1. BURGHLEY, LORD STATE PAPERS.: A Collection of State Papers, relating to Affairs ...From the Year 1542 to 1570. Transcribed from Original Letters and other Authentick memorials, Never before Publish'd left by William Cecil, Lord Burghley. London, William Bowyer, 1740. Folio, pp [22], 624, [8], bound in contemporary calf, sometime neatly rebacked , spine with raised bands and blind decoration, red label, an excellent clean sound copy,

FIRST EDITION, LORD WALSINGHAM'S COPY, with his bookplate. The first of two collections of Burghley papers edited by Samuel Haynes from the originals at Hatfield House. Despite some censorship [to which William Oldys famously objected] this publication marks a fundamental stage in the understanding of the early years of Elizabeth's reign. Bughley's papers from later were published, again heavily edited, some ten years after. Lord Walsingham, ?Thomas Dde Grey, whose bookplate this copy bears, was not a descendant of Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth's Secretary of State and 'spymaster', but may still have had some family interest in this volume. £225.00

2. DONNE, JOHN [CONTRIB].OVERBURY, SIR THOMAS.: Sir Thomas Overbury his Wife. With Additions of New Characters, and many other Witty Conceits never before Printed. London, Peter Lillicrap for Philip Chetwin, 1664. Small 8vo, not paginated, collates A1-T3, [only, lacking the recipes, paradoxes and songs at the end], neatly bound in mid 19th century Oxford calf, bevel-edged with double red labels, all edges gilt, slight trimming to some leaves as usual but a neat pleasing copy even though defective,

SEVENTEENTH EDITION; a cheap copy of this famous work of humour, but complete with all the characters and the preliminary elegies for Overbury by a wide variety of Jacobean poets. More importantly John Donne' contribution to the book is present. a three page satirical essay entitled 'News from the Very Country' initially I [i.e. J] D. and identified as his work in his son's edition of 1650. £95.00

3. FIELDING, SARAH [TRANSLATOR]. XENOPHON.: Xenophon's Memoirs of Socrates. With The Defence of Socrates before his Judges. Translated from the Original Greek. By Sarah Fielding. Bath, C Pope, sold by A Millar, London, 1762. 8vo, pp [2], 8 [subscribers], [2, errata], vi, [1], 339, [1], 21, well bound in contemporary full polished tree calf, sides with gilt borders, spine floral gilt within compartments, red label, marbled endpapers, slightly rubbed and with light short joint cracks at head, but a fine clean copy in original state,

FIRST EDITION, the most celebrated scholarly work of this notable female novelist and intellectual who lived in the shadow of her more famous and popular brother. Henry Fielding is supposed to have taken a rather loft view of her pretension which caused some coolness between them, but judged on its merits it is a fine and distinguished translation. Once a relatively common book. it is now a little more difficult to find, especially, as here, in rather pleasing contemporary tree calf, £325.00

4. HAWKINS, THOMAS.: The Origin Of The English Drama, Illustrated In Its Various Species, Viz. Mystery, Morality, Tragedy, And Comedy, By Specimens From Our Earliest Writers. Oxford: Printed at the Clarendon Press,, 1773 ][3 Volumes, 8vo, pp. [8], xvii, [1], 317, [3]; [2], 352; [4], 377, [1], 3 woodcut plates reproducing early woodcuts, neatly bound in contemporary quarter black morocco, spines gilt ruled marbled sides, light minor foxing else a fine clean set,

FIRST EDITION, a landmark publication by the editor of Hanmer's Shakespeare in the revival of early English drama, including The Spanish Tragedy - attributed by Hawkins to Thomas Kydd - and Everyman. WISTON OLD RECTORY COPY, with book-labels in each volume. A delightful provenance for a delightful set, the Old Rectory buit circa 1800 exists today as 'Falconers' , a notable example of Sussex Regency architecture. £200.00

5. JULIAN, EMPEROR 'THE APOSTATE'. DUNCOMBE, JOHN [TRANSLATOR].: Select works of the Emperor Julian : and some pieces of the sophist Libanius translated from the Greek. With notes from Petau, La Bleterie, Gibbon, etc. To which is added, The history of the Emperor Jovian, from the French of the Abbé de La Bleterie. London, J Nichols for T Cadell, 1784. 2 volumes, 8vo, pp [2], xxxix, [1], 342, [2, errata]: [4], 397.[1, errata], half title, pedigree in text, trimmed and rebound in modern plain but serviceable green buckram cloth, internally fine,

FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH; this was apparently Duncombe's final literary effort before his death in 1786, and marks a revival of interest towards the end of the 18th century in more contentious pagan or Platonic classical writers such as Julian, who, among subversives, has lawyers exercised a certain fascination. This copy, though a scarce edition, cannot be called more than a reading one in its present binding, executed with scholarly frugality for the historian George C Boon in 1988, though he had acquired it, according to his note, in 1947. £75.00

6. MUSIC. MAZZINGHI, JOSEPH.: Paul and Virginia : The Favourite Grand Ballet as performed at the Kings Theatre Haymarket composed by Sig Onorati. The Music by Joseph Mazzinghi. London, G Goulding, 45 Pall Mall, [1795]. Folio, pp v, 2-27, [1, adverts], disbound, in very good state,

? FIRST EDITION, overture and 21 numbers from the opera. The libretto was by James Cobb, the opera for which Mazzinghi wrote the ballet music, a great success. . £75.00

7. PARR, SAMUEL.: A Free Translation of the Preface to Bellendenus; containing animated strictures on the great political characters, of the present time. London, Stafford and Davenport, for T. Payne and Son, L. Davies, and J. Debrett, 1788 8vo, pp viii, [4], 159, bound in plain contemporary quarter calf, joints rubbed with minor cracks, but a fine clean tight copy,

FIRST EDITION, a translation from the Latin of Parr published the previous in an obscure publication of Bellenden, edited by Henry Homer. Seen by Parr as an opportunity to attack Pitt in intellectual terms, it was translated without authorization to gain a wider political currency. and with dedications to Burke and his circle. As such it forms a curious adjunct to Parr's political writings. £85.00

8. RICHARDSON, JOHN.: A Dissertation On The Languages, Literature, And Manners Of Eastern Nations. Originally prefixed to a Dictionary, Persian, Arabic, and English. The Second Edition. To Which is added Additional Observations. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1778. 8vo, pp [12, including initial blank], 490, bound in contemporary polished calf, at an early date rebacked with red label, the corners worn, the spine leather somewhat pitted, but quite sound, light browning to text and foxing to title, else a sound copy,

FIRST EDITION THUS, described as "second edition", in fact reprinting scholarly essays, with additions, in course of publication in Richardson's vast three volume Persian dictionary published in Oxford between 1777 and 1779. The essays put into context the ground breaking research into Middle Eastern language that the dictionary presents. Though perhaps not the most glamorous of copies, this one has an interesting provenance. Though the endpapers are later [possibly supplied by Blackwell's whose book label this copy has], the upper paste down has the bookplate of the Radcliffe Camera - E Bibli Radcl. - happily with a sold by authoity stamp on it. The pitted surface of the spine probably acquired its patina in the library's gas lighting during its long history - which probably began when Richardson either presented or had the library buy it. In any case, having come from the Clarendon Press it did not have far to travel. Portions of the old library were legitimately sold off long ago when it was moved out of the Radcliffe to more suitable housing. £185.00

9. WALDRON, FRANCIS, G.: The Literary Museum : or, A Selection of Scarce Old Tracts. London : Printed for the editor 1792 8vo, 9 separately printed tracts with prefatory material at the front,, most with title pages, comprising 335 pages of text, concluding with the editor's own poem on the Recovery of George III. uncut in original marbled boards, neatly respines with black label, an excellent clean sound copy,

FIRST COLLECTED EDITION, the separate parts originally issued separately between 1789 and 1792. Full contents as follows: 1. The right renoumyde ladies, translated from Boccace.--2. A delicate diet for dainty-mouthed droonkardes, by Gascoyne.--3. Poems of Spenser, not in any edition.--4. Peacham's period of mourning, in six visions.--5. Specimen of a new edition of Ben Jonson.--6. Ceremonies used for healing the King's evil, consecrating cramp rings, etc.--7. On Lydgate's travelling into France.--8. The new Arcadia, by Belcher.--9. Downe's Roscius Anglicus; or, Theatrical history, &c. &c.The emphasis is clearly upon rare tracts of the 17th Century from Waldron's own collection, assembled over many years, and including his 64 page specimen from a projected complete edition of Ben Jonson that was never published. The whole work is dedicated to J P Kemble, from whose collection the copy of Heywood's King Edward the Fourth was here republished, and apparently performed. £175.00