Great Domesday Book, 6 Vols, Folio, Complete set, London, 1986-1992 by Domesday Book - 1986

1986. London: Alecto Historical Editions 1986-1992.. London: Alecto Historical Editions 1986-1992. Magnificent Limited Edition of the Great Domesday [Domesday Book]. Great Domesday Book. London: Alecto Historical Editions, 1986-1992. 6 parts: two facsimile volumes in slipcases, two translation volumes, two solander boxes, one containing maps, the other indexes. Folios: Facsimile Volumes, 14-1/2" x 10" in 17" x 12" slipcases; Translation Volumes, 15-1/2" x 10-3/4'; solander cases 17" x 12." Complete set. Volumes One and Two: period-style quarter unlettered goatskin, raised bands, over 1/2-inch thick dark oak beveled boards, housed in quarter black morocco over brown cloth slipcases, that of Volume Two includes 22-pp. Introduction and Contents of the Manuscript bound in matching style, top edge gilt. Volumes Three and Four: binding style duplicates that of Introduction and boxes; Box One: twenty-eight 52" x 33" color maps of English counties, one 21" x 25" color map of England; Box Two: 60 pp. general index in thick paper and thirty booklets containing specific indexes; Box One: twenty-eight 52" x 33" color. Negligible light rubbing and a few minor nicks to extremities, otherwise fine. $4,000. * Penny Edition limited to 250 sets, this number 119. (A present-day (1982) penny and one from the Norman era are mounted in the front board of facsimile Volume One.) This edition was commissioned to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the Great Domesday Book, the comprehensive census and survey of English landowners and their property commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1085. It is a breathtaking work of painstaking scholarship and an example of the highest standards of typography and production. The facsimile volumes use specially manufactured paper that simulate the feel of vellum. Each leaf was hand-trimmed to match the contours of the original. In addition to this, the bindings were crafted from oak boards that were cut in England during the Middle Ages. The translation used in Volumes Three and Four, which follows the arrangement of the folios in the facsimile, is based on the Victoria Histories of the Counties of England (1900-present). The maps in Box One, one of each county and one of England, indicate both Norman and present-day boundaries. Box Two contains an index for each map.