£60
3 vols., 12mo, pp. 360; 359, [1]; 358 + engraved frontispiece and title-page in each vol. Contemporary sprinkled paper boards by S.P.A. Koumans of Delft (with labels on front pastedowns), red roan labels to spines. Title-pages and frontispieces rather foxed, some spotting elsewhere. Joints, spine ends and labels rubbed. Large pink ownership stamp of W.H.L. Janssen van Raay (of Delft) to title-pages.
One of a string of popular works compiling quotations, adages, etc, in imitation of Charles Colton's 'Lacon', 1820. This more substantial collection was first published 1827, and works with similar titles (not counting multiple editions of the same title) appeared every decade for the rest of the century. The fashion for such compilations clearly spread across Europe, since this copy was first bound and housed in a collection in Delft.
