Swallowfield and Its Owners

First edition, first edition (a cheaper edition was issued simultaneously). xii, 362pp, plus numerous black and white, tissue-guarded plate illustrations, fold out genealogical tables. In pale green cloth-covered boards with gilt title from and spine, bevelled edges, all edges gilt. 4to. . Boards are a little soiled, and gently rubbed at edges. Armorial bookplate of Henry J R Clements, with the motto Patriis Virtuttibus, on the front paste down. Some mild tanning on free endpapers, else internally neat, clean and tight throughout. A handsome volume of substance. A history of Swallowfield House and Park, a stately home located in Berkshire, close to the village of Swallowfield and some four miles from Reading. Sir Henry Russell, of whom the author is a descendant, was Chief Justice of Bengal, and purchased the estate in 1820 but the current building dates from the 1680s.