First edition. 8vo. Eighteen volumes bound in twenty-five, plus an introduction volume, all bound in half tan calf with red and green morocco title labels and blue marbled boards, raised bands and gilt lettering with decoration on the spines, all edges speckled. Two fold out maps of England and Wales in the introduction volume and 727 steel engraved plates (including engraved title pages) throughout. Very good condition indeed, with some foxing and general rubbing to the corners and slight general wear to the joins with some splits at the spine ends. Vol X pt. 1, there is a small tear to p. 263 and 435. In Vol IV, p.142 the plate has a small chip. A handsome set, seldom found complete.

A complete set of one of the most comprehensive topographical surveys of England and Wales. In 1800, the publishers, Vernor and Hood requested six volumes from John Britton which would include delineation and topography of England and Wales. Britton and Brayley, who had been friends since their youth, co-wrote the volumes and together they walked thousands of miles to devise the initial structure for the series.
Brayley wrote the main proportion of text, whilst Britton oversaw the practical elements such as organising travel, composing the text into sections, and collating illustrations to accompany the works. Such was the level of detail, by the time the sixth volume was printed in 1805, the series had only managed to reach Herefordshire and the work swelled to eighteen volumes, many needing to be split into multiple sections, at a cost of a remarkable £50,000. For later volumes, local experts were then commissioned to write the histories of certain counties, including Joseph Nightingale, J. N. Brewer, and the Reverend J. Evans.
'In the crowded field of English topography there had been nothing so comprehensive since Camden's Magna Britannia' (ODNB)

Stock ID: 45872