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Probably fewer than 100 copies printed. Roxburghe maroon morocco spine and boards, gilt spine-title, top edge gilt, others untrimmed, folio, 36 cm, title-page printed in red and black, [6],12, [v]-xii, 543 pp, several black-and-white plates. Scarce - no copy traced at auction in the last 20 years. Holme published volume I of this extraordinary work in 1688 but the rest remained unpublished until the issue of the present volume in this small edition for Roxburghe Club members, which is edited from British Museum MS. Harl. 2033-2035 and contains Book III. Ch. 14 - Book IV. Ch. 4-13 (the first three chapters of Book IV being lost). While Holme's work is ostensibly focussed on armory -the study of the design and transmission of armorial bearings - the plethora of material he introduces in connection with his examples has led to the book being described as the best 17th century encyclopaedia that we have. The following is from the editor's introduction: "As to the subject-matter of this Volume there is a great deal which it is difficult to connect with the Science of Armoury. Such are, the long detailed description of the tackle, machinery and ordering of ships, the setting of the sails, nautical terms used by the sailors and the like, which extend over twenty pages, and the still longer disquisition on military matters, fortifications, evolutions, drill, words of command, including even a discourse, padded with scriptural quotations from Genesis to Hebrews on 'Valour what it is and in what it consists.' Holme is more interesting and keeps more to his subject when he treats of bearings derived from the accessories of the gaming table, the chessboard, the tennis court or the bowling green, although perhaps even here we must not place too much reliance on his blazoning; for instance, 'Arg. 3 Rakets Sa., borne by Rakett,' 'Arg. a battle Dore Gu., borne by Battler,' 'Az. a shuttlecock Or, feathered Ar., borne by Shutler,' etc., strike one as being somewhat fanciful. His plan seems to have been, when illustrating special subjects, to give the blazon of such families as he could verify from his own MS. collections, or from such well-known authorities on Heraldry as Gwillim, Gerard Legh, and others ; but not content with those, he would evolve from his own creative faculty other names to suit his subject. For example, when discussing the fittings and furniture of the kitchen, he gives, among others, the family of Standish of Standish, of County Lancaster, 'B. 3 dishes A.' which are the arms borne by that family today, but when he goes on to state that 'Or, a Grid-Iron reversed, Sa.' are the arms of the family of Gridiron, that 'Vert 3 ladles Or,' are borne by the family of Goldladle, etc., his methods are so obvious that it is quite easy, without looking them up in the text, to guess what bearings he assigns to the distinguished families of Dishlick, Drypine, Frypan, Fullingdish, Sugarbrush, Organpipe, or even Potts. Moreover, he does not confine himself to English names, but by a very simple process, introduces high-sounding, if apocryphal, foreign families, such as Van Chafferheim, to whom are given the same arms as the English Chaffer, Van Cull and erberge the same as Cullander, Brusheim as Brush, Don Sisterno of Hispania as Cistern, and Don Purgator those of the homely English family of Scum.But in spite of some absurdities, in spite of Holme's occasional discursiveness and his inclusion of much matter that might better have been omitted, a careful perusal of the work would amply repay the Student on the search for out-of-the-way information on manners and customs, allusions to old Chester, Cheshire dialect words now out of use and forgotten, and kindred antiquarian Matters.". The preliminary material Includes a list of the 40 then-current Roxburghe club members, a 4-page complete list of Roxburghe club members since 1812 and a 12-page "Catalogue of the books presented to and printed by the Club. London MCMV" listing 142 items. The Ea. Seller Inventory # ABE-45312
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