Bibliotheca Sussexiana. A Descriptive Catalogue, accompanied by Historical and Biographical Notices, of the Manuscripts and Printed Books contained in the Library of His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex.. by (SUSSEX, Augustus Frederick, Duke of)

By Thomas Joseph Pettigrew. Frontis. port., 19 plates (some in color), & some illus. in the text (several printed in red). Three parts in three vols. Large thick 4to, cont. blue half-calf & cloth boards (some foxing to first and last leaf in each vol.), spines nicely gilt. London: Longman et al., 1827-39. A fine set of this handsomely printed catalogue of this large and famous library, which was pre-eminent in the field of Bibles, MSS., and early printed books. The Duke of Sussex (1773-1843), sixth son of King George III, formed the collection from about 1815 with the assistance of the surgeon and bibliographer Thomas J. Pettigrew. Upon the Duke's death, the library was sold at auction in 1844-45; the biggest buyers being Sir Thomas Phillipps and the British Museum. The library included a Gutenberg Bible, the 1462 Bible, the 1460 Catholicon, and many important early MSS. Handsome set of this important catalogue, printed on fine paper. ❧ De Ricci, p. 118. Fletcher, English Book Collectors, p.12-"Of the sons of George III., the Duke of Sussex alone appears to have inherited his father's love of collecting books, and he formed a magnificent library in his apartments at Kensington Palace. The collection consisted of more than fifty thousand volumes, twelve thousand of which were theological. It included a very considerable number of early Hebrew and other rare manuscripts, and about one thousand editions of the Bible. An elaborate catalogue of a portion of it, entitled Bibliotheca Sussexiana, was compiled by Dr. T.J. Pettigrew, the Duke's librarian.".