“AN INVALUABLE RECORD OF THE PERIOD”

EVELYN, John. Diary and Correspondence of John Evelyn. London: Henry Colburn, 1854. Four volumes. Octavo, 20th-century three-quarter brown calf, elaborately gilt-decorated spines, raised bands, marbled endpapers, top edges gilt. $1200.

Mid 19th-century edition of Evelyn’s diaries and correspondence, with three engraved plates and a folding genealogical chart, handsomely bound.

“Evelyn is the typical instance of the accomplished and public-spirited country gentleman of the Restoration, a pious and devoted member of the church of England, and a staunch loyalist in spite of his grave disapproval of the manners of the court” (DNB). Chiefly remembered for his Diary, first published in 1818, this work “covers most of his life, describing his travels abroad, his contemporaries, and his public and domestic concerns, and is an invaluable record of the period” (Drabble, 189).

A handsome set in fine condition.