THROSBY'S LEICESTERSHIRE VIEWS SUPPLEMENT 1790 ILLUSTRATED COUNTY HISTORY
 
Title & Bibliographic Details
 
The Supplementary Volume to the Leicestershire Views: Containing a Series of Excursions in the Year 1790, to the Villages and Places of Note in the County
By John Throsby
Published in 1790 (MDCCXC)
Printed for the Author by J. Nichols
Sold by G. G. J. and J. Robinson, Paternoster Row, London; Mr Alderman Boydell; Mr Richardson and other booksellers and printsellers.
Illustrated with a folding engraved frontispiece map of Leicestershire, sixteen engraved plates, and three illustrations within the text.
 
Historical & Bibliographic Context
 
John Throsby's Leicestershire Views remains one of the most important eighteenth-century studies of the county of Leicestershire. Published during the great age of British topographical writing, it combines travel observations, local history, antiquarian research, genealogy, architecture, archaeology and natural history.
This supplementary volume records Throsby's journeys through villages, churches, estates and historic sites throughout Leicestershire during 1790. Particularly valuable is his incorporation of material from earlier authorities including Burton, Nichols and other significant county historians, preserving information that might otherwise have been lost.
Today the work remains an important source for local historians, genealogists, collectors of county histories and students of Georgian England.
 
About the Author
 
John Throsby (1740-1803) was a noted English antiquary, printer and topographical writer best remembered for his detailed studies of Leicestershire's history, architecture, genealogy and antiquities.
 
Binding & Exterior Description
 
A substantial folio-sized volume attractively bound in full calf leather.
The spine features five raised bands, gilt panel decoration, gilt titling and blind-stamped ornamentation. The boards remain structurally sound and highly decorative, presenting extremely well on the shelf.
The binding on the spine is likely a handsome nineteenth-century rebinding rather than the original 1790 binding.
Condition is notably good for a book now over 235 years old. There is expected wear including rubbing and scratching to the leather, bumping and rubbing to the corners and general shelf wear commensurate with age and use.
 
Illustrations & Plates
 
This copy is complete with the illustrations called for in the Directions to the Binder on page 536.
The volume contains:
One folding engraved frontispiece map of Leicestershire facing the title page.
Sixteen engraved plates (Plates I–XVI), including topographical views, coats of arms, antiquarian remains, monuments, fossils, shells, churches, chapels, and Ashby-de-la-Zouch Castle.
Three additional illustrations printed within the text, including the plan of the Wether Meadow adjoining the River Soar (page 86), a small illustration on page 131, and a diagram on page 201.
The illustrations correspond with the Directions for Placing the Plates printed on page 536. As is often encountered in eighteenth-century books, the exact position of some plates varies slightly from the directions, but all appear present and accounted for.
 
Interior Condition
 
Internally this is an unusually clean and well-preserved example.
The pages are lightly toned with occasional light marks, minor creasing and very slight crinkling in places. There is a small amount of pencil on the reverse of the folding frontispiece map, but no further writing has been noted.
There is:
Small edge tear to the folding map 
Small hole to the plate facing page 190 
Tear through pages 306 and 307 which passes through text without obscuring readability 
Very small holes to pages 56, 293-294 and 302-303 
Occasional small edge tears and corner tears 
The pastedowns show a couple of small areas that may represent historic insect activity.
The text block remains very tight and secure throughout.
All 536 pages are present and accounted for.
 
Physical Details
 
Publisher: J. Nichols for the Author
Date: 1790
Binding: Full calf leather
Illustrations: Folding map and numerous engraved plates
Pagination: 536 pages
Dimensions: Approx. 26.8 cm × 21.7 cm × 5.1 cm
Weight: Approx. 1,754 grams
 
Rarity & Collector Notes
 
This is a scarce and highly desirable eighteenth-century county history, made especially attractive by its apparent completeness.
Many surviving copies are lacking plates, maps, or other illustrative material. This example retains:
The folding engraved frontispiece map of Leicestershire. 
All sixteen engraved plates called for in the Directions to the Binder. 
Three additional illustrations printed within the text. 
A handsome full calf binding, likely an early-to-mid nineteenth-century rebinding. 
Complete examples with the map and full suite of plates are increasingly difficult to find, particularly in such well-preserved condition.