77
Hollis (1720–1774) “believed citizenship should be active: individuals had an important role to play in public life. He partly fulfilled this responsibility by charitable work as a governor of Guy’s and St Thomas’s hospitals, and a guardian of the asylum and Magdalen Hospital . . . As a republican Hollis provided material for Catharine Macaulay’s History of England . Yet he was also a patriotic Englishman and warm supporter of the house of Hanover. His heroes were Elizabeth I, Oliver Cromwell, and Pitt, all of whom extended England’s international standing, as well as John Milton, his particular hero” (Marshall, p. 247). He later turned his philanthropy to America, “in 1758 Hollis made his first gift of books to Harvard College . . . For the following fifteen years thousands of books would be sent westward by the most generous donor colonial American libraries were to know” (ibid.) 2 volumes, quarto (327 × 253 mm). Near-contemporary tree calf by Kalthoeber (his ticket, slightly oxidized, on the verso of the first front free endpaper), red morocco lettering-pieces and green morocco numbering-pieces with red onlay roundel, spines gilt in compartments, scrolled floral cornerpieces, centre-tool featuring an urn, scrolled foliate rolled panel to the boards, bead and chain edge-roll, marbled endpapers, edges yellow, gilt octoglyph and metope roll to the turn-ins, original gold silk bookmarkers intact. Engraved frontispiece, dedication leaf, and 34 other plates, many of them portraits, including a fine mezzotint of Isaac Newton, “drawn and scraped by James Macardel from an Original painted by Enoch Seeman”, one engraving to the text. With the 20th-century bookplate of Robert J. Hayhurst, Lancashire retail chemist and bibliophile. A little rubbed, particularly at the extremities, corners bumped, minor chipping at spine ends, light browning throughout, occasionally a little heavier and with some sporadic foxing, off-setting from some of the plates, two splits to the mezzotint of Newton, one along the plate mark repaired with Japanese tissue on verso, but overall very good. ¶ P. D. Marshall, “Thomas Hollis: The Bibliophile As Libertarian”, Bulletin of the John Rylands Library , University Library of Manchester, 1984. £2,750 [117415]
76
outside England (probably at Amsterdam), and the third, with a triangular type ornament, is now considered to date from c .1695–1702. Folio (276 × 180 mm). Recent speckled calf to style, red morocco label, covers panelled in blind. Engraved title page, ornament of winged head on letterpress title page, folding printed table. Engraved title, initial 9 leaves and terminal 7 leaves expertly restored at margins; small hole and paper repair to folding table touching two letters, small paper flaw to pages 331/332 affecting a couple of characters, light browning and foxing, minor peripheral staining in places (more pronounced towards rear). Binding in fine condition. A very good copy. ¶ ESTC R17253; Macdonald & Hargreaves 42; Printing and the Mind of Man 138; Wing H2246. £17,500 [136441] 77 HOLLIS, Thomas – BLACKBURNE, Francis. Memoirs of Thomas Hollis, Esq., F.R. and A.S.S.; [together with:] Appendix to the Memoirs. London: [Privately published,] 1780 Handsome, large-paper copy First edition, large paper copy, a handsome example of this biographical memoir of the notable 18th-century “political propagandist” ( ODNB ).
43
Peter Harrington
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter maker