Historic, Military, and Naval Anecdotes

London: Edward Orme, 1819. First Edition, Earliest Issue
"A Handsome Volume" (Prideaux)

ORME, Edward. Historic, Military, and Naval Anecdotes, Of Personal Valour, Bravery, and particular Incidents which occurred to the Armies of Great Britian and her Allies, in the last long-contested War, terminating with the Battle of Waterloo. Under the Patronage of, and Dedicated with Permission to His Royal Highness the Commander in Chief. London: Edited and Published by, and engraved under the direction of Edward Orme, 1819.

First Edition, earliest issue and complete, with the plates watermarked "Whatman 1812" and "Whatman 1816," and the text watermarked "Whatman 1812. A scarce tall copy of the first issue, lacking rules to title-page and with "1819" at title-page foot.

Folio (13 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches; 343 x 267 mm.). [4], 94, [4] pp. Forty hand-colored aquatint plates, chiefly by Dubourg after Atkinson, Manskirsch, J.H. Clark, W. Heath, G. Scharf, Dubourg and Rigaud. Some light offsetting from the plates onto the text, occasional pale, mainly marginal spotting, a little heavier at the end.

Contemporary full straight-grained maroon morocco with gilt decorated border and inner blind-stamped frame. Smooth spine with gilt decorated compartments and gilt rules and lettering. Decorative gilt-ruled turn-ins. All edges gilt, yellow coated endpapers. With the bookplate of Joel Spitz on the front paste-down. Lower joint very slightly cracked but firm. A near fine copy. Housed in a fleece-lined red buckram slipcase.

Provenance: acquired at Parke-Bernet, 1944.

In his address to the reader, Orme describes his patriotic aim as being "to see recorded and embellished by the Fine Arts, those particular exploits of personal valour -- together with their attendant dangers, difficulties, and privations, the surmounting of which has shed a lustre upon the British Name, unexampled in the history of former ages."

While well-represented at auction, this appears to be the only copy to come to market within the last thirty-six years to possess the earliest recorded watermarks and in tall format.

"A handsome volume... nor could one desire a finer record of heroic deeds" (Prideaux)

"There is another issue of the book recognizable by two rules below 'Battle of Waterloo' on the title, and without the date at the foot. According to Tooley the undated issue carries text paged to '98,' and the dated only to page '94.' This is incorrect, all 98 pages being present in complete copies, but it should be noted that pages 95 to 98 are without pagination in the dated issue.

"Coupled with the fact that dated copies carry early watermarks and that the undated ones do not, it would appear reasonable to assume that the early state of the book had dated title-page such as the above" (Abbey).

Tooley 353; Abbey, Life 376; Prideaux. p. 224 Ogilby, British Military Costume Prints, 683.