GROTE, George.

London, John Murray, 1846-56. 8vo. xxxii,+ 648 pp.+ large folding engr. hand-coloured map; xvi,+ 615,+ (3),+ 16 pp.+ large folding engr. hand-coloured map,+ folding lith. map. xii,+ 558 pp.+ 2 folding engr. maps; xv,+ (blank),+ 562,+ (2),+ 16; (2),+ xviii,+ 543 pp.+ folding lith. map,+ 3 lith. plates; xxi,+ (blank),+ 675 pp.+ 1 lith. plate; xviii,+ 587,+ (5),+ 16 pp.+ 2 folding engr. hand-coloured maps; xxiii,+ (blank),+ 689,+ (1); xx,+ 538,+ (2),+ 24 pp.+ 3 engr. maps, of which two folding,+ errata slip; xxviii,+ 716,+ (1) pp.+ 5 engr. maps, of which three are folding; xxviii,+ 721 pp; Engr. portrait,+ (2),+ xxxvi,+ 739,+ (1) pp.+ 2 engr. maps, of which one is folding and hand-coloured. Slight foxing, more in the beginning and on the portrait in volume 12. Publ. embossed brown cloth with gilt lettering on spines, edges trimmed (bound by Remnant and Edmonds). Twelve volumes, the first three spines somewhat rubbed and hinges of volume three and eight with crack. Volumes 7, 10, part of 11 uncut. Dedication from the author to Nils Samuel and Frances Eliza von Koch in part one, and to Nils Samuel only in part three, four, five, six, eleven and to Frances Eliza only in part seven, eight, nine and ten. Fine provenance. George Grote and Nils Samuel von Koch were brothers-in-law. First editions, except volume 7, 8 and 11 that are in the second, of George Grote’s important history of classical Greece, from the mythical beginning to the end of Alexander’s Empire. With a total of 21 maps and plans and 1 portrait.George Grote (1794-1871) was not only a highly influential historian of classical Greece but also a political radical. In 1820 he was married to the biographer Harriet Lewin (1792–1878), sister to Frances Eliza Lewin (1804-88) who was married to the Swedish liberal jurist and politician Nils Samuel von Koch (1801-81). Koch like Grote was very engaged in the social questions of his time, such as education, penalty laws and prisons, voting rights etc. and their home in Stockholm was a network for the liberal elite. Thanks to his wife and her family they also had a broad English network.