Cambridge Library Collection - History of

Reissued in its 1834 first edition, this valuable catalogue records the pre-Victorian output of Britain's private presses.

This three-volume bibliography of printing, published 1880-6, quickly became a classic reference work, and is still of value today.

Reissued here together, the two parts of the 1819 sale catalogue for one of the period's grandest libraries, with annotations about prices and purchasers.

Copiously illustrated, this 1896 publication explores and compares book illustration from the medieval period to the late Victorian era.

Reissued here together, the 1812 sale catalogue and supplement for a significant bibliographical auction, with handwritten price and purchaser annotations.

Published in 1951, this book presents a continuous history of the art and practice of medicine in Persia (Iran), from the earliest times to the twentieth century. Elgood's prefatory chapter defines the scope of the History, and informs the reader of his extensive resources - due to his knowledge of Persian and Arabic, he was able to study original manuscripts of medical historians in the Middle East. He also draws upon his own experiences, having lived and practised in Iran for many years. Packed with medical curiosities and little-known facts, the book describes the impact of Western medicine on Persia from the seventeenth century, and includes discussion of the status and lifestyle of women, and the high status and great influence of Persian doctors. Placing the story of medicine against the background of general Persian history, Elgood demonstrates the important part played by Persia in the world's history of medicine.

Published in English in 1806, later in the century this work had considerable influence upon Prussian and Austrian military thought.

This 1853 work by the British government official Sir George Campbell presents an outline for a future Indian government.

This hugely influential book of 1861 remains a landmark work in the intellectual history of jurisprudence.

A two-volume history of Chile by a Jesuit priest who lived there, published in English translation in 1809.

English historian Henry Thomas Buckle (1821–62) was born into the family of a wealthy London merchant. A child of delicate health, and tutored privately at home, he never attended university. Nevertheless, it was clear that he was meant for intellectual pursuits and by the age of twenty he was a formidable chess player. With his love of books and reading, he set out on an ambitious plan to write a fourteen-volume history of civilisation, and at the same time to put historical research on a more scientific basis. The work would have included a greater number of countries, but due to his early death, only two volumes exist. Volume 1 focuses on England and France, and their intellectual, political, religious and social histories, and Volume 2 on Scotland; it also includes a chapter on Spain.

Soldier and military historian L. W. Shakespear (1860–1933), published this book on the north-eastern frontier of India and its tribes in 1914. He had served in the Assam Military Police Force, and this book, which is illustrated with photographs taken by the author, is 'an attempt to produce something useful and readable at least for those who care about that little known but very interesting corner of India'. The work begins with a review of the archaeology and history of the area, and is particularly concerned with the ethnography of the various border tribes, such as the Kachari, Ahom and Naga. The small beginnings, in 1823, of the tea industry, which still forms an important part of the region's economy, are described, and the work ends with a consideration of the strategic importance of the area, in the context of a widely expected 'awakening' and modernisation of China.

First published in 1793, this remains one of the most valuable sources for understanding conditions in pre-revolutionary rural France.

Moncure Daniel Conway (1832–1907), the son of a Virginian plantation-owner, became a Unitarian minister, but his anti-slavery views made him controversial. He later became a freethinker, and following the outbreak of the Civil War, which deeply divided his own family, he left the United States for England in 1863. This two-volume biography of Thomas Paine (1737–1809) was published in 1892, and was followed by a four-volume edition of his works, which did much to inspire a reassessment of Paine's importance in the 'age of revolutions'. Conway clearly identified with Paine's radicalism as well as his activities on both sides of the Atlantic. Paine's political pamphlets underlay the American Declaration of Independence, and he was also a member of the French Convention, voting against the execution of Louis XVI. Outlawed in England and imprisoned in France, his religious views became unpopular in America, and he died in poverty.

First published in 1792, the continuation of Paine's Rights of Man develops concrete measures for political reform.

Since early times, agriculture has been pivotal to England's economy. This seven-volume, eight-piece set compiled by the economist James E. Thorold Rogers (1823 90), represents the most complete recor

Published in six volumes between 1839 and 1848, this was the first collected edition of the surviving corpus of Anglo-Saxon charters, comprising royal diplomas in Latin, and a variety of documents (wills, writs, etc.) in the vernacular (Old English). John Mitchell Kemble (1807–57) collected his material from many different places (the British Museum, the Tower of London, cathedral archives, college libraries, and various private collections), and arranged it as best he could in chronological order. He believed passionately that he was laying foundations for a new history of the English people, and built on this research in The Saxons in England (1849), also reissued in this series. Volume 1 of the Codex (1839) contains texts from the seventh, eighth and early ninth centuries. It includes Kemble's pioneering account of the principles for assessing the authenticity of Anglo-Saxon charters, and a new preface by Simon Keynes introducing this landmark work.

John Brand (1744–1806), secretary of the Society of Antiquaries, first published his widely popular Observations on Popular Antiquities in 1777. This fascinating two-volume almanac of British superstitions and customs was in fact a heavily revised and annotated version of Henry Bourne's Antiquitates vulgares (1725). Beginning with New Year's Eve, Volume 1 describes the origins and practices of British calendar festivals including religious holidays, saints' days, seasonal celebrations such as May Day and the Summer Solstice, and obscurer festivities such as the Feast of Sheep Shearing. Following the success of the book's initial reception, Brand continued to research English folklore with the intention of publishing fuller information. This two-volume version, published posthumously in 1813, was edited and expanded by Sir Henry Ellis, Keeper of Manuscripts at the British Museum, and further revisions also appeared in 1841 and 1870. Brand's book is regarded as the foundation for folklor

Arthur S. Thomson (1816–60) was a Scottish military surgeon and medical scientist who was posted to New Zealand in the late 1840s. During his eleven years in the country, settlement increased and British sovereignty over the colony was extended. Thomson felt that previous historical accounts of New Zealand all demonstrated a certain political, colonial or religious bias, and decided to write his own comprehensive history of the islands, which was published in 1859. Volume 1 begins with a focus on the geography and climate of New Zealand. Thomson then describes the physical appearance of the New Zealanders, their way of life, their culture, their property laws and the origin of their (now abandoned) cannibalism. Next he describes the history of discovery and settlement by Europeans, who brought 'true civilisation' to the islands. Thomson gives especial credit to the Christian missionaries for having introduced progress and enlightenment.

Published in six volumes between 1839 and 1848, this was the first collected edition of the surviving corpus of Anglo-Saxon charters, comprising royal diplomas in Latin, as well as a variety of documents (wills, writs, etc.) in the vernacular (Old English). John Mitchell Kemble (1807–57) collected his material from many different places (the British Museum, the official records then in the Tower of London, cathedral archives, college libraries, and various private collections), and arranged it as best he could in chronological order. He believed passionately that he was laying foundations for a new history of the English people, and his work formed the basis for his study The Saxons in England (1849), also reissued in this series. Volume 3 of the Codex (1845) contains texts from the mid-tenth to the early eleventh century, and includes Kemble's pioneering discussion of vernacular boundary-clauses.

Published in six volumes between 1839 and 1848, this was the first collected edition of the surviving corpus of Anglo-Saxon charters, comprising royal diplomas in Latin, as well as a variety of documents (wills, writs, etc.) in the vernacular (Old English). John Mitchell Kemble (1807–57) collected his material from many different places (the British Museum, the official records then in the Tower of London, cathedral archives, college libraries, and various private collections), and arranged it as best he could in chronological order. He believed passionately that he was laying foundations for a new history of the English people, and his work formed the basis for his study The Saxons in England (1849), also reissued in this series. Volume 4 of the Codex (1846) contains texts from the early eleventh century to the Norman Conquest, including some derived from the then newly discovered Codex Wintoniensis.

Published in six volumes between 1839 and 1848, this was the first collected edition of the surviving corpus of Anglo-Saxon charters, comprising royal diplomas in Latin, as well as a variety of documents (wills, writs, etc.) in the vernacular (Old English). John Mitchell Kemble (1807–57) collected his material from many different places (the British Museum, the official records then in the Tower of London, cathedral archives, college libraries, and various private collections), and arranged it as best he could in chronological order. He believed passionately that he was laying foundations for a new history of the English people, and his work formed the basis for his study The Saxons in England (1849), also reissued in this series. Volume 5 of the Codex (1847) complements Volumes 1 and 2 with additional texts from the early seventh to the mid-tenth century, including many from the Codex Wintoniensis.

Published in six volumes between 1839 and 1848, this was the first collected edition of the surviving corpus of Anglo-Saxon charters, comprising royal diplomas in Latin and a variety of documents (wills, writs, etc.) in the vernacular (Old English). John Mitchell Kemble (1807–57) collected his material from many different places (the British Museum, the official records then in the Tower of London, cathedral archives, college libraries, and various private collections), and arranged it as best he could in chronological order. He believed passionately that he was laying foundations for a new history of the English people, and his work formed the basis for his study The Saxons in England (1849). Volume 6 of the Codex (1848) complements Volumes 3 and 4 with additional texts from the mid-tenth century to the Norman Conquest. It also contains a listing of the manuscripts used by Kemble, and a substantial index of places.

James Anthony Froude (1818–94), historian and disciple of Carlyle, published this twelve-volume history of the English Reformation between 1858 and 1870. The work is shaped by Froude's firm belief that the Reformation enabled the development of modernity and the rise of 'progressive intelligence' in England. His polemical stance was criticised by some historians, but his engaging narrative style and elegant prose made his work extremely popular with the general public, and the books were highly influential. The first six volumes consider the course of the Reformation from the break with Rome until the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558, and the remaining six recount the reign of Elizabeth I, ending with the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Volume 1 recounts the last years of Wolsey's influence, the changing relationship between Church and State, and the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

First published between 1844 and 1846, this seven-volume collection of the letters of Lord Nelson (1758–1805) was assembled and edited by antiquarian, historian and former naval lieutenant Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas (1799–1848), using letters supplied to him by many of Nelson's correspondents. Nicolas was better known for his many works on genealogy and heraldry, but his own naval background drew him to this work. In Volume 1 he asserts that 'the life of a man is best described by himself' and Nelson is subsequently revealed to be a skilled and engaging correspondent. The books document Nelson's long and celebrated career in the Royal Navy, from his appointment as a lieutenant in 1777 to his death at Trafalgar in 1805. After 150 years Nicolas' edition is still considered to have been unsurpassed as a source for Nelson's life and career.

Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–59) was one of the foremost nineteenth-century historians in the Whig tradition, which saw history as a series of developments towards enlightenment and democracy. He believed that the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688 had preserved England from the constitutional upheavals suffered by much of Europe in 1848. Using a wider range of sources, including popular literature, than was then usual, and written in an accessible, novelistic rather than academic style, this five-volume work proved hugely influential upon contemporary historians and phenomenally successful with the public, although it was not without its critics. Volume 4, published in 1855, covers the period from 1691 to 1697. It deals with war in Europe and continuing trouble in Ireland, where most of the Irish army chose to transfer allegiance to France. It continues with English political affairs, the Bill of Rights and the death of Mary in 1694.