MAGNA CARTA REGIS JOHANNIS XV. DIE JUNII ANNO REGNI XVII. A.D. MCCXV [with] CONVENTIO INTER REGEM JOHANNEM ET BARONES A.D. MCCXV

London: John Whittaker, 1816-17. 470 x 375 mm. (18 1/2 x 14 1/4")."). [16] leaves: title page, dedication leaf, 11 text leaves (Magna Carta), title page for Conventio, and two leaves of its text. Printed on recto only. Two separately printed parts in one volume..
SPECTACULAR PUBLISHER'S PURPLE MOROCCO, LAVISHLY GILT, covers with elaborate all-over design in gilt and blind, incorporating large Gothic "rose windows" at each corner, and rectangular panels surrounding a central cross panel, all of these sémé with various tools in a Gothic motif, raised bands, spine compartments tooled like narrow Gothic windows, gilt tooling to the edges of the thick boards, wide inner dentelles elaborately framed in gilt and blind, the widest frame diapered with Gothic trellis-work, scarlet watered silk pastedowns and endleaves edged with gilt tooling, gilt edges, original wide bookmark of gilt thread and brocade (very small areas at corners and head and tail of joints worked on by very expert hands). PRINTED IN GOLD, WITH HAND-COLORED AND ILLUMINATED ILLUSTRATIONS, the title page hand-painted and treated to give an "antique parchment" effect (including darkened margins), and the text with frames resembling the entrance to a Gothic cathedral, with hand-colored knights bearing the arms of the barons who signed the Charter posed within the niches that would, at a church, contain saints. Front flyleaf with a tipped-on handwritten letter dated 18 October 1817 and signed by the Earl of Guildford presenting this work—"the number of which is limited"— to diplomat and author Philip James Green. ◆Half a dozen negligible abrasions (perhaps from insect activity) to lower board, but the binding essentially unworn and brilliant with gilt. Title leaf curling somewhat (perhaps to mimic one of the characteristics of parchment?), isolated faint thumbing, but A VERY FINE SPECIMEN--very clean, fresh, and bright internally, the gold text glittering and the decorations richly colored.

This is an intriguing presentation copy of what Lowndes proclaims "the most magnificent of all editions of Magna Carta." It is one of the copies printed on card, with additional hand-painted "antiquing" to the title page that gives the appearance of old vellum, and it was bound by Whittaker's workshop in the elaborate morocco that appeared on some of the deluxe copies printed on satin or vellum. It also contains the supplementary "Conventio," printed in 1817 and often not added to the vellum copies. Noted for his ingenious ability to produce near-indetectable facsimiles of leaves printed by William Caxton and other incunabular presses, the typographer, printer, binder, and bookseller John Whittaker amazed the bibliophilic community by developing a process for printing text in gold. The Magna Carta was his first such undertaking; in 1816, he issued copies printed on thick drawing paper, vellum, or satin, with hand-painted embellishments. Dibdin notes that Whittaker was offered a premium from the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts in recognition of his innovation, but refused it as it was conditional on his "making the process known" to the public. This was a wise move in Dibdin's eyes, as Whittaker understood "the importance of keeping it secret." The hand-colored illustrations for the work were done by watercolor painter John Harris Sr. (1767-1832) and his son, John Jr. (1791-1873); the latter in 1820 went to work for the British Museum, where he specialized in producing remarkable facsimiles of missing leaves from antiquarian books--a skill he likely acquired while in Whittaker's employ. According to Dibdin and Lowndes, the coats of arms were designed under the supervision of herald Thomas Willement (1786-1871). This copy was presented to diplomat Philip James Greene, author of "Sketches of War in Greece" (1827), by Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford (1766-1827), a colonial administrator who had served as the first British governor of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). A noted bibliophile with an impressive library, Guilford himself had an ultra-deluxe copy of this work on vellum with an added portrait of King John, in a blue morocco binding and case (lot 920 in his sale by Mr. Evans, 12-17 January 1829). No doubt Whittaker was happy to create a special copy for such an important client to present to a friend. Although the present copy can clearly be seen as less desirable than those printed on vellum, its very striking binding and the fuller text including the Conventio material provide significant compensatory features..