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Gibbon, Edward.
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire [with] Miscellaneous Works of Edward Gibbon Esquire with Memoirs of his Life and Writings, Composed by Himself: Illustrated from his Letters with Occasional Notes...
Publisher: W Strahan & T Cadell/A Strahan. T Cadell Jun & W Davies London;
Date of Publication: 1777
Stock Code: 4872
Decline and Fall: Vol I is the third issue, Vol II the second issue and other four vols are all FIRST EDITIONS. Quarto; Vol I [xxiv], 704 pp; Vol II [xii], 640 pp; Vol III [x], 640 pp, [1]; Vol IV viii, [8], 620 pp; Vol V [12], 684 pp; 12, 646 pp, [52] Index. Frontispiece portrait engraving to Vol I and 3 folding maps (2 to Vol II and 1 to Vol III). Full polished tan calf sympathetically rebacked. Red and black morocco labels to spine; gilt titles, double-gilt bands and gilt decoration to compartments; gilt border to boards. Miscellaneous Works, 1796: First Edition Vol I  [xxvi], 702, [1], Vol II viii, 726 pp, [2]; silhouette portrait frontis to Vol I. Full speckled tan calf with red and green morocco labels to spine, gilt titles and decoration, gilt foliate border to boards and marbled endpapers. Edges rubbed with minor wear to corners,minor scuffing and scratching to boards and bump to upper rear corner Vol VI Decline & Fall; small chip to lower edge of lower board Vol II Miscelleaneous Works. A little scattered foxing. Corner crease to title and loss to lower margin final leaf (approx 2 inches,without loss to text) to Vol I Decline & Fall and ownership inscription to verso ffep Vol I Miscelleaneous Works, otherwise contents exceptionally clean and bright. A very handsome set, unusually including Gibbon’s Miscellaneous Works. First editions of Vol I Decline and Fall are rare, as the original print run was only 1000 copies. Gibbon’s magnum opus was an immediate runaway success and is widely considered to be “esteemed as the greatest historical work ever written” (Adams, Manual of Historical Literature), placing Gibbon at the “very head of the literary tribe” in Europe according to Adam Smith. David Hume (who read Vol I on his death bed) praised the book. Publisher William Strahan was rightly of the opinion that “it will remain a lasting monument to the genius and ability of the writer” (ODNB). Sold