MISCELLANEOUS WORKS OF EDWARD GIBBON, ESQUIRE With Memoirs of His Life and Writings, Composed by Himself: Illustrated From His Letters, with Occasional Notes and Narrative, by John Lord Sheffield

London: Printed for A. Strahan and T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1796 and 1815. 3 volumes. First Editions of the first two volumes issued in 1796 and first edition of the third volume, issued in 1815. Illustrated with frontispiece engravings in volumes one and three and with epitaph leaf and folding genealogical table in volume three. 4to, handsomely bound in full contemporary calf by White of Doncaster, the covers with gilt fillet lines at the borders around a more elaborate blind rolled frame, the spines with wide raised bands ruled in gilt creating compartments crosshatched in blind, contrasting red and black labels gilt lettered and numbered, additional gilt ruling at spine tips, gilt hatched board edges at corners, rolled blind tool repeated on the turn-ins, page edges marbled, silk ribbon markers bound in. xxv, errata, 703; viii, 726, errata, ad leaf; x, 691 pp. A very beautiful and proper set, the bindings extremely attractive with only some minor and expected evidence of age, the text in excellent order, all very desirable. RARE FIRST EDITION OF ALL THREE VOLUMES. The work here includes notes, letters, diaries, essays, unpublished works. The printing includes pieces in both English and French and occasional writing in Latin is interspersed. The work was gathered by Lord Sheffield and Gibbon's memoirs were assembled by Lord Sheffield from drafts of an autobiography which Gibbon left unfinished at his death. It was on the Sheffield family estate that Gibbon was buried after his passing.
Gibbon’s DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE is considered still to be THE GREATEST HISTORICAL WORK EVER UNDERTAKEN. This set of his miscellaneous works includes letters, notes, and diaries from his early studies, there are also essays from his youth and a number of previously unpublished works. His memoirs were assembled by Lord Sheffield from drafts of an autobiography which Gibbon left unfinished at his death.