THE REMINISCENCES AND RECOLLECTIONS OF CAPTAIN GRONOW: BEING ANECDOTES OF THE CAMP, COURT, CLUBS, AND SOCIETY, 1810-1860

London: [Printed by Ballantyne and Co. for] J. C. Nimmo, 1889. No. 22 OF 870 COPIES printed for England and America with 25 plates in two states. 267 x 168 mm. (10 1/2 x 6 5/8"). Two volumes..
EXTREMELY HANDSOME RED CRUSHED MOROCCO, VERY INTRICATELY GILT, BY ZAEHNSDORF (stamp-signed on front turn-ins and with special oval gilt stamp on rear pastedowns), covers with wide filigree frame with densely massed scrolling fleurons, raised bands (unevenly spaced in the continental style) forming five compartments, the second and two small bottom compartments with titling, the top and elongated middle compartment decorated with intricate gilt in the same way as the boards, broad inner gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers (with a thickly gilt lining between dentelles and pastedowns), top edges gilt, other edges untrimmed. With 50 plates (comprising 25 images, each in two states: one proof before letters done on plate paper, the other on Whatman paper, titled and hand colored), as called for. A Large Paper Copy. Front pastedown with engraved bookplate of John Raymond Danson. ◆A couple of very faint scratches on back cover of volume II, just a hint of rubbing at top and bottom of lower joint of same volume, corners gently rubbed, but AN ESPECIALLY FINE COPY in remarkably decorative morocco, the text virtually spotless, and the bindings extremely lustrous and scarcely worn.

Offered here as a particularly beautiful set, these "reminiscences" provide a memorable window into military and social life in London and on the continent during the half century preceding the author's death (at 71) in 1865. Captain Rees Howell Gronow had a knack for being in the right place at the right time, whether it be the Almack's assembly rooms where he was present for the introduction of the "shocking" new waltzes that replaced reel dances, or the Battle of Waterloo, for which he provided one of the finest eyewitness accounts. He also had the ability to write of his adventures in an entertaining fashion. After serving in the army for nearly 10 years, he returned to London with the intention of entering politics and, more importantly, pursuing life as a man about town. He purchased the house that had belonged to Beau Brummell, the famous dandy whose dress and manners were obviously an inspiration to Gronow. His political career was brief, as he was unable to afford the bribes necessary to sustain it. According to DNB, he then "devoted the next thirty years to a life of idleness and fashionable pursuits in London and, later, in Paris, where he was present during the coup d'état of 1-2 December 1851." He also began work on these memoirs, first published in 1861, with a second edition and three sequels to follow. DNB tells us that these accounts are accurate as to "his personal experiences, . . . the state of Paris in 1815, the condition of society in London in his own time, and the doings of the court of Napoleon III," but are not to be relied upon when Gronow embarks, however amusingly, on gossip about persons he never met. The present limited edition is illustrated with charming engravings selected by art writer Joseph Grego (1843-1908), and the book's glimmering, elaborately decorated morocco is very striking..