Britton English Cathedrals Ten Vol. in TWO - 1817 NR! Extraordinary Beautiful Binding Hundreds of Engravings Start Price USD 549.00 Current Price USD 549.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price USD 749.00 Reserve Price - Start Time Friday, October 10, 2008 End Time Friday, October 17, 2008 Location McLean, Virginia See more about 'Britton English Cathedrals Ten Vol. in TWO - 1817 NR!' Description Extraordinarily important, The Cathedrals of England by Britton in Beautiful Leather Binding, Folio. A very important addition to a serious library specializing in historical, religious, or architectural subjects, offered under no reserve. TITLE and DESCRIPTION:  Britton, John. 1817 - 1835. The history and antiquities of the English cathedral churches. London: Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown [etc.]. Folio (13 by 10.5 inches, 6 inches thick). Extraordinary Decorative Quarter Leather Bidning withj Ornamental Crown on Spine in Gilded Lettering. Hundreds of Plates. Very minor soiling, pages crisp. Very Wide Margins. Cathedrals Included with Plates: - Winchester (1817) - Oxford (1821) - Canterbury (1821) - Exeter (1826) - Wells (1824) - Peterborough (1828) - Gloucester (1829) - Abbey of Gloucester - Bristol (1830) - Hereford (1831) - Worcester (1835) BACKGROUND: John Britton (1771-1857) was an English antiquary, born on 7 July 1771 at Kington St. Michael, near Chippenham. His parents were in humble circumstances, and he was left an orphan at an early age. At sixteen he went to London and was apprenticed to a wine merchant. Prevented by ill-health from serving his full term, he found himself adrift in the world, without money or friends. In his fight with poverty he was put to strange shifts, becoming cellarman at a tavern and clerk to a lawyer, reciting and singing at a small theatre, and compiling a collection of common songs. After some slight successes as a writer, a Salisbury publisher commissioned him to compile an account of Wiltshire and, in conjunction with his friend Edward Wedlake Brayley, Britton produced The Beauties of Wiltshire (1801; 2 vols., a third added in 1825), the first of the series The Beauties of England and Wales, nine volumes of which Britton and his friend wrote. Britton was the originator of a new class of literary works. "Before his time," says Digby Wyatt, "popular topography was unknown." In 1805 Britton published the first part of his Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain (9 vols., 1805-1814); and this was followed by Cathedral Antiquities of England (14 vols., 1814-1835). In 1845 a Britton Club was formed, and a sum of £1000 was subscribed and given to Britton, who was subsequently granted a civil list pension by Disraeli, then chancellor of the exchequer. Britton was an earnest advocate of the preservation of national monuments, proposing in 1837 the formation of a society such as the later Society for the Preservation of Ancient Monuments. Britton himself supervised the reparation of Waltham Cross andStratford-on-Avon church. He died in London on 1 January 1857. Among other works with which Britton was associated either as author or editor are Historical Account of Redcliffe Church, Bristol (1813); Illustrations of Fonthill Abbey (1823); Architectural Antiquities of Normandy, with illustrations by Pugin (1825-1827); Picturesque Antiquities of English Cities (1830); and History of the Palace and Houses of Parliament at Westminster (1834-1836), the joint work of Britton and Brayley. He contributed much to the Gentleman's Magazine and other periodicals. His Autobiography was published in 1850. A Descriptive Account of his Literary Works was published by his assistant T.E. Jones. Britton was lampooned for his inaccuracy in historical matters by Richard Harris Barham, writing under the name Thomas Ingoldsby, in two mock-antique ballads (with spurious annotations) entitled Relics of Antient Poetry. Britton was buried in West Norwood Cemetery where his monument, a vertical 10' slab of brown granite, was designed to be as permanent as Stonehenge. It is listed Grade II. INSURANCE AND PAYMENT: Winner pays actual costs for shipping in the US or anywhere in the world. Paypal preferred. International wire transfer is also possible. No Reserve. Good luck with bidding!! * PLEASE VISIT MY EBAY STORE FOR MORE WONDERFUL BOOKS * THANK YOU Powered by eBay Turbo ListerThe free listing tool. List your items fast and easy and manage your active items. Place a Bid!