Collections for the History of Worcestershire. 2 vols (set)

Description

~DATE RANGE: 1781-1782. ~PAGINATION: (4), xcii, 609, (1) + (4), 484, clxviii, 32, (10)pp. ~Original striking tree calf, gilt decor (rubbed) to board edges. Discreetly rebacked in near-matching calf with compartments from original backstrip laid down. Replacement volume no roundels to both spines and replacement title label to spine of vol. I, closely modelled on remaining original title label to vol. II. Ornate gilt decor to spines. Folio (28.5 x 44.3cm). Moderate wear to board edges. Hinges sound. Original endpapers restored at gutters with laid paper. Offset browning to endpapers and t.p.s. Armorial bookplate of Doddington Library to inside front board of both vols (of Doddington Hall, Cheshire; arms of Broughton and Delves quarterly). Pen inscription dated 1949 to blank verso of front vol. II free endpaper. Minor scattered foxing; occasional slight offset browning from plates. Rebacking of vol. I is very slightly tight, making it occasionally difficult to make out detail in plates where it extends close to gutter; margin ensures there is no impact on text. Without the later 1799 supplement. Complete first edition: vol. I with folding map frontis, 33 engraved plates and 17 pedigrees, many folding. Vol. II with 42 plates and pedigrees. Plates generally with original tissue guards. In-text illus. 13 ff domesday supplement, printed in red & black, bound into vol. I after p. xcii. Engravings mostly by mostly by James Ross (1745-1821) of Worcester. Treadway Russell Nash (1725-1811), Church of England clergyman and antiquary, born in Kempsey, Worcestershire; on unexpectedly inheriting his family’s estates, he settled himself as ‘a mere provincial man’ and, having ‘oftentimes wished that someone would write the history and antiquities of the county’, eventually took this task on himself (vol. I, p. i). His monumental Collections remains a key source for the history of Worcestershire. ESTC T87480. ~Robust packaging. Overseas tracking available on request. Used books are exempt from USA tariffs.