The Repository of Arts, Literature, Commerce, Manufactures, Fashions and Politics.

London: R. Ackermann, 1809-28.. FIRST EDITION. 40 vols. 8vo (22.4 x 14 cm.). Twentieth-century half tan calf over marbled boards, spines with raised bands and gilt ruling, red and black morocco labels, marbled edges, some dyed yellow. 1486 plates, plus an additional 9 "bis" plates and 2 not in Abbey, giving a total of 1497 of which 1172 are hand-coloured the remainder being monochrome (needlwork patterns etc.) as usual.* Including aquatints and lithographs, fashion plates, furniture designs, country seats, allegorical woodcut plates with mounted fabric samples, designs for playing-cards. The rare folding plate of "The Female Penitentiary" can be found at the beginning of May 1812 in Vol. 7, 1st Series. Likewise, a pattern of needlework is found at the end of this section. Tooley notes that these plates are not described in the contents for this month and can only "sometimes" be found in this volume. Abbey counts the needlework as a standard plate, but does not call for "The Female Penitentiary". A needlework pattern is also found at the end of September 1813 in Vol. 10, 1st Series. It is listed in the volume's contents for the month. Tooley states it was "never issued", yet is present in this volume. It is likewise not found in Abbey. Inscription of "JN Walker Crow Nest" to contents page for January, Vol. 1, 1st Series, possibly John Walker of the Crow Nest estate in Yorkshire. His daughter, Ann Walker, would begin a relationship with Anne Lister and move to Shibden Hall in 1834. Vol. 12, 2nd Series, inscription to contents page for July, "JW Davys". Some minor foxing and browning to engraved titles, minor damp staining to engraved titles of Vol. 12, 3rd Series and in Vol. 10, 1st Series, some offsetting of "Allegorical Woodcuts" and colour illustrations, some plates shaved, occasionally affecting caption, 3 loose leaves in Vol. 9, 2nd Series, occasional spotting to edges, generally an excellent set. First edition of Ackermann's influential, authoritative publication on taste and fashion: an extraordinarily ambitious project providing a contemporary pictorial record of social life in early nineteenth-century Europe, and one of Britain's earliest publications to use lithography. Issued in parts, each volume is devoted to series that include ladies' fashion, new developments in furniture designs or architecture, views of London emporiums and English country houses, foreign views of cities and countries, and, in the early issues, allegorical woodcuts with actual samples of British-made textiles and papers used in fashion and decoration. As a result of having been preserved in book form, these samples remain as fresh and unfaded as when they were first produced. The first series (until 1815) is an extraordinary document of the Napoleonic wars and French cultural influence on fashion and style in Regency England. The Repository also depicts for the first time in a magazine for the general public technological advances such as gas lamps, steamboats, and an early version of a bicycle. The illustrations provided Ackermann with much material which he republished in various subsequent works. John Buonarotti Papworth's Select views of London (1816), Rural residences (1818), and Picturesque tour form Geneva to Milan (1820), for example, all appeared for the first time in the Repository. *Abbey numbers 1491 plates, but this number does not reflect the additional 11 "bis" plates which are marked with letters, e.g. 977 and 977a. Being a periodical published over 19 years the plate count for complete sets does tend to vary slightly. This set has been carefully collated against the contents for each month and against both Abbey and Tooley as follows. Plate 641, "Sample of Ackermann's Lithography" here showing a lithograph of a church, whereas Abbey featured a seascape and Tooley a castle. -Vol. 1, 1st Series. Abbey calls for 2 illustrated ads. in May. These are missing, but Tooley notes "the volume can be considered complete without them". -Vols. 8, 9 and 11, 2nd Series. Tooley calls only for the sample in Vol. 8, which is present. Abbey calls for 3 samples of Urling's lace, one per volume. The samples in Vols. 9 and 11 are missing. All 63 "Allegorical Woodcuts" containing 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 samples of other fabrics or papers are present across the 40 vols. -Vol 14, 1st Series. Tooley states Tyburn Turnpike plate is additional but this is not so, as seen by directions to Binder at p.4 of Index. Abbey calls for supplement at end of the vol., but Tooley does not. Supplement is not present at end of this vol. -Vol. 8, 2nd Series. Abbey calls for 3 lithographs of bank notes. Notes for Whitby Old Bank and Deal Bank are present, the plate for the "Provincial Bank" note is missing. A plain grey paper is missing, but this is not called for by Tooley. -Vol. 2, 3rd Series. In the volume's contents two final plates are listed as a single plate. Abbey calls for a plate titled "Self-Importance". This is missing, its companion plate, "Philosophy" is present. [Abbey, Life 212; Tooley 8; ODNB]