Ralfe, James | "The finest copy known!"—A. S. W. Rosenbach

Ralfe, James

The Naval Chronology of Great Britain; or, An Historical Account of Naval and Maritime Events, from the Commencement of the War in 1803, to the End of the Year 1816: Also, Particulars of the Most Important Courts-Martial, Votes of Parliament, List of Flag-Officers in Commission, and of Promotions for Each Year. London: L. Harrison for Whitmore & Fenn, 1820

3 volumes, 8vo (251 x 172 mm, uncut). Handcolored portrait frontispiece of the Prince Regent (vol. 1), 2 aquatint frontispieces of naval monuments (vols. 2 & 3). and 57 very fine handcolored aquatint plates by T. Sutherland, F. C. Lewis, D. Havell and others after T. Whitcombe, J. Beresford, W. A. Armstrong, J. Gore, W. Hill and others, list of subscribers in first volume, list if plates in third volume. Original brown cloth over marbled boards, printed paper spine labels; board extremities a bit worn, especially at corners, cloth of spines split or creased, but text is secure. Uniform navy blue morocco solander boxes gilt.

First edition. HRH George Augustus Frederic, Prince Regent, was the dedicatee of the work and heads the list of subscribers. The exceptionally fine plates were based on drawings made by officers who participated in the actions. The aquatints were available both uncolored and colored by hand. The present copy has a number of plates with headlines and captions printed in blue, which Abbey cites as a requirement for "genuine coloured copies."

The front free paper of the first volume bears a characteristically modest comment by Dr. Rosenbach: "The finest copy known! Uncut in the original binding A. S. W. R." This copy appeared in Rosenbach Catalogue 19, The Sea (1938), item 647, listed at $850. This is evidently the first copy in original boards to appear at auction for more than fifty years: Sotheby's London, 6 March 1972, lot 122.

REFERENCES:

Abbey, Life 342; Sabin 67602; Tooley 392