A New and Compleat History and Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster, the Borough of Southwark, and Parts adjacent; from the earliest accounts, to the year 1770.
by
Henry Chamberlain

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DETAILS: (London): Printed for J. Cooke, n.d. (1770). First edition thus. Contemporary leather binding. [8], 5-682, [10]pp. Illustrated with 67 copper engraved plates, including frontispiece, and 2 folding maps. Folio (large coffee table sized book - 9.5in x 14in). *This is a heavy item weighing over 2kg with packaging! Would non-UK customers please e-mail us for a shipping quote prior to bidding. The UK shipping rate is quoted below.

CONDITION: Very Good to Near Fine (see table below for details). Some rubbing and dirt to boards and spine, chipping to top and bottom of spine. Hinges cracked, boards slightly loose. Bookplate and signature to front endpaper. Minor worming to top edge of first couple of pages. Small stain to top corner of a few pages and plates in centre pages, engravings and text unaffected. A little sunning to pages and plates. Occasional spots of foxing to text. Plates in very nice condition, including both folding maps. A nice copy. *Photo(s) given of actual book.

CONTENTS: "Containing I. An account of the original foundation, and modern state of those places. II. Their laws, charters, customs, privileges, immunities, government, trade and navigation. III. A description of the several wards, parishes, liberties, precincts, churches, palaces, noblemen's houses, hospitals, and other public buildings. IV. An account of the curiosities of the Tower London, of the Royal Exchange, St. Paul's Cathedral, the British Museum, Westminster-Abbey, &c. V. A general history of the memorable actions of the citizens, and the revolutions that have happened, from the invasion of Julius Caesar to the present time." An impressive copy of this substantial history of the city of London and Westminster, a detailed series of chapters on the region accompanied by a number of attractive copper-plate engravings. The first section (435pp) contains a chronological survey of the origins and establishment of the city and its major buildings and landmarks (London Bridge, the Tower of London, the Mint), as well as the notable figures involved in the city's history, some of the older laws and charters, and contemporary records and extracts from earlier works. This is followed by a contemporary survey of the city, looking at its courts, population, parishes and public buildings. This sections is divided by wards, and includes chapters on Aldersgate Ward, Aldgate, Billingsgate, Broad-Street, Candlewick, Cornhill, Dowgate, Langbourn, Vintry, Wallbrook, and so on, each one with short sections on each of their significant buildings, together with brief histories. There is also a list of all the Mayors, a section on Westminster, and concise accounts of 'the principal towns and villages within that circumference of the city of London called the Bill of Mortality' which includes Battersea, Chelsea, Cheswick, Hackney, Isleworth, Kensington and Richmond, to name a few. There is also a chapter of notable towns, villages and landmarks a little further afield (upto 20 miles from the city) including St Albans, Barnet, Croydon, Gravesend, Hertford, Tilbury, Windsor (which receives 12 pages, mostly on the Castle), Woking. and Oxford (another substantial entry). The work concludes with a general index of people and places. The volume has scattered copper-plate engravings throughout, 67 in total, the majority of which are illustrations of the significant buildings throughout the city, plus a few historical plates (burning the martyrs in Smithfield, the Great Fire, a jousting tournament, etc.). They are divided between single-page engravings, and others with 2-6 engravings per plate, plus 3 impressive maps - a single-page plan of Christopher Wren's plan to rebuild London after the Great Fire, a folding map of London, Westminster and Southwark in 1770, plus a regional map of the city and the surrounding 20 miles in each direction. The maps are all in very nice condition, as are the plates. A few have a small stain to the top corner, but at the border only, the engravings still in attractive state. This is a really stunning copy of this work, of great interest to collectors not only for its condition, but for its rarity.