The complete World in Miniature , beautifully illustrated with hundreds of hand-coloured plates 30
SHOBERL, Frederic (ed.) The World in Miniature. London: R. Ackermann, 1821–27 £28,500 43 volumes, duodecimo (135 × 88 mm). Contemporary light brown calf, flat spines gilt in compartments, and gilt-lettered direct, covers ornamentally blocked in blind and decorated in gilt, marbled [ 156543 ] edges, pale brown endpapers, green silk ties. With 646 plates (line- and stipple- engravings, and aquatints), all but 4 hand-coloured, some folding, 2 coloured folding maps. Bookplates removed, minor rubbing, small area with worming on front cover of Illyria vol. 2, leather lifting at front turn-in of Turkey vol. 3, a few spines or joints with neat repairs, offsetting from plates, occasional slight spotting, overall very good. ¶ Abbey Travel, 6.
First edition of the entire 43-volume series, rarely found complete. This set is presented in an attractive contemporary binding. The World in Miniature aimed to “increase the store of knowledge concerning the various branches of the great family of Man, not only for adults, but also keeping in view the instruction and amusement of the juvenile student” (Abbey). Frederic Shoberl (1775–1853) edited numerous works for Rudolph Ackermann, including several periodicals such as the English annual Forget-Me- Not and its juvenile version, as well as the Repository of Arts . “In addition to his work for Ackermann, Shoberl was printer and publisher of the Cornwall Gazette , Falmouth Packet , and Plymouth Journal (1818–19), a Conservative paper issued at Truro” ( ODNB ). Also interested in travel literature, Shoberl published several books on the topic, including Travellers in Switzerland (1803), Travels in Greece , Palestine , Egypt and Barbary (translated from a French original, 1812), and Travels in Caucasus and Georgia (translated from a German original, 1814).
SIXTY FINE ITEMS
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