Beacon Lights of History: (The 10-volume set, 1897)

This First Edition of 10 volumes collects the history lectures of John Lord (1810-1894). He was a popular public lecturer in the US and England from 1840 to 1866. At Dartmouth College he was a history lecturer from 1866 to 1876. In 1881 he began preparing his lectures for publication in a multivolume set. The volumes appeared individually from 1883 to 1885 and in 1896 appeared in a 5-volume set. Three new volumes appeared between 1886 and 1894, the year of Lord's death. A final volume appeared posthumously in 1897, which included "The Life of John Lord." These 10 volumes first appeared as a set in 1897. John Lord said he was "not technically a scholar." He had been an apt college student and had studied for the clergy but found his calling was not to the pulpit but the lectern where he could share his passion for history. Commenting on himself later in life, he said, "My talent, what I have, is in compression, generalization, felicity of style, criticism, and a way of putting things." His ability was to put his enquiring mind to scholarship and reduce it to lectures that he delivered with enthusiasm and charm. The 10-volume set was expanded by others to 15, and the 8-volume set was reprinted in the 1920s. Single volumes and sets were acquired by college and high school libraries, and individual copies of the volumes have occupied households and used bookstores for over a century. This 10-volume set was retired from a high school library in the 1960s and held by one owner since. Library stamps appear randomly but fortunately not voluminously within the text. Each inside cover shows where the checkout card envelope was torn away, and the spines show library markings. The bindings on all volumes are solid, and the pages appear clear of markings and show but a light tan of age. No foxing has been found. The leather binding is age-worn and scuffed on some edges, and the marbled paper covers are rubbed and flaking on the edges occurs quite a bit. The books lie comfortably open on a level surface, and the print is clear and well-spaced. The set ships complete by Media Mail for $9.90. This First Edition of the 1897 10-volume set deserves a good home in any reference collection. CONTENTS: Vol. I. Antiquity, 1883 Vol. II. The Middle Ages, 1883 Vol. III. Renaissance and Reformation, 1884 Vol. IV Warriors and Statesmen, 1885 Vol. V Great Women, 1886 A. Jewish Heroes and Prophets, First Series, 1886 B. The Old Pagan Civilizations, First Series, 1888 Vol. VI Modern European Statesmen, 1891 Vol. VII American Statesmen, 1894 Vol. VIII Nineteenth Century Writers. Also: The Life of John Lord, by Alex Twombly, 1897.