Osmund AiryBiblio.com
Camden, William / And Translated into English, with Additions and Improvements, by Edmund GibsonBiblio.com
Britannia: or a Chorographical Description of Great Britain and Ireland Together with the Adjacent Islands
17229900002372London: James and John Knapton et al. 1722. Hardcover. Maps engravings. Folio. Two large volumes in original full leather bindings. Title pages are printed in red and black with an elegant full-page copper engraving of Camden as the frontispiece of the first volume. There are 50 double-page maps of the English counties Ireland Scotland and 'the Islands'; six of the maps are folding. There are also twelve large full-page engravings and numerous smaller engravings in the text. There is a comprehensive index and the errata page is present. A previous owner has reinforced the hinges with linen-like binding tape. The boards are quite worn and rubbed but a competent bookbinder could restore both bindings. The contents are remarkable clean with only occasional foxing and a few stained pages. The maps by the cartographer Robert Morden and which are usually removed and sold individually are all in excellent condition. Overall a good set. William Camden 1551-1623 was an English antiquary and historian who during the reign of Queen Elizabeth travelled throughout England collecting material for 'Britannia' which was first published in 1586. Initially written in Latin it is a survey of the British islands; its archaeology geography institutions monetary system and inhabitants 'chiefly intended for the instruction of foreigners' or so Gibson states in his Preface to this edition. It was first translated into English in 1610 probably under Camden's direction see Ency. Brit. 11th vol. V p. 101. Gibson's revision was first published in 1695. Our set is the undated 'Second Edition' but by comparing particulars with available bibliographical resources we believe it was published in 1722. Printing and the Mind of Man 101. James and John Knapton et al. hardcover
