Queen Elizabeth. by Creighton, Mandell

London, Paris and Edinburgh: Boussod, Valadon & Co., 1896. Folio, [i], 202, [1, colophon] pp., color facsimile frontispiece heightened in gold, 39 photogravure plates of which 23 are full-page inserted plates, including one double-page spread and one facsimile letter printed on both sides, all with original captioned tissue guards, ornamental initials at the start of each chapter, and title page printed in black and red. Full red morocco with roll-tooled borders in gilt, gilt rules, and ornamental gilt-stamped “E” cornerpieces. Backstrip with five raised bands, gilt-tooled and lettered in compartments, top-edge gilt, gilt dentelles, and red marbled endpapers heightened in gold. Some stress to hinges and minor scuff marks pp. 1-5, another minor scuff mark to p. 85, lacks half-title, edges lightly foxed; very good. § First edition of this sumptuously bound, finely illustrated history of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Covers her youth, the problems early in her reign, her relationship with Mary Stuart, her excommunication, the Alençon marriage, the “crisis” and execution of Mary, the new England, and her final years. With photogravure reproductions of art, dwelling places, and treasures belonging to the Queen, and portraits from throughout her life, as well as portraits of Henry VIII, Princess Mary, Sir Walter Raleigh and his son, and Sir Phillip Sidney. Also included are reproductions of her cradle, her horse, her library, and her silk stockings and summer hat. Rev. Mandell Creighton (1843-1901) was a bishop of London and a respected academic historian most renowned for his History of the Papacy (1882-1894).