DIVI BRITANNICI: being A Remark Upon the Lives of all the Kings Of this Isle, From the Year of the World 2855. Unto the Year of Grace 1660 by Sir Winston Churchill - 1675

St Paul's Churchyard, London : Thos Roycroft [printer], Francis Eglesfield [seller], 1675 A fair copy of Sir Winston Churchill's famous, and rare, work on the history of the Kings of England - starting from the pre-Roman period. Churchill (1620-1688) was a devoted Royalist and was wounded serving as Captain of Horse in the Civil War. He became a Member of Parliament and was knighted by Charles II in 1664, becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society in the same year. According to one source his position in the royal household meant that Divi Britannicae could be published without censorship - but it had to be amended before publication because a section over- justifying taxation would have enraged Parliament.This copy is in full leather having been repaired at least twice - the first time to place a Russia binding over the original leather; and the second to conserve the book by rebacking and replacing the spine. Remnants of the first binding survive. The Russia binding has elaborate blind tooling and both boards survive with minimal damage. The new spine matches the boards and has blind tooling, raised bands and a gilt title label. There is a book label of Chas Ino Shoppee on the front pastedown. The title page in red and black inks with an allegorical design has been tissue repaired and has a small hole. There is a 4 page dedication to Charles II and 362 pages of text with numerous copper plate text illustrations, plus a 2 page index. There is some staining affecting the margins and some text, mainly at the very top of the pages and also the bottom third. All the text and illustrations are legible and clear. Some early pages and the index page (which has been tissue repaired) have nibbled edges.