Contributions Towards the History of Early English Porcelain from Contemporary Sources: To Which Are Added Reprints from Messrs. Christie's Sale Catalogues..

Salisbury: Bennett Brothers, 1881. printed for private circulation. Hardbound. VG+ (has bookplate from a previous owner; otherwise quite nice.. Green cloth boards with dark green leather spine and corners. Gilt letters on spine; gilt top edges. Mylar dust jacket. Marbled flyleaves. xcv, 112, x, 54, 4 pp. no illustrations. Title on spine: English Porcelain. The first and original edition of this key resource. According to the dust jacket of the 1973 reprint: "This important early book is solely concerned with the documentary material relating to the history of early English porcelain. It was inspired by the great early collector Sir A.W. Franks, who felt that 'if the newspapers of the period, both local and metropolitan, were carefully examined, much curious matter might be brought together, which would throw light on many debated points in the history of porcelain.' This task was undertaken by J.E. Nightingale who made a search of the newspapers of the second half of the eighteenth century in the British Museum and elsewhere, extractin sale announcements and other notices relating to the porcelain factories, and the classifying them in his Contributions. As well as newspaper notices Nightingale reprinted in an extended appendix a series of factory sale catalogues relating to Chelsea, Derby, Worcester and Bristol." In addition to the 95 pages of Introductory remarks, there are included several sales catalogues from Christie's. A rare and important reference. Please note that this is NOT an ebook, facsimile reprint, or print-on-demand paperback.