Sir Walter Scott — The Antiquary

Edinburgh, James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable; Longman, 1816 . First edition. Leather. The three volume first edition of Sir Walter Scott's favourite of his own novels, 'The Antiquary&apos. The complete three volume first edition of this work, set in the last decade of the eighteenth century, and with a predominantly comic tone.'The Antiquary' follows an amateur historian and archaeologist who collects items of dubious antiquity.One of Scott's best regarded works, H. C. Grierson wrote that 'not many, apart from Shakespeare, could write scenes in which truth and poetry, realism and romance, are more wonderfully presented&apos.With each volume retaining the original half title.Bound without advertisements. In tree calf bindings. Rubbing to back strip heads and tails, joints, and board perimeters. Minor losses to perimeter of volume I title label. Loss of leather to head of volume II back strip. Front joints of each volume starting, with front board of volume I tenderly held by one cord only, and remaining boards firmly held. Internally, firmly bound. Pages generally clean and bright, with only the odd spot. Good . Ill.: None. Good .