PEPYS, SAMUEL Memoirs of Samuel Pepys, Esq. F.R.S. Secretary to the Admiralty in the Reigns of Charles II. and James II. Comprising His Diary from 1659 to 1669. London: Henry Colburn: 1825.2 vols. 4to, 3/4 calf over marbled boards, gilt-lettered spines, rebacked. First edition of one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. Pepys recorded his diary for just nine years (1660-1669) yet "we know more about Pepys than about any other Englishman of his time." (Ollard) It is the "nonpareil of English Diaries; the observations and records of a man of infinite variety and zest 'ever with child to see new things;' his own work, domestic life, friendships, and pleasures, which took him to almost every section of English life, from the court to the docks; in its immediacy and variety it is one of the supreme portraits of a man, inside and outside, and a mirror of the times." (Matthews, British Diaries) Complete with 12 engraved plates and one map. Bookplate Owen S. Tudor, with his signature, to front pastedown both vols. Rubbing to boards; scattered foxing; offsetting from plates.

Property from a Private Collection Literature: Ollard; Matthews, 29.