London, Printed for T. Davies, 1774. Elias Ashmole (1617-1692) 'was an English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy.... Throughout his life he was an avid collector of curiosities and other artefacts. Many of these he acquired from the traveller, botanist, and collector John Tradescant the Younger..... More

Edinburgh, [The Author], 1786. More

'In the Savoy' [London], printed for D. Browne, J. Walthoe (and numerous others), 1717 (third edition, first issue)/ 1670. Blount's Law Dictionary was first published in 1670 under the title 'Nomo-Lexicon'. '[This] work quickly superseded its predecessors. In addition to providing the explanation of common law terms, Blount was the..... More

London, John Wallis, 24 December 1794. An attractive Georgian board game, with the winner being the first player to reach London. The letterpress gives rules for playing the game and details of the history and manufactures of the 117 towns mentioned. It is not necessarily accurate; for instance, Henry VI..... More

London, John Stockdale, 1794 [new edition]/ 1782. The dedication referred to in the title runs to 116 pages. More

London, Printed for the Society of Antiquaries by John Nichols, 1790. Pages 423-476 are 'Ancient Cookery. From a ms. in the Library of the Royal Society', and the prefatory note is worth quoting at length: 'The ms. from which the following pages are transcribed, is without title or date, or..... More

London, J. Debrett, 1789. Dalrymple (1726-1810), fourth baronet of Cranstoun, was one of the Barons of the Exchequer in Scotland. He was a prolific author of history and current affairs, and he 'occupied his leisure with various experiments of a useful kind. He discovered the art of making soap from..... More

Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1762 [first edition]. 'The part dealing with Crown law is a highly authoritative exposition of the law relating to treason, homicide, and some other capital offences' (Pargellis and Medley 630). The four-page 'Advertisement. To be placed immediately after the Preface' was produced after the book was published;..... More

Paris, Jacques Collombat, 1733 [first folio edition]/ 1731. With the armorial bookplate of Colonel Geoffrey Callander of Craigforth, and his name-stamp on the frontispiece. More

London, J. Johnson and J. Butterworth, and Salisbury, B.C. Collins, 1795 ('third edition, with considerable additions')/ 1790. Provenance: Howard Zelling, sometime Supreme Court Judge of South Australia, with his name-stamp on the front flyleaf. An earlier name-stamp (J. & F. Anderson, Edinburgh) appears on the front pastedown and title page..... More

London, R. Manby and H.S. Cox, 1749 and 1751. The article on Conyers Middleton (1683-1750) by Leslie Stephen in the 'Dictionary of National Biography' is painstakingly (and almost painfully) informative. The English clergyman was no stranger to controversy: 'Serious imputations ... have been made upon his literary honesty [he was..... More

London, Printed for A. Bettesworth, C. Hitch and J. Clarke, 1738 (fifth edition)/ [1723]. The Latin text with parallel English translation by John Clarke, 'In pursuance of the method of teaching the Latin Tongue, laid down by him in his "Essay upon Education"'. ESTC T83014. More

London, John Stockdale, 1790 (second edition)/ 1789. The superior second edition, with the substantially expanded appendix, which includes 'The History of New Holland ... and a Discourse on Banishment' and its accompanying hand-coloured map. Ferguson 90; Wantrup 5 (and pages 59-64). More