The Bibliographical Decameron; or, Ten Days Pleasant Discourse upon Illuminated Manuscripts, and Subjects Connected with Early Engraving, Typography, and Bibliography. By the Rev. T. F. Dibdin. Vol. I [-III].

London: Printed for the Author, by W. Bulmer and co., Shakespeare Press, 1817. 3 vols., royal 8vo, [vi], viii, ccxxv, 411; [iii], 537; [iii], 547 pp. 38 engraved plates including the plate almost always missing, two double-page; 35 text illustrations printed on India paper and mounted on pages; one mounted gilt lettered specimen of red pared calf; and hundreds of engraved and woodcut text illustrations, one extra plate at p. 249 vol. III. Full polished calf rebacked, backstrips gilt, black labels; the usual occasional browning or foxing, overall a very good set. § First and Only Edition, evidently limited to at least 800 regular and 50 or more large-paper copies. Lowndes says of this work: "From the information which it contains, and the splendor of the decorations and printing, it will ever be considered as a model of excellence and good taste in typography and the arts." Dibdin virtually beggared himself to pay for the production of this extraordinary book, even selling his personal library for its sake. The text consists of a series of dialogues on every aspect of books and book-collecting; and the number and range of the illustrations is breathtaking. Hart calls it “a bibliographer’s classic that marks the beginning of the general recognition of bibliomania as a plaything for wealth.” Unlike almost all copies, this one has Plate 9 in Volume I, which was not ready at the time of publication. It also has an extra plate in vol. III before p. 249 (facing the plate of Lady Jane Grey) "The Mightie Princesse Marie... Fran Delaram sculp." Windle & Pippin A28.