"THE SPLENDOR AND MAGNIFICENCE OF ELIZABETH'S REIGN": FIRST EDITION OF NICHOLS' PROGRESSES OF QUEEN ELIZABETH, WITH 53 ENGRAVINGS, A LARGE FOLDING MAP OF 1558 LONDON, AND A LARGE FOLDING MAP OF OXFORD—COMPLETE WITH THE SCARCE THIRD VOLUME

(ELIZABETH I) NICHOLS, John. The Progresses, and Public Processions, of Queen Elizabeth. London: Printed by and for the Editor, 1788, 1788, 1805. Three volumes. Quarto, 19th-century full brown calf sympathetically rebacked, raised bands, original marbled endpapers and edges. $9500.

First edition of Nichols' splendid history of the reign of Elizabeth I, a magnificent three-volume chronicle of England's greatest queen, featuring 53 full-page engraved illustrations (three folding), three folding genealogical charts, numerous in-text engravings and facsimile signatures, a large folding map of London circa 1558, and a large folding map of Oxford. Complete with the scarce third volume, many copies of which were destroyed by fire.

Elizabeth I was "the last of the Tudors and the greatest of queens… The daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn came into her inheritance on 17 November 1558, a day to be marked by celebrations even after the close of her long reign some 44 years later" (Fraser, Lives 198-211). As Queen, she survived fierce religious turmoil, dangerous court intrigue and victory over the Spanish Armada. Elizabeth I cultivated a glittering culture highlighted by the plays of Shakespeare, Marlowe and Jonson, and the brilliant architecture of Inigo Jones, oversaw the rise of the British empire in vast voyages of discovery, agonized over the execution of Mary Queen of Scots and that of her beloved Earl of Essex, and presided over one of England's most splendid courts. In these three large volumes, richly illustrated with over 50 engraved plates, many in-text illustrations, genealogical plates and impressive folding maps of London and Oxford, "the splendor and magnificence of Elizabeth's reign is nowhere more strongly painted… nor could a more acceptable present be given to the world" (Percy's Reliques III:64). "No library… should be without these volumes, [which] afford a living picture of the manners of England, its pursuits and its amusements" (Allibone, 1425). The third volume, published separately some 17 years after the first two volumes, is often not present: "many copies of Volume III were destroyed by fire in 1808" (Lowndes). Volume I with frontispiece, 15 plates (two folding; one an in-text engraving) and large folding map of London circa 1558. Volume II with 15 plates (one folding), three folding genealogical charts (two engraved), and several in-text engraved illustrations and facsimile signatures. Volume III with 21 engraved plates, and two engraved maps, one very large (30 by 22 inches) and folding. All half titles present; ornamental engraved head- and tailpieces. Lowndes, 1685.

Infrequent faint foxing, board edges expertly restored. An excellent copy of this tribute to Queen Elizabeth.