Magna Carta--Whittaker, John.

folio (563 x 467mm.), 2 parts in one volume, printed, hand-painted and illuminated in colour and gold, one of a very small number of copies on vellum, 25 leaves (of slightly varying size), some of the text leaves mounted to size, interleaved with parchment leaves (with watermark 1831), 19 printed leaves in gothic or ornate fonts and 6 full-page watercolours, the printed leaves all rectos only, all heightened with gold; the printed leaves comprising text of the Magna Carta preceded by two title leaves (with armorial watercolour surrounds, including those of King John) and dedication to HRH the Prince Regent (with Prince of Wales feathers above and symbols of the British crown below), the second part the Conventio inter Regem Johannem et Barones with two title leaves, both also with armorial surrounds (the first apparently showing the barons who forced King John to sign), all text leaves surrounded by  watercolour drawings with armorial designs (with the arms of the barons)in the shape of scrolls, two leaves also with initials in gold, architectronic surround (two also with watercolour of the seal of King John), the six watercolour drawings including portraits of King John and the Prince Regent and of King John flanked by the bishops and barons, another of the bishops and barons with the earlier Charter of Liberties issued by Henry I in 1100, watermark on parchment leaf dated 1831, contemporary or near contemporary dark red morocco, elaborately tooled in gilt and blind, outer borders made up of fillets and roll-tools including flowers, oak leaves and acorns, upper cover with gilt central panel with wavy scrolls, flowers and text, lower cover with central royal crown, wreath and motto, all edges gilt, wide turn-ins with oak leaf border, yellow watered silk endpapers decorated in gilt, hinged brass lock by  Mordan & co. (with two keys), early pencil notes  on front endpaper on the cost of this copy ("...367£ with the added illustrations..."), the size of the edition ("...4 copies, or at most five executed...") and for whom produced (George IV, Louix XVIII of France etc), some occasional cockling and slight discolouration to the vellum leaves

Edward Kenman Martyn, engraved portrait with signature on upper paste-down

Lowndes II., p.1450; Dibdin, Bibliographical decameron, 1817, volume 2, p. 416.;; Richard Thomson, An Historical Essay on the Magna Carta of King John, 1829, pp.458-60; Brunet 1249 ("edition magnifique"); van Praet III: 163 (and supplement IV) 

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

One of the small number of copies on vellum of the first book printed by John Whittaker using his newly invented process of printing in burnished gold letters; this copy with the rare Covenant text and with extra watercolour portraits.

The "most magnificent of all editions of the Magna Carta" (Lowndes)

This sumptuous and extraordinary printing of the Magna Carta in letters of gold (a process pioneered by John Whittaker) was published in various formats: ordinary unilluminated copies on paper or thick card, richly illuminated copies, and then a few special illuminated copies on white or purple satin or vellum, as here. Other similar examples of this, the rarest format, include the one in the British Library (the copy presented to George IV, shelfmark C.23.3.5). No two copies appear to be identical: the illuminated copies bear variant designs, and the number of leaves seems to differ considerably, with many copies lacking the Conventio, and most the extra watercolour portraits: both the Covenant text and extra portraits are bound up in the present copy. 

Thomas Willement is named by some bibliographers as the artist commissioned to oversee the artistic adornments of the vellum copies, but from the memoir by the celebrated facsimilist John Harris, Jr. (1791-1873) about the work he completed with his father John Harris, Sr. (1767-1832), it now seems accepted that father and son were the two main artists for the book (see Philip J. Weimerskirch, John Harris, Sr...Memoir by his son, in The Book Collector, 42, 1993, pp.245-52). The younger John Harris went on from artistic employment at Whittaker's bookbinding firm to complete many unrivalled (and almost undetectable) facsimile restorations of books in the British Museum. His father, however, was also a very accomplished ornamental artist, and a suberb painter of the subjects of natural history such as insects, shells,fruit and flowers.