Beschreibung:

A collection of nine volumes from The Book-Case of Knowledge, 1st editions, 1800, together nine (of 10) miniature volumes (lacking Birds and Beasts), comprising: A Familiar Introduction to Botany (five hand-coloured engraved plates); Rewards for Attentive Studies (engraved frontispiece); Mythology (engraved frontispiece); A Compendium of Simple Arithmetic (engraved frontispiece); Scripture History (engraved frontispiece); Short and easy Rules for Attaining a Knowledge of English Grammar (engraved frontispiece); British Heroism (engraved frontispiece); The History of England (engraved frontispiece and hand-coloured engraved roundel portraits of monarchs); Geography and Astronomy (two engraved plates, including hand-coloured double hemisphere map frontispiece), occasional light spotting but generally clean internally, each with contemporary inscription at front 'Wm. Hopkins the Gift of Mrs. Hartley', two free endpapers lacking, original coloured paper boards with printed paper label on upper covers, lightly rubbed and marked in places, each approximately 9.5 x 6cm (3.75 x 2.25ins), together with two original pencil drawings for the frontispieces to Mythology and History of England (executed in reverse), toned, latter with faint pencilled title to lower margin below image, each image size 5.5 x 7.5cm (1.75 x 3ins), each laid down on blue paper Provenance: From the library of Percy H. Muir. Alderson, Miniature Libraries for the Young, 4; Gumuchian 801 (dated 1801). The Book-Case of Knowledge, comprising ten miniature volumes in a wooden bookcase box, rarely appears on the market, and even incomplete sets, especially those in original bindings, are desirable. The survival of finely executed original drawings for two of the frontispieces is remarkable. (11)