Alison, Archibald. History of Europe from the Fall of Napoleon in MDCCCXV to the Accession of Louis Napoleon in MDCCCLII (four volume set). New York: Harper & Brothers, c 1860. [10751]
Four volumes in black publisher's cloth, bindings are blind stamped, gilt to spines, clean, with slight edge-wear. 9 1/4 x 6 inches, previous owner's name embossed on the ffep of each volume. Vol. I. with one inch paste repair to the top front of the backstrip. xvi, 441; xii, 479; xii, 449; xii, 542, 147 clean pp. Printed in double columns. There is a 1969 date stamp and other markings on the rear free end paper of each volume. Very good. Hardcover.
This History covers the period 1815 to 1852 and was first published in parts from 1852 to 1859. This is the complete series with the general index in the last volume (147 pp.). It is a sequel to his earlier 10 volume work covering the period 1789 to 1815. Sir Alison's histories were met with high acclaim.
Sir Archibald Alison, 1st Baronet (1792-1867), Scottish attorney and historian. His financial success as an attorney enabled him to pursue his interest in the history of his own times. He studied and wrote of history as a conservative, and said that his mission was "to oppose the erroneous opinions which, since the French Revolution, had...overspread the world" and "to show the corruption in human nature and the divine superintendence of human affairs..." He sought to prove that "popular convulsions lead to military despotism," and his personal involvement in suppressing strikes and riots as sheriff of Lanarkshire served to enforce his views. - see article at DNB.
