Views of Country Seats of the Royal Family, Nobility and Gentry of England (Two Volumes); . . . With Particulars, Historical and Descriptive

1830: R. Ackermann and Co, London. First edition. Half Calf. Very Good. Scarce, with only two copies listed on OCLC First Search, at Toronto and New South Wales. 8vo. 24 by 14.5 cm. viii, 136, vi, 136 pp. With 146 hand-colored aquatint plates after Westall, Gendall, Shepherd, Stockdale, others. The plates are lovely, both for the beautiful palatial buildings depicted and the execution of the prints -- the fineness of the artwork, and quality of the hand-coloring. Tooley 13. This is a very extensive documentation of the stately homes of England -- besides the justifiably famous mansions such as Woburn Abbey, Belvoir Castle, and Knole are scores of lesser known yet still immensely grand and gracious residences, all painted to great advantage, in uncompromised halcyon settings. Contemporary half calf, marbled boards, marbled endpapers, marbled painting on the fore-edges. Joints starting. Upper spine extremities restored professionally, but still slight loss of gilt decoration on Vol. 1. Some flattened dog-earing of the leaves. Plates generally clean and bright. Light to moderate offsetting of the plates.