By Edward Gibbon
London   A. Strahan; and T. Cadell
8.5" by 5.5" xxiv, 456; xv, [1], 496; viii, 412; viii, 443; vii, 432; [2], viii, 420; xii, viii, 424; [2], viii, 375; xii, 502; xii, 385; xii, 460; [16], 432, [96pp]
An early edition of Edward Gibbon's monumental history of the Roman Empire, a nice tree calf set complete with folding maps.
By Edward Gibbon

1788-90 The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

London   A. Strahan; and T. Cadell
8.5" by 5.5" xxiv, 456; xv, [1], 496; viii, 412; viii, 443; vii, 432; [2], viii, 420; xii, viii, 424; [2], viii, 375; xii, 502; xii, 385; xii, 460; [16], 432, [96pp]
An early edition of Edward Gibbon's monumental history of the Roman Empire, a nice tree calf set complete with folding maps.
Sold
: 10kgs / : 851P11

What Our Customers Say...

Description

Early Edition, Folding Maps, Illustrated, Leather Binding

Complete in twelve volumes.

ESTC citation number N17852 and T78370. 

A new edition, being the first complete London octavo edition.

Volumes I-VI dated 1788, Volumes VII-XII dated 1790.

Half-title to Volumes VII-XII, half-titles not called for in Volumes I-VI.

Collated, complete.

‘The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire’ has become one of the pillars of non-fiction writing since the first volume was published in 1776. Edward Gibbon embarked upon his greatest literary achievement seven years before it was first published, and he stated that he was often frustrated and tempted to throw it away whilst working on it.

Gibbon here offers a condensed, detailed, and thorough history of the fall of the Roman Empire, covering a period from 98 to 1590. On the journey he also looks at the history of Europe, Christianity, and the Church. Gibbon has been criticized for his flawed interpretations of various Religions, with his scathing view on Christianity leading the book to be banned in several countries upon its publication

Volume I illustrated with a frontispiece, and a folding map.

Volume II illustrated with a folding map. 

Volume III illustrated with a folding map. 

Edward Gibbon was a historian and Member of Parliament, his poor health was consistently under threat during his childhood, which led to him becoming widely read. He never married, after a failed love affair with Suzanne Curchod in his youth, Suzanne later became the wife to Jacques Necker, and her daughter was the noted socialite and letter writer, Madame de Stael. His first historical endeavour was a ‘History of Switzerland’, which was never finished or published. He also wrote about the literary and social conditions of England at the time, which was unfortunately considered a flop.

Condition

In a full tree calf binding. Externally, generally smart. Bumping to the extremities. A little loss to the head of the spines of Volumes I, IV, V, VIII, IX, and XII. Minor rubbing to the joints and extremities, and a little light rubbing to the boards; rubbing to the extremities heavier to the top edges of Volumes VII and XII. A few light marks to the boards. Spines are a little faded with very light surface cracks, large crack to the spine of Volume XII. Crack to the head of the joints of Volume I, very small crack to the head of the front joint of Volume VIII, XI. Front joint of Volume XII is starting but firm, crack to the head and tail of the rear joint. Front hinge of Volumes I and XII are starting but firm. Endpapers of Volume V, XI, and XII are discoloured. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are very lightly age-toned and generally clean with some spots, including to the endpapers. Prior owner's ink inscription to the head of the title pages. Folding maps in Volumes I and II are torn and a little edge worn. Page 21/22 of Volume V is torn, lacking about half of the page.

Very Good

Delivery & payment

We send all of our books via courier which is a fully tracked and insured service. In our experience we find this to be the most reliable and quickest form of delivery. Our primary courier is DHL, but we are able to accommodate special requests if required, including postal delivery for items under 2kg. See More Details