Skip to content
ANTIQUARIAN, RARE & COLLECTABLE BOOKS & SOUTH EAST ASIAN ANTIQUES
ANTIQUARIAN, RARE & COLLECTABLE BOOKS & SOUTH EAST ASIAN ANTIQUES
Description of the Collection of Ancient Marbles in the British Museum; With Engravings / Engravings from the Ancient Marbles – Parts VIII (Parthenon Frieze, 1839) & X (Townley Collection, 1845), folio, edited by Edward Hawkins.

Description of the Collection of Ancient Marbles in the British Museum; With Engravings / Engravings from the Ancient Marbles – Parts VIII (Parthenon Frieze, 1839) & X (Townley Collection, 1845), folio, edited by Edward Hawkins.

LAN9933
$550.00 - $550.00
$550.00
$550.00 - $550.00
$550.00

Two impressive folios from the British Museum’s celebrated Description of the Collection of Ancient Marbles, a monumental series issued between 1812 and 1845. This project, under the editorship of Edward Hawkins (1780–1867), Keeper of Antiquities at the Museum, sought to provide authoritative descriptions and fine engravings (after drawings by Henry Corbould) of the Museum’s acquisitions of Greek and Roman sculpture.

Each part was issued in paper wrappers at the original subscription price of £4 14s. 6d. – generally equivalent to about £750 today – intended for scholars, collectors, and major libraries.

The two volumes offered here are rebound in uniform modern bindings by Ex-Libris of London (binder’s label dated 1998), in blue cloth spines with paper-covered boards and printed title labels to the upper covers. Both retain the variant cover titles as originally printed, aiding bibliographic identification.

Part VIII (1839) – The Parthenon Frieze

  • Title-page: Description of the Collection of Ancient Marbles in the British Museum; With Engravings. Part VIII.

  • Front cover (variant title): Engravings from the Ancient Marbles in the British Museum. Part VIII.

  • Content: Entirely devoted to the Parthenon frieze, with 56 large engraved plates after Henry Corbould’s drawings and detailed explanatory text. One of the most desirable volumes in the series.

  • Original Price: £4 14s. 6d. (1839), equivalent to c. £760 in today’s money.

  • Condition: Binding near fine. Internally very good: text and plates bright, with only occasional light spotting and age-toning to extremities. Complete and well-preserved.

  • Dimensions: approx. 368 × 310 × 50 mm.

  • Weight: approx. 3.6 kg (unpacked).

Part X (1845) – The Townley Collection

  • Title-page: Description of the Collection of Ancient Marbles in the British Museum; With Engravings. Part X.

  • Front cover (variant title): Engravings from the Ancient Marbles in the British Museum. Part X.

  • Content: Covers the sculptures of the sixth room of the Museum, drawn from the Townley Collection. Contains 58 engraved plates plus 2 large folding gallery plates, with full descriptive text.

  • Original Price: £4 14s. 6d. (1845), equivalent to c. £730 in today’s money.

  • Condition: Binding near fine, uniform with Part VIII. Internally complete but good only: Significant frequent Plate foxing often affecting pages opposite, especially at margins; offsetting visible on text pages. One plate detached but present.

  • Dimensions: approx. 363 × 306 × 45 mm.

  • Weight: approx. 3.4 kg (unpacked).