Alchemy, Science, the Commonwealth, etc.

Winstanley, Gerrard. The law of freedom in a platform: or, True magistracy restored. Humbly presented to Oliver Cromwel, General of the Common-wealths army in England. And to all English-men my brethren whether in church-fellowship, or not in church-fellowship...J.M. for the Author, 1652 [Wing W3045A, TWO COPIES ONLY OF THIS ISSUE RECORDED BY ESTC]--Junius Anonymous. Alazono-Mastix: Or The Character of a Cockney In A Satyricall Poem. R.I., 1652, in verse [Wing A838, ONLY THE BRITISH LIBRARY AND SENATE HOUSE COPIES RECORDED BY ESTC], slightly cropped sometimes affecting headlines--P. (H.) Five Treatises of the Philosophers Stone. Two of Alphonso King of Portugal! . . . One of John Sawtre a monke . . . Another written by Florianus Raudorff, a German philosopher . . . Also a treatise ... by William Gratacolle... Thomas Harper, 1652 [Wing 42900], some leaves slightly torn and soiled--Lilly, William. Annus tenebrosus, or The dark year. Or astrologicall iudgements upon two lunar eclipses, and one admirable eclips of the sun, all visible in England, 1652. for the Company of Stationers and H. Blunden, 1652, woodcuts [Wing L2209], title page torn with some loss at the top; An easie and familiar method whereby to iudge the effects depending on eclipses, either of the sun or moon. For the company of Stationers and H. Blunden, 1652 [Wing L2219]--Sterry, Peter. England's Deliverance from the Northern Presbytery... Leith: Evan Tyler, 1652 [Wing S5479]; with six others published in 1652 in the same volume, and 3 further volumes with eighteenth-century works and tracts, some Jacobite, some relating to Orkney, the Scottish Peerage, the trial of Capt. John Porteous, the case of the Forfeited Estates in Scotland etc.; 8vo, late eighteenth- or early nineteenth-century quarter calf (spines numbered 2, 4, 12, 19), some works defective or torn, bindings worn, torn and partially cracked (4)

The Forbes Baronetcy was created in 1626 for Sir William Forbes (d. circa 1650) by James VI in the Barontage of Nova Scotia. The majority of the works offered here were acquired by the sixth Baronet, also William (1739-1806), who added Pitsligo to his title in 1781. He was an eminent Scottish banker and benefactor, good friend of James Boswell and Samuel Johnson (see lots 45-46), and finally succeeded in recovering the Pitsligo estates forfeited after the Jacobite rebellion of 1745. His son William, the seventh baronet, beat Sir Walter Scott to the hand of the renowned beauty Williamina Belsches Stuart (1776-1810), and it was with their marriage that the family moved to her family seat, Fettercairn House in Kincardineshire, Aberdeenshire.

One of the sixth baronet’s acquisitions for his library at Pitsligo were numerous highly important miscellanies and tract volumes, many of which were purchased as a set from Edinburgh bookseller Elphinstone Balfour in October 1786. These were subsequently supplemented by further contemporary tracts and other works from the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century. Most of these miscellanies bear a nineteenth century Forbes family bookplate.

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing unless otherwise stated
"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."

Alazono-Mastix, the second work listed here, a vituperative verse satire of the Londoner or Cockney, appears to be EXTREMELY RARE, with only two institutional copies recorded. We can find no record of a copy for sale at auction since the 1920s.

The first work is the first edition of the best-known publication of the radical author and Digger Gerrard Winstanley (c.1609-1676).