History of the Wars of the French Revolution

From the Breaking Out of the War in 1792, to the Restoration of a General Peace in 1815; Comprehending the Civil History of Great Britain and France, During That Period.

Author: Edward Baines

Publication Details: London: Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown; and James Harper; by Edward Baines, Leeds, 1817. First edition. Complete in two quarto volumes. (10.5"x9").

Handsome period-style bindings featuring modern, expertly rebacked smooth brown calf spines over contemporary marbled/mottled calf boards.

​Spine Details: Spines feature five raised bands accented with gilt tooling, contrasting burgundy morocco lettering pieces stamped in gilt ("History of Wars 1792–1815"), direct gilt volume numbering (1 & 2), and year dates (1817) at the foot.

​Illustration Suite: Heavily illustrated throughout with detailed copper-engraved plates, including:

​Frontispiece portrait of King George III.

​Large folding engraved regional and theater maps (with hand-colored territorial outlining).

​Double-page numismatic plate depicting European coinage ("Coins of the Sovereigns from 1789").

​Dramatic full-page military engravings, including the Battle of Waterloo and the Surrender of Napoleon to Capt. Maitland on Board the Bellerophon. And many more. 
Structurally sound, tight, and square; hinges are firm and secure from professional restoration. Boards show authentic light shelf wear, edge rubbing, and age patina consistent with early 19th-century leather.  Clean and legible text blocks printed in double columns. Normal, light age toning and scattered minor foxing typical for paper of this era. Folding maps and plates remain intact with sharp impressions.

Published just two years after the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, Edward Baines’s work is one of the definitive early British accounts of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. As editor and proprietor of the Leeds Mercury, Baines brought rigorous journalistic detail and comprehensive archival documentation to the project.

​The set provides an exhaustive military, diplomatic, and civil history spanning from the initial hostilities in 1792 through the rise of Bonaparte, the Peninsular campaigns, the Russian invasion, the Hundred Days, and the final restoration of European peace in 1815.