Wild Sports of the West. With Legendary Tales, and Local Sketches [2 volumes]

Richard Bentley, 1832. First Edition. Hardcover. Good. 2 volumes. A good set of the first edition, complete with the five aquatint plates, as well as the vignettes. The bindings for this set can, at best, be described as functional, and consist of a particularly noxious shade of green imitation leather over marbled boards, with 19th-century labels appearing on the spines somewhat like aged and infirm barnacles (there is some slight foxing and occasional smudges to text). To add to the wonder a letter of apology from the binder has been mounted at front of volume I, noting that it had been 50 years since he had attempted any binding work and lacked the appropriate tools (the prior owner's ink note lends further charm to this missive). PROVENANCE: Engraved armorial bookplates of Henry Cornwall Legh in each volume (that in Volume I thoughtfully mounted upside down on the rear pastedown); later bookplate and ink signature in each volume. Setting the snarkiness aside, the bindings are functional (and better than we could do!).