25th Jan, 2023 10:30 GMT/BST
Spectator
[Addison (Joseph) et al.] The Spectator, Nos 1-555.
Printed for Sam Buckley, 1711-12. folio, bound in two volumes, lacking numbers 155, 314 and 388, armorial bookplate (Earl Gower), a few ink marks, some tanning and staining, two longer sheets folded at bottom with tape reinforcement over imprint, contemporary calf with modern spine labels, second volume taller than the first, joints worn and cracked, evidence of earlier restoration [periodical]
Sold for £270
Estimated at £300 - £500
Auction: The David Stather Library, 25th Jan, 2023
A single-owner sale of the Library of David Stather (1940-2022)
The library comprises a large collection of early books, pamphlets and manuscripts on English history, focusing on the English Civil War, the ‘Popish Plot’, the Monmouth Rebellion and the Glorious Revolution, early Parliament and the Monarchy of that period, the development of English law, the Reformation, early bibles and prayer books, chronicles of English history and some very early books on witchcraft.
The earliest manuscript dates from 1285, and the earliest book is an incunable from 1486, however the majority date from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Interestingly, many are books that contribute to English history rather than just reporting on it, for example the collection includes books reporting the Popish Plot, which were written specifically to create social division through what is now known as ‘fake news’.
The books have been lovingly preserved by David Stather and the auction provides a rare opportunity to purchase books from a very focused collection built up over his lifetime.
Please submit any enquiries for the sale to books@tennants-ltd.co.uk
Viewing
Tuesday 24th January 10am-5pm and the morning of the sale from 8am
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