Walpole, Horace.

First edition, 5 volumes, 4to (237 x 186mm.), with extensive contemporary marginal additions throughout, wherein a studious early reader has inserted the copious additions and revisions made in the enlarged second and third editions of the work, 111 plates in total by Bannerman, Chambars, Grignion, Miller and Walker, including the extra portraits in volume 2 and 3 (see Hazen p.58), without the advertisement leaf at the end of volume 2 (not integral), also without the Additional Lives for volumes 2 and 3 sometimes found at the end of these volumes, but with 22pp. of additional lives and addenda added in a contemporary hand at the end of volume 4, near contemporary straight-grained red morocco gilt  by Staggemeier and Welcher, covers tooled in gilt with border composed of Greek key roll within fillets with quadrilateral tool enclosing circular design in the corners, inner border composed of leafy and wavy roll, spines in six compartments with various oval, circular, leafy, Greek key and other tools, dark blue and olive green morocco labels, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, corners very slightly worn, some other very slight wear to binding, some occasional offsetting and spotting to text

A very fine copy.

The first three volumes of the Anecdotes, and the volume of Engravers, were published in an edition of approximately 300 copies in 1762-63 (see Hazen, p.56, quoting Walpole in a letter to Cole, 30 November 1780). The long deferred fourth volume, planned since 1763, but delayed owing to Walpole's unwillingness to publish what he had said about Hogarth's Sigismunda, was finally published in October 1780.

L. Staggemeier of Osnasbruck, and Samuel Welcher, also of Germany, were in partnership by 1799 at 11 and 12 Villiers Street on The Strand, and worked together until around 1810. They were one of the most prolific workshops producing high quality binding work in London at the time, often working for the Pall Mall bookseller James Edwards.