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ROBERT WATSON
The History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain
London, 1779 • Third Edition • Three Volumes
Contemporary Calf Leather • Gilt Spines • Clutterbuck and Cobbold Bookplates
WATSON, Robert. The History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain.
London: Printed for W. Strahan, and T. Cadell in the Strand; and J. Balfour, and W. Creech, Edinburgh, 1779.
Third edition. Three volumes, comprising volumes I, II, and III.
An attractive eighteenth-century set of Watson’s history of Philip II, preserved in matching contemporary calf leather bindings with contrasting spine labels and evidence of successive private ownership.
The warm brown leather, gilt ornaments, and red and dark green labels give the set a particularly pleasing appearance on the shelf. The bindings retain considerable period character, with wear and a taped joint to volume II as detailed below.
The Work
Watson’s history examines the reign of Philip II through the political, religious, and military struggles of sixteenth-century Europe. The text includes accounts of conflict in the Netherlands, Spanish military campaigns, and Mediterranean warfare, with printed marginal dates and summaries guiding the narrative.
The title page identifies Watson as principal of the United College of St. Salvator and St. Leonard at the University of St. Andrews. This is an English-language edition, printed with the characteristic long “s” of the period.
Contemporary Leather Bindings
Matching full speckled calf leather, with raised bands dividing the spines into six compartments. Red leather title labels read “Watson’s Life of Philip”; contrasting dark green leather panels carry the volume numbers within gilt wreaths, with decorative gilt borders and corner ornaments.
The remaining compartments are decorated with repeated gilt floral tools and horizontal gilt rules. Board edges tooled in gilt; page edges stained red.
Provenance
The set bears engraved armorial bookplates of Daniel Clutterbuck, Esq., depicting a lion rampant beneath three escallop shells, with a stag crest above.
Later “Cobbold of Ipswich” bookplates feature a lion and the motto “Rebus Angustis Fortis.” Associated handwritten notes include “Half Moon Bay, Aug 1980” and “Bt. London, Nov 1972.”
These bookplates and annotations preserve an appealing record of the set’s passage through successive private collections.
Condition
An attractive antiquarian set with substantial exterior wear. Calf rubbed, scratched, and scuffed, with abrasions to the boards, wear to the raised bands and spine ends, and bumped corners with some exposed board. Joints show cracking and areas of splitting; some inner hinges are also visibly cracked. Spine labels and gilt decoration remain largely legible and visually effective.
Volume II has a narrow strip of brown tape running along the front joint. Its color blends closely with the surrounding leather. It appears to be an earlier reinforcement or repair, but the condition of the joint beneath the tape and whether the tape is helping retain the front board have not been established.
Interiors show light age toning and scattered foxing, with more pronounced browning and offsetting around the endpaper margins. Bookplates, handwritten ownership and purchase notes, and occasional pencil notations are present. The photographed text pages remain generally clear and readable.
All three volumes are present; the set has not been collated leaf by leaf.
A handsome period set for collectors of Spanish history, eighteenth-century historical writing, armorial bookplates, and traditional leather bindings.
Please examine all photographs carefully, particularly those showing the joints and the tape repair to volume II. The photographs form part of the description and show the actual set offered.
