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188. lees-milne, James. Diaries: ancestral Voices; Prophesying Peace; caves of ice; Midway on the Waves; a Mingled Measure; ancient as the hills; through Wood and Dale; Deep romantic chasm; holy Dread; Beneath a Waning Moon; ceaseless turmoil; the Milk of Paradise. Chatto & Windus, 1975, 1977, 1983; Faber & Faber, 1985; John Murray, 1994, 1998, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005. £1,200
8vo. twelve vols. original cloth, pictorial dust-jackets, one neatly price-clipped; pp. x + 301 + [1]; pp. [viii] + 253 + [1]; pp. [x] + 276; pp. 248; pp. viii + [2] + 325 + [1]; pp. x + [2] + 228.; pp. xii + 276; pp. viii + [2] + 325 + [1]; pp. xi + [iii] + 240; pp. x + [ii] + 258; pp. xi + [iii] + 354; pp. xiii + [iii] + 319 + [1]; pp. xiii + 179 + [1]; an exceptionally crisp, bright set..
a complete set of the edited diaries of James lees-Milne. the first seven volumes of the diaries edited by lees-Milne himself, the remainder by his literary executor, the writer and biographer Michael Bloch.
189. leGGe, Colonel George. the King’s survey of the channel islands 1680. the legge report. St. Peter Port, Guernsey, Clear Vue Publishing Partnership Ltd., 2011.
£1,250
large folio (440 x 385 mm). Bound in quarter leather over marbled paper covered boards; 38 reproductions of thomas Philips’ watercolour illustrations, which fold out from twice page size to over three and half page size, almost 1300 mm. the contents of each volume have been printed on specialist archive-quality, acid-free paper, with the folding plates printed on heavier stock.
in 1679 King charles ii ordered a survey of the channel islands and their defences, harbours and forts. he was concerned that there should be “a consultation of all the ablest pilots of normandy and Brittany to know what ports the King of France might make useful to his fleet”.
george legge, later earl of Dartmouth, and his fellow engineer sir Bernard de gomme set off from Portsmouth, taking with them the artist, cartographer and military engineer thomas Phillips. the lavishly illustrated work they created for the king became known in the channel islands as the legge report.
this stunningly beautiful manuscript, part report and part pictorial atlas, contains numerous carefully crafted watercolours of the channel islands, their approaches, forts and harbours, executed by Phillips as he sailed between the islands.
legge’s report itself is concise and to the point, outlining the action the crown must take to safeguard the islands. he also includes documents entitled “Brief state of guernsey” and “some short observations on the island of Jersey”.
the text covers the ecclesiastical, legal and civil administrations of the Bailiwick including the royal charters, the Papal Bull of 1480, the roles of the crown officers and the standing orders for manning the garrison. there are lists of the clergy, the masters of all vessels belonging to the islands, the officers of the court and the governors to the year 1680. the result is a fascinating collection of old channel island names many of which we recognise today: de sausmares, guille, le Mesurier, gosselin, de Beauvoir, Falla, Mansell, le Marchant, carey, de l’isle, Mahy and many more which resonate down the ages.
there are three known manuscript copies of the legge report. the artist’s originals are held by the national Maritime Museum in london, the king’s copy resides in the British library, and guernsey’s royal court has the third. recently the latter copy was unbound for conservation and restoration purposes. While laid flat each individual page was filmed using a large-format digital camera at a resolution of over 80 million pixels.
each of the three known copies is different, and both the British library and the national Maritime Museum have given permission for illustrations from their copies to be used in the compiling of this limited edition. consequently it is both unique and as comprehensive as it is possible to make it.
limited to 275 copies available in four different versions: 1. the Pilots Version bound in quarter leather and blue marbled paper and limited to 75 copies. £1250.00.
2. the Jersey Version bound in quarter leather and red marbled paper, comes complete with 5 additional half-size prints of thomas Phillips’ illustrations of Jersey including a triptych of the Prospect of the Bay of st. hilary, preserved in an archival pocket at the rear of the volume. limited to 75 copies. £1500.00.
3. the guernsey Version bound in quarter leather and green marbled paper, comes complete with 4 additional half-size prints of thomas Phillips’ illustrations of guernsey including maps of guernsey and sark, preserved in an archival pocket at the rear of the volume. limited to 75 copies. £1500.00.
4. the Fortress Version bound in quarter leather and brown marbled paper, comes complete with 4 additional half-size prints of thomas Phillips’ illustrations of Fort elizabeth and castle cornet and their ground plans, preserved in an archival pocket at the rear of the volume. limited to 50 copies. £1500.00.
For an additional £350.00 any of the above versions may be had bound in full leather. a cloth-bound solander box is also available at a cost of £150.00.
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