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FIRST ALDINE EDITION. 8vos, engraved portrait frontis and Pickering catalogue to vol. I, Pickering's dolphin and anchor device to title pages, engraved headpieces. Original blue cloth, paper title labels to spines, lettered in black. Spines darkened, losses to labels, extremities bumped, edgewear, some chipping. Toned, occasional pencil scoring, some spotting, POI, 'E. Cathcart./ Auchendrane,' to ffeps, 'W. F. Watson, Bookseller' labels to front pastedowns. Else, clean. A good+ set with interesting Scottish provenance. William Pickering's The Aldine Edition of the British Poets was a reprint series of classic literature, printed by his close collaborator Charles Whittingham. Pickering (1796-1854) is remembered for "the introduction of cloth binding, leading to the wider availability of books at lower prices [5 shillings per cloth volume, as here]; the publication of reputable editions of both standard and neglected works; and a close attention to book design which had a lasting influence" (ODNB). And, for his friendly manner and fondness for maroon waistcoats, apparently. Elias Cathcart (1817-1877), of Auchendrane, was a Scottish Advocate and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1826 39). He translated Friedrich Carl von Savigny's The History of the Roman Law during the Middle Ages (1829) to the admiration of its author and contemporary critics. W. F. Watson was located at 52 Princes Street, Edinburgh. Seller Inventory # 2127
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