This is the fifth edition of Arthur Collins' Peerage of England, which describes the lives of all nobility in England at the time, including information on their marriages, famous actions, charitable donations, etc. Each nobleman described is accompanied by a copperplate engraving of his coat of arms. This 8-volume set is complete with 194 coats of arms, including plate #16 from volume I (inserted at the end of the volume), which is often missing. This plate illustrates the armorial shield of Douglas Duke of Dover and Queensberry, whose title became extinct upon his death in 1778, one year prior to the publication of the books and was therefore removed from many copies.

Vol I: Title Pages - [vi] - 456 pages - index, 17 plates; Vol. II: Title Page - 528 pages - index, 11 plates; Vol III: Title Page - 427 pages - index, 20 plates; Vol IV: Title Page - 431 pages - index, 27 plates; Vol V: Title Page - 495 pages - index, 31 plates; Vol VI: Title Page - 423 pages - index, 24 plates; Vol VII: Title Page - 459 pages - index, 32 plates; Vol VIII: Title Page - 452 - addende et corrigenda - index, 32 plates. Quarto, original full leather bindings, gilt tooling with red and black leather title labels on spine, marbled end papers.

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Condition: B+

Interior is very clean with light toning and minor occasional foxing. Bindings are excellent, with some cracking and a few small chips at the spines. A very attractive set.