Worthies of the World: A Series of Historical and Critical Sketches of the Lives, Actions and Characters of Great and Eminent Men of all Countries and Times

Undated but circa 1880. xiv, 768pp, [18pp, publishers catalogue], with tissue-guarded plate frontispiece and numerous portrait drawings in text. Bound in green cloth boards, decorated with designs, lettering and emblems in black and gilt, gilt titles front and spine. Black endpapers. Tall 8vo. Boards heavily worn, rubbed around edges, rounded on corners, bruised a spine head, chipped way at spine tail, minor cracking on joints, and a few mild marks. Hinges cracked, loosening backstrip. A few mild small marks on upper text block edge, all edges darkened. Hint of toning at extreme page margins, some mild spotting to prelims. A collection of biographical, and largely appreciative rather than critical, analyses of great men from around the world.