Pleasures and People of Bath. [Folio Miniatures.**]

UK,slim 12mo HB,no dw/dj as issued,1st edn thus. [Printed in Great Britian by Sackville Press Billericay Limited and bound by J. M. Dent & Sons (Letchworth) Limited.] FINE. No owner inscrptn and no price removal to rear board.Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,paper-covered glossy,colour pictorial illustrated front panel showing the Circus in 1773,from an engraving by J. R. Cozens,with capitalised, black lettered 'FOLIO MINIATURES' and author's name,and a black lettered title,a white spine/backstrip with similarly lettered title as front and capitalised,black lettered author name and publisher's black illustrated colophon to foot of same,rear board with a pale green backgorund to a white oval with black lettered text within.and immaculate,repeated monochrome reproduction of 18thC engraving of the Royal Crescent illustrated endpapers. Negligible shelf-wear,bumping,creasing to edges and corners - no nicks,tears or splits present.Top+fore-edges lightly aged/toned but without foxing/spotting; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - would appear unread,apart from my own collation.UK,slim 12mo HB,no dw/dj as issued,1st edn thus,3-32pp [paginated] includes a b/w map of Bath, 1776,b/w portrait reproductions,a couple of modern b/w photographs,a bibliography and to the rear,as last pages,16pp in 1 block of colour reproductions of contemporary illustrations, watercolours,paintings and aquatints and a colour photograph; plus [unpaginated] a title page.See my book ID's rja1062023 - rja1062423 inclusive for other Folio Miniatures titles/ books. Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional,and even internally, the book is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation for a book of its age.It really is an exceptional, exemplary copy for its cleanliness and brightness. Nowhere in the world are the tide-lines of fashion more plainly displayed than in the golden city of Bath.For 1700 years the fortunes of this unique place have ebbed and flowed,ever since the occupying Romans first discovered a hot spring close to the ford that carried the Fosse Way across the River Avon.A freak of nature gave Bath this birthright: the entrepreneurial vagaries of human nature saw to the rest. Kenneth Hudson charts its changing fortunes here in a sparkling miniature survey: up in the first century AD,when Aquae Sulis was already attracting rich rheumatics from the Continent; down until Restoration ('Strange to see how hot the water is,' said Pepys,in reluctant admiration); up under Beau Nash,who made it smart and successful,and gave it the unified architectural splendour which draws the tourists of today after a century of genteel decline. But,hot water apart,Nature also gave Bath a spectacular site on the lip of the Cotswolds,and an unending supply of beautiful golden stone.Bath in turn has provided civilisation with a patent invalid chair,a patent dry biscuit,and a succinct microcosm of most of the follies and foibles of which man is capable . . . distilled here in an entertaining narrative which never allows the cast of people,humble and grand,who have acted out this social drama to be forgotten, even against such a splendid and unique background. Please contact seller,because of the lighter weight and smaller size of this item,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **