volumes of his "History of Greece," with the final volume appearing in 1810. Mitford's declining eyesight and health issues, including memory loss, prevented further editions, despite his diligent efforts to revise them.
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Size: 110 x 168 mm (approx., each)
Condition: Fine.
[xiii, pp.1-388]; [x, pp.1-363]; [x, pp.1-404]; [x, pp.1-435]; [x, pp.1-440]; [x, pp.1-431]; [x, pp.1-392]; [x, pp.1-419]
Collated as complete through each volume. Full calf leather bindings with dark green tooled morocco labels to the spines between raised bands with intricate gilt details in compartments. Spines all in fine condition with a small amount of rubbing to the extremities. Minor shelf wear. Joints all fine with all boards securely attached. Some light scuffs to boards but all are very good or better. Endpapers foxed else very clean through the text blocks. Binder sticker to front pastedown of volume one (only) reading "Bound by Cleaver Bookseller and Stationer, 80 Baker St. Portman Sq....".
Overall a fine set.
