ANCIENT ROMAN HISTORY. FIRST EDITION, 1738. Hooke's Rome. Leather Library Set. THE ROMAN HISTORY FROM THE REBUILDING OF ROME TO THE RUIN OF THE COMMONWEALTH by Hooke, Nathaniel - 1738 - 1771: Complete in 4 volumes

London: James Bettenham, 1738 - 1771. FIRST EDITION / FIRST PRINTING. Dedication page to Alexander Pope. Engraved frontispiece in each volume with 37 further engraved plates across the set (of which 20 are folding). Title-pages of volumes I and II in red and black. Bound in full calf leather bindings. Gilded spines with raised hubs. These measure 10.25 inches tall by 8.25 inches deep. Printed on thick quality paper. Publisher's marginal notes. In excellent condition. The leather is supple. Hinges are all attached, reinforced by the underlying cords, but starting and with some restoration, and evidence of clear tape, a shown. Minimal foxing, printed on quality rag paper, fully intact and fresh. Hand drawn armorial bookplate, and Clandon Library bookplate, owner's name of George Orlson dated 1745 no 387. There is some general rubs/usage wear, with external wear, as shown, and some chipping to the labels. These are the original 18th century calf leather bindings. Published over a period of 33 years, this highly regarded study (ODNB) outlived its author, who saw only the first two volumes through the press in 1738 and 1745. The third volume appeared in 1764, a year after his death, and the fourth seven years later, by this time in the hands of different publishers and printers. As with Gibbons Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire', the long gaps between volumes and the success of the work meant that the earlier volumes were reprinted long before the work was complete; the first volume was in its fifth edition by the time of the fourth volumes publication. It was still being reprinted well into the nineteenth century. This set preserves the first edition of each volume in a contemporary binding; it is possible that each volume was bound individually on release rather than all at once, since there are slight variations in the tooling and leather. A rare set with all four First Editions.