The History of England, From The Earliest Times to the Death of George II (complete in 4 vols.)

London: T. Becket, T. Cadwell, and T. Evans, Stran; G. Robinson, and R. Baldwin, Pater-noster Row, F. Newbery; Ludgate-street, and J. Murray; Fleet-street, 1779. Third edition, corrected. Hardcover. g- to vg. Octavos. Vol.1: (viii) 384pp. (+ 23 pages of index). Vol.2: 420pp. (+ 28 pages of index). Vol.3: 454pp. (+ 22 pages of index). Vol.4: 412pp. (+ 23 pages of index). Period light brown speckled leather boards with gilt ruling along the edges of the cover and on the spines. Gilt lettering over brown labels on the spine. Raised bands. Speckled edges. Green cloth ribbon markers. The work is Goldsmith's comprehensive retelling of the history of England starting from the Celtic pre-Roman period through 1760. Using earlier sources such as "Rapin, Carte, Smollett and Hume", the author's stated aim is to create a work find a balance between the overly literary and the more dry "stiffness of an index". Each volumes has an extensive index of names and terms at the back.

Bindings with some light scratches, smudges, small stains and/or abrasions to the covers. Hinges of some spines lightly worn with some cracking. Some rubbing to extremities and along the spines. Labels on the spines of volumes 1, 2 and 4 detached but present (in a plastic sleeve, laid in at the interior front cover of vol.1). Spines sunned. Interiors with some light age toning and/or damp staining to the edges of the interior covers and endpapers. Minor sporadic foxing and/or smudges to a few pages of some volumes. Starting at the gutters of the interior covers. Vol.3 with the pagination on the last leaf (p.253-254) cut out, leaving a small hole in the upper corner. Signature of John Horwood Hinton, the previous owner, in ink at the front free endapapers. Book blocks tight overall. Bindings in good- to good+, interiors in good+ to very good condition overall.