The History of Britain, That Part Especially Now Called England. From the First Traditional Beginning, Continued to the Norman Conquest.
London: Printed by J.M. for Spencer Hickman, 1671. First edition, second issue. 4to, 19.5x15cm, [3], 308, [55]pp. Frontis portrait by William Faithorne, index and errata leaf at rear. Armorial bookplate of Lord Chief Baron [Sidney Stafford] Smythe printed from the plate on the verso of title page. 18th century diced calf, ruled in blind, sympathetically rebacked with red morocco spine label and gilt lettering. Bookplate to front pastedown, frontis backed in thicker paper with lower corner in facsimile, edge of title page chipped, inner margin stained. Few scattered stains and some toning to page block, mainly upper margin. Very good.
Attractively bound copy, with interesting provenance, of the second issue of Milton's History of Britain, in which he relied heavily upon earlier chronicles and myth, blending legend with fact. This copy owned, and likely bound for Sir Sidney Stafford Smythe (1705–1778), an influential English judge who served as a baron of the Exchequer and helped shape mid-18th-century common-law practice. Item #9406
Price: $1,500.00