The Antiquities of Scotland - Francis Grose 1797 - Hooper &, London - First Hooper & Two magnificently illustrated large volumes of this comprehensive work, with 190 full page engraved plates, large engraved folding Index Map to the Antiquities of Scotland. ‘Shewing the Situation of Every Building Described in this Work’, two engraved title pages, and one in text Plan of Druidical Stone.

Grose (1731-91), English antiquary draughtsman and lexicographer, initiated the eighteenth-century's most extensive series of published illustrations of ancient monuments.

In 1788 he began the first of several tours of Scotland in order to produce
The Antiquities of Scotland. It was on the second of these tours, in summer 1789, that he met and immediately formed a friendship with the poet Robert Burns. Burns met him while he was staying with Robert Riddell at the Friar's Carse, collecting material for his Scottish work. Burns suggested to him that he should include Alloway Kirk in his Scottish Antiquities, and Grose agreed on condition that Burns provided a witch tale to go with his drawing. In June 1790, Burns sent Grose a prose tale with a variant in a letter to Grose, following it up with a rhymed version, "Tam o' Shanter" (see Volume II, page 31).
  Provenance: Thomas Eustace Smith [1861-1902], JP, barrister, and owner of Smith's Dock on Tyneside (which eventually became the Swan Hunter shipyard), with his armourial bookplates, and his inscription placed at St. Laurence to title page.

Reference: Lewine, Bibliography of 18th Century Art & Illustrated Books, 226.

Two volumes pp. [4] iv, xxiii (xxiii incorrectly numbered xviii) [1] 176 [4]; [2] iv 140 [2].
Collation - Volume I - Frontis, engraved title page, folding map, 83 plates, plan (p171); Volume II - Engraved title page, 106 plates.
  Bound by Lubbock of Newcastle in full hand mottled green calf, spine tooled and rule in gilt, twin burgundy and black spine labels title in gilt, panels with patterned gilt borders, panel edges and turn-ins patterned in gilt, blue marbled endpapers, marbled edges. Rebacked using original spine labels.   Condition: Near fine, light foxing to endpapers, in very good bindings, rubbing to edge, rebacked with original spine laid down.   Ref: 107042   Price: HK$ 8,000