Westmonasterium. Or the History and Antiquities of the Abbey Church of St. Peters Westminster: Containing, an account of its ancient and modern Building, Endowments, Chappels, Altars, Reliques, Customs, Privileges, Forms of Government &c. 2 vols (set)

London: James Cole, Joseph Smith, et al, 1723. ~Original full dark brown speckled calf boards, framed in double gilt fillets. Remains of blind decor to board edges. Rebacked in near-matching dark brown calf with remains of original backstrip laid down. Gilt decor and brown gilt label to original backstrip, much worn but carefully preserved. Raised bands to spine. Discreet repairs to board corners and fore-edges. Binder's label to inside rear board of vol. II: 'A. & M. Winstanley's Salisbury Bookbinders, Renovators & Artists', with annotation 'repaired 1969'. One of the foremost British binders, Alan Winstanley studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts (now part of Central Saint Martins), then at Luton and St. Albans. He worked for Sydney Cockerell in Letchworth, then took over Harry Bailey's bookbinding business in Salisbury in 1959, running it until his retirement in 2000. He bound wedding gifts for Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and examples of his conservation work and bookbinding design can be found in collections worldwide. Folio (27 x 39.8cm). All edges speckled red, top edges darkened. Hinges sound. Replacement laid paper endpapers and blank endpages. Bookplate of Roger Quirk (1909-64, historian and civil servant) and 19th-century Cholmondeley Library pink pictorial bookplate of castellated gateway, with shelfmarks in ink, laid down to inside front board (Cholmondeley Castle was rebuilt in 1801-04 for the 1st Marquess of Cholmondeley in a crenellated design, echoed here in the bookplate). Decorated initials, elaborate head- and tail-pieces throughout. Minor scattered foxing. 132 plates in total. Vol. I lacks frontis and plates 65-76 (these 12 plates not always bound in). Vol. II has all plates present as called for, inc. folding frontis. Errata to end of vol. I (verso of p. 195). List of subscribers to front of both vols; 5 plates of subscribers' coats of arms to vol. I. Plates generally clear and fresh, with minimal age-browning near page edges. Plate nos included in pagination (though plates printed to recto only). John Dart (d. 1730); his antiquarian works are particularly 'notable for the quality of their engravings' (ODNB), most of which are by James Cole (fl. 1718?-1743). Handsomely restored vols, with spectacular illustrations and country house provenance. Upcott 851-59. ESTC N25786. ~Robust packaging. Overseas orders trackable on request. . 1st edn. Hardback. Very Good. ix, (4), xlii, 195, (1) + (2), ii, 146, (4), 24, x. Binding sound, text unmarked.