Glic-Gamena Angel-Deod, or The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England; Including the rural and domestic recreations, May-games, mummeries, pageants, processions, and pompous spectacles, from the earliest period to the present time : illustrated by engravings selected from ancient paintings in which are represented most of the popular diversions.
London: T. Bensley for J. White, 1801. First Edition. 4to, 11 3/4 x 9 1/8 inches (290 x 228 mm); frontis, title, i-l, [6] contents, 298, [3] Appendix, [1] plate list - binder's instructions; watermarked J Whatman 1799 paper. 40 engraved sepia plates, including frontis.
Contemporary light brown calf, gilt rules and corner embellishments on boards, gilt decorated spines, raised bands; marbled endpapers and gilt turn-ins, t.e.g. Scattered spotting and light toning, pages supple with no writing; joints rubbed and front joint partially split but binding tight.
Provenance: John Lea Nevinson (1904-1986); Donald King (1920-1998) & Monique King (1922-2020)
[Colas 2826; Brunet V, 566, Lipperheide 1012; Lowndes 2533; Ebert 21855].
Accounts on hunting, hawking, archery, stone throwing, golf, tennis, jousting tournaments, dancing, chess, gambling games, and even minstrel plays etc. "This is an important history of recreational activities and traditional celebrations in the British Isles. "Strutt may justifiably be regarded as the first serious historian of dress in England, and his pioneering works of scholarship were heavily drawn upon by nineteenth-century costume historians. Unlike many of his contemporaries, who doubted the reliability of artistic sources as historical evidence, he employed a comparative analysis of the manuscripts, showing that they were reliable indicators of changes not just in matters of dress but also of the 'manners and customs' of the time. He was one of the first to realize the potential value of visual material as a historical source rather than as simply serving an illustrative purpose. He showed an early appreciation of the intrinsic merit of medieval art and was unusual in producing near-facsimile engraved reproductions of the originals. (...) In his own lifetime Manners and Customs was probably the most successful of his antiquarian works (there were two subsequent editions, in 1779 and 1793) but Sports and Customs has enjoyed greater longevity and has been frequently reprinted, one edition appearing in 1973." (Jennifer Harris for DNB)
The Appendix lists the manuscripts that were the source of the illustrations, including the Bodleian Library at Oxford, The British Museum and the Royal Libraries. "In turning to the British Museum for models for his engravings, (Strutt) developed that combination of text and illustration which made his antiquarian works uniquely valuable" (Kunitz & Haycraft, 4990).
Condition: Very good.
Item number: 1589
Price: $800.00
Share: