£350
FIRST REVISED EDITION, 2 vols., 8vo, pp. xii, 534, [2]; [iv], 559, [45] + portrait frontispiece in vol. 1. Contemporary biscuit calf, spines gilt in compartments with central urn and bird tools, red and green morocco labels. Some minor foxing, a bit more to frontispiece. A touch of rubbing to extremities, one snag to head of vol. 2 spine but a fresh and attractive set. Ownership inscription of one of the Grieves (William?) of Ord House to front pastedowns.
This book 'was a huge success because Robertson appeared to his readers to move Scotland into the mainstream of polite culture', seeing four editions within two years and more in the following decades. This revised edition was 'stimulated by his anger over a pirated edition projected by John Murray' and Robertson 'intended that the set would represent, as he wrote in 1785, 'what may be considered as an authentic Edition, which has got the last polish from the hand of the Author' (Robertson to A. Strahan, Duke University)' (ODNB).
