Deciphered from Pepys's shorthand diaries by Rev. John Smith and edited by Richard, Lord Braybrooke. 2 volumes. xlii, 498, [2], xlix, [1] blank, +[2] ad; [iv], 348, viii, 311 pp. 13 engraved plates, including one folding. (4to) 11¾x9¼, period full calf, spines gilt, raised bands, marbled endpapers & edges. First Edition.
Presentation copy, with ink stamps in red to half-titles. Key historical record of Restoration London, which remained unprinted for more than 150 years after its original composition. The text was painstakingly deciphered from Pepys's shorthand by Smith, a penniless student, who did not realise that the manual for the system, Thomas Shelton's Tutor to Tachygraphy (1642), was easily accessible in his own college library. Like all 19th-century editions, this first printing censors the frankest of Pepys's confessions. Complete with the often lacking half-titles and ad pages. Presentation inscription on front flyleaf of Vol. I: "Revd. Mr. Lodge, from the humble & Revd. the Master of Madgelene College." The Pepys library is at Madgelene College. Ownership signature of F.C. Holland, London, Jan. 25th, 1889, to front flyleaves. Each volume with three armorial bookplates: John Lodge, Edward Breese, and Francis Caldwell Holland.
Condition:
Bindings worn and scuffed, old repairs to joints, 3 (of 4) spine labels are present, though 2 are loose and laid in; rear cover of Vol. I detached, front nearly so; foxing to plates and adjacent leaves, overall very good, worthy of restoration to the bindings.