Books

London: John Murray, 1872.. 8 vols. 8vo. (21.5 x 13.5 cm). Bound in contemporary full tan calf by Andrew Grieve of Edinburgh, sides ruled in blind, spines with raised bands and richly gilt in compartments, each with complementary red and navy morocco labels, marbled edges. Complete as called for with engraved portrait frontispiece of Gibbon and 14 maps (many folding and with original hand-colour). Some very light shelfwear and occasional trivial light spotting and browning to endpapers, contents remarkably crisp and clean throughout, overall an excellent, splendidly bound set. This is actually the third Milman edition, first published in 1844-1855. It "includes the autobiography of Gibbon, and is distinguished by careful revision of the text, verification of all references to ancient writers, and notes incorporating the results of researches of modern scholars and the discoveries of recent travellers" (Allibone). This set of eight volumes was executed in the workshops of the…

Published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, this extensive work by Edward Gibbon provides a detailed history of the decline of the Roman Empire.