The Life of Sir Walter Scott
London and Boston: J.B. Millet Company, 1908. Canongate EditionLimited To 150 Copies This Being #70. Publishers Fine Leather Binding.
JOHN GIBSON LOCKHART
THE LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT
London & Boston: J. B. Millet Company, 1908
Complete in Ten Volumes
Limited Edition — No. 70 of Only 150 Sets
Three-Quarter Red Morocco Leather
Rich Gilt Scottish Thistle Tooling
Illustrated Throughout
Numerous Leaves Still Unopened
A magnificent complete ten-volume limited edition of John Gibson Lockhart’s Life of Sir Walter Scott, one of the great literary biographies of the nineteenth century, issued by the J. B. Millet Company in an edition of only 150 numbered sets.
This is:
SET NO. 70 OF 150
Uniformly bound in handsome three-quarter red morocco leather over marbled boards, with raised bands and exceptionally attractive gilt spine decoration built around repeated Scottish thistle tools.
The brilliant red leather, dense gilt ornament, marbled boards, top edges gilt, illustrated title pages, portraits, and extensive plate work give the set exceptional shelf presence.
Of particular interest, many gatherings remain unopened at the fore edge, indicating that substantial portions of the ten-volume biography have never been read.
LIMITED TO ONLY 150 SETS
The J. B. Millet issue of Lockhart’s biography was produced in a strictly limited edition of 150 numbered copies.
This example is numbered:
70
Comparable surviving sets confirm the ten-volume format, limitation of 150 copies, red three-quarter leather binding, marbled boards and endpapers, top edges gilt, black-and-red title pages, and extensive illustration. A closely comparable ABAA/ILAB-listed set is dated 1908, while another currently offered set, no. 75 of 150, is likewise catalogued as 1908.
The edition formed part of the elaborate private-library productions for which the J. B. Millet Company became known around the turn of the twentieth century.
THE RED MOROCCO BINDINGS
The bindings are the visual centerpiece of the set.
Each volume is uniformly bound in three-quarter red morocco leather over richly patterned marbled-paper boards.
The spines are divided by raised bands into gilt compartments, with lettering panels for:
LIFE OF
SIR WALTER SCOTT
and individual volume numbers.
The remaining compartments are decorated with repeated gilt Scottish thistle devices, framed by gilt rules and additional floral and foliate ornament.
The effect is particularly appropriate to Scott: the thistle, long associated with Scotland, becomes a repeating heraldic motif across the entire ten-volume shelf.
Binding features include:
- Three-quarter red morocco leather
- Marbled-paper boards
- Raised spine bands
- Gilt spine lettering
- Richly gilt spine compartments
- Repeated Scottish thistle tools
- Additional gilt floral and foliate ornament
- Matching marbled endpapers
- Top edges gilt
- Fore and lower edges untrimmed
LOCKHART’S LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT
John Gibson Lockhart was uniquely positioned to write Scott’s biography.
He was:
Scott’s son-in-law
His close family associate
His literary executor
A member of his intimate circle
That relationship gave Lockhart extraordinary access to Scott’s private papers, correspondence, journals, family recollections, literary manuscripts, publishing history, and financial affairs.
Originally published in seven volumes in 1837–1838, The Life of Sir Walter Scott quickly became one of the central works of English literary biography.
It is much more than a straightforward record of Scott’s life. It is also an expansive account of the literary, publishing, political, social, and intellectual culture of Britain during the Romantic period.
Lockhart follows Scott from childhood and youthful antiquarian interests through his astonishing literary rise, the creation of Abbotsford, his friendships and travels, his publishing ventures, financial catastrophe, and his extraordinary determination to repay his creditors through continued literary work.
SIR WALTER SCOTT
Sir Walter Scott was one of the most internationally influential writers of the nineteenth century and a foundational figure in the development of the historical novel.
His works include:
- Waverley
- Rob Roy
- Ivanhoe
- The Antiquary
- Old Mortality
- The Heart of Mid-Lothian
- The Bride of Lammermoor
- Marmion
- The Lay of the Last Minstrel
- The Lady of the Lake
His novels helped shape the modern literary image of Scotland while influencing generations of writers throughout Europe and America.
Lockhart’s biography remains indispensable because it preserves the life behind that immense body of work.
ILLUSTRATED THROUGHOUT
The set is extensively illustrated.
Features include:
- Portrait frontispieces
- Some colored or tinted illustrations
- Views of Abbotsford and associated locations
- Portraits of Scott’s family, friends, and contemporaries
- Architectural and historical views
- Facsimiles
- Full-page plates with tissue guards
- Decorative title pages printed in red and black
A comparable set catalogued by Glenn Books, ABAA/ILAB, is likewise described as containing frontispieces and full-page illustrations throughout, some in color, together with tissue guards and black-and-red title pages.
The set is complete in all ten volumes and presents extremely well on the shelf.
The red morocco remains bright and attractive, with only a faint amount of rubbing to leather extremities. Small amount of loss to a couple spine heads.
The gilt lettering and thistle decoration remain strong, bright, and visually impressive.
The bindings and hinges are structurally sound.The marbled endpapers remain attractive. Internally bright and clean, without marks or foxing. The illustrations, portraits, and decorative title pages remain well preserved. Numerous gatherings remain unopened.
A highly decorative and unusually well-preserved complete set of one of the foundational biographies of English literature in a stunning binding and in excellent condition.
. Near Fine. Item #1134Price: $1,800.00