Memoirs of the Court of King James the First; [Volume 2 Only]

London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1822. Second Edition. Hardcover octavo (21.5 x 13.8cm); pp. x, 413. [3, blank] + frontis; sympathetically rebacked, chestnut leather spine with gilt embellishments and raised bands, contrasting green and gold headband silk; original tan leather boards with blind and gilt detailing to borders and edges; marbled edges of textblock; brown endpapers. One of two volumes, this is the second volume only.

Edges are gently rubbed and a touch brittle, a little flaking at the bottom of the inside cover of the front board, a 25mm hairline split at the top of the rear; boards faintly scuffed and scratched;top board is slightly sprung; corners rounded; marbled edges of text block are a little dull with occasional small stains, top edge is dust toned with two small sections of insect damage (10 x 5mm and 8 x 5mm ); previous owner's handwriting at the top of the first blank page; offsetting from frontispiece; foxing to frontis and its recto; last two blank pages and verso of lfep are a touch toned with small spots; some occasional patches of foxing and small stains to outer margins throughout but mostly pages are clean and bright; very slight rippling throughout. This second volume of Aikin's two part biography covers the years of 1615 to 1625 of King James I's reign and has a portrait frontispiece of The Prince of Wales "Engraved by Fry after a rare print by Crispin Pass". Aikin (1781-1864) was an English historian noted for her biographies of English monarchs. This volume was printed by R. and A. Taylor, Printers, Shoe Lane, London. Shoe Lane is a passage off Fleet Street in London which became a prominent location for printers and publishers as early as the 16th century. 'R,' or, Roger Taylor was an English naturalist, publisher and printer who operated a printing business with his brother, Arthur, on Shoe Lane between 1814 and 1823 (The British Museum online, accessed 22/08/20).