Description

The Antient Chronicles of Sir John Froissart. Translated from the original French at the command of King Henry VIII by John Bourchier, Lord Berners. London: J. Davis, Military Chronicle Office, 1814–1816. Four volumes, complete.

Finely bound in full vellum with elaborate gilt-tooled spines, contrasting red and green morocco labels, and marbled page edges and endpapers.

Each volume bears the Carrington family armorial bookplate and an ownership inscription reading “G. Carrington, Grasse, Dec 1866.” The Carringtons were a distinguished British aristocratic family, later ennobled as the Marquesses of Lincolnshire. The inscription was likely made during a stay in Grasse, France — a popular destination for the English nobility in the mid-nineteenth century.

Condition report

Bound in full vellum with gilt spines and morocco labels, this handsome four-volume set shows some light scuffing, faint staining, and minor surface soiling to the boards. There are small marks to the front board of Volume IV and light wear to the spine bands, though the gilt decoration and lettering remain clear and attractive throughout. Internally, the bindings are firm and the text blocks tight, with marbled page edges and endpapers present in all volumes. Each bears an ownership inscription dated 1866 from G. Carrington, along with the Carrington family armorial bookplate. The pages display intermittent light foxing and spotting, most noticeable at the beginnings and ends of the volumes, with occasional heavier patches (notably in Volume I around page 240). A small tear is visible to the upper corner of the title page in Volume I, but otherwise the pages are generally clean. Overall, a good to very good set—sound, tightly bound, and enhanced by its fine vellum bindings and distinguished Carrington provenance.