Biographies by Lord Brougham and English Letter Book. These two titles are “Historical Sketches Of Statesmen Who Flourished In The Time of George III” and “An English Letter Book”. “Historical Sketches Of Statesmen Who Flourished In The Time of George III” is a two-volume set written by Henry Lord Brougham and published in Philadelphia in 1839 by Lea & Blanchard, and it is the Second Series, according to the title page in both volumes. The books include sketches about the Lives of King George the IV and Lord Nelson in the first book and Lafayette, Talleyrand, and Napoleon in the second one. The books have paper labels on the spines, purple boards, blank endpapers, the title pages, one page of Contents in each book, and 212 pages of text in the first volume and 196 pages in the second volume of the series. Henry Lord Brougham (1778 - 1868) was a British statesman who became Lord High Chancellor and played a prominent role in passing the 1832 Reform Act and the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act. Born in Edinburgh, Brougham helped found the "Edinburgh Review" in 1802 before moving to London, where he became a barrister in 1808. Elected to the House of Commons in 1810, he was a member of Parliament for many years and was very popular for helping defeat the 1820 Pains and Penalties Bill, an attempt by the widely disliked George IV to annul his marriage to Caroline of Brunswick. He became an advocate of liberal causes including free trade and parliamentary reform, and he was passionately devoted to the abolition of the slave trade. “An English Letter Book” was compiled and edited by Francis Bickley and published in London in MCMXXV [1925] by Guy Chapman and edited at the Edinburgh Press in Edinburgh, and it’s a first edition, according to WorldCat. The book is 3/4 bound, with five raised bands, gilt lettering, and gilt devices on the spine. marbled endpapers, a penciled note on a blank flyleaf which reads “First Edition $95”, a half-title, the title page, a four-page preface, ten pages of Contents, 226 pages of text, and the top edge is gilt. Francis Lawrence Bickley (1885-1976) was an English author who wrote about Matthew Arnold, Marie Antoinette, and pre-Raphaelite comedy, as well as a very successful book titled “The Adventures of Harlequin” published two years before this book, and the writings here include letters from English dignitaries that go way back to the 1400’s and all the way up to the 1830’s and provide glimpses into English social life and customs of the times. The Brougham books measure 7 3/4 x 4 7/8 in. wide, with tight bindings and clean pages and text. The spines and paper labels have faded a bit and the covers have been sunned around the edges, there’s light loss at the crowns and heels, just specks of rubbing at the tips, and occasional offset, but not much. The English Letter Book is 8vo. and measures 8 5/8 x 5 7/8 in. wide and is in very good condition, with a tight binding and clean pages and text, and just specks of rubbing at the heel, crown, and at the tips. #195 #1573