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4to. 2 vol. [3], iv-xx, [1] 2-559, [11]; [17], 2-423, [15], [1] (pages of publisher's advertisements), [1] pp. Contemporary calf with gilt tooling to the boards' edges, the spines in six compartments with a red and green morocco label lettered in gilt on each spine; all edges decoratively stained red. Illustrated with two folding plates in volume one. Volume one with the armorial bookplate of the Hon. Charles Yorke. The History of Parliament, "Yorke, Hon. Charles (1722-70), of Tittenhanger, Herts." Yorke served as a solicitor general, a chancellor, and as a Clerk to the Crown during his fraught career. He was a public servant during the reign of George the III and was known for his crippling anxiety and difficulty in making decisions. His family's wealth helped him begin his career as a politician. Brueggemann 242-243. Moss 530. Oxford Classical Dictionary, "Polybius", 1209-1210. The first edition of Hampton's translation into English of Polybius, preserving the sense of the original Greek. Referred to as one of the best and most elegant translations of Polybius' history. The first few books of Polybius' history survive, the rest only exist in fragments. Polybius was present at Carthage during the Punic Wars, and witnessed the destruction of Corinth when the Romans conquered Greece. He was instrumental in persuading the Romans to be lenient on the Greek people, and was dear friends with Scipio Africanus, the legendary Roman general. His writings remain a valuable source of history for the early Roman Republic. The crowns of each spine show a small chip and the foot of volume two's spine is missing; leaves are largely clean with just a few small, contemporary notations in ink on the front preliminaries. Seller Inventory # 000010515
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