These are two sets of books written by Washington Irving and published by G P Putnam’s Sons. The first is called The Alhambra, a two-volume set published in 1891, and it’s a collection of essays, verbal sketches and stories inspired by his visit to the palace and fortress complex known as the Alhambra in Granada, Spain in 1828. 

Sizes: 9 x 6 5/8 in. 8 7/8 x 6 5/8 in. 

Washington Irving (1783- 1859) was an American author, essayist, biographer, and historian better known for his short stories Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, he wrote several histories of early Spain that dealt with subjects such as the Alhambra, Christopher Columbus, and the Moors, and he served as American ambassador to Spain in the 1840’s.  

Shortly after completing his biography of Columbus in 1828, Irving travelled from Madrid to Granada and asked the then-governor of the Alhambra Palace as well as the archbishop of Granada for access to the palace, which was granted because of Irving's celebrity status. Irving gathered legends and tales about the Alhambra, then left for other parts of Spain. The following year, he returned to the Alhambra and lived in an apartment there for about three months and was given access to its archives. He was inspired by his experiences to write Tales of the Alhambra, which was published in 1832, and in 1851, he wrote an "Author's Revised Edition", titled just The Alhambra; the book was instrumental in reintroducing the Alhambra and Spain to Western audiences. 

The books here measure 9 x 6 5/8 inches wide, with bevelled edges, a decorated spine with gilt lettering and arabesque or moorish designs and “Darro Edition” on the spine, the front covers have the same arabesque or moorish design inside black and gilt borders, with decorated yellow endpapers, then a frontispiece showing the entrance to the Mosque of the Alhambra, then the title page, which says the book was published in New York and London in 1891 by G P Putnam’s Sons and printed at the Knickerbocker Press, it says Author’s Revised Edition on the title page, all the illustrations have tissue guards with red lettering that gives the title of each illustration, there are arabesque or moorish borders on the text of each page, the silk ribbon marker for each volume is still intact, and the top edges are gilt 

Vol I has a Preface ((iii - viii) with uncut pages, two pages of Contents (ix - x), a two-page list of Illustrations (xi - xii) and 266 pages of text. Volume II has one page of Contents, a two-page list of Illustrations, and 312 pages of text, with uncut pages, and The Alhambra is an attractive set with just faint soiling on the covers. 

Astoria is a beautiful two-volume set in maroon cloth, with the intricate gilt cover design by the famous artist and book designer Margaret Armstrong and her initials MA in gilt in the lower right corner of the front covers.   

The original title was Astoria, or Enterprise Beyond The Rocky Mountains, first published in 1836, and it described an expedition to the mouth of the Columbia River and the ultimate failure  to establish a viable commercial base at Astoria. The 1810 - 1813 expedition was financed by New York business man John Jacob Astor, with a view to establishing a trading post for his Pacific Fur Company, in competition with British and Russian interests in the region. This would have been the first American fur trading company west of the Rockies. The revised edition is called Astoria, or Anecdotes Of An Enterprise Beyond The Rocky Mountains and it was published by Putnam’s Sons in New York and London in 1897, and it is called the Tacoma Edition on the spine.   

The spines are decorated in beautiful gilt, there are blank endpapers, a frontispiece by Zogbaum in Volume I titled Encounter with the Crows, the title page says 1897 at the bottom and the copyright page says 1893, the books were printed at the Knickerbocker Press, and the top edges are gilt.  

Vol. I has Contents pages that run from v - xv, fourteen Illustrations listed on xv and xvi plus the frontispiece, a five-page Introduction xvii - xxi, and 389 pages of text. Volume II has Contents shown on v - xiv, a two- page list of Illustrations on xv - xvi with twelve plates listed plus the frontispiece, 358 pages of text, an Appendix that runs to page 391, and all the illustrations have tissue guards with red lettering that gives the title of each illustration. 

The two books for this set measure 8 7/8 x 6 5/8 inches wide and are in great condition. The bindings are bright and tight, and the pages and text are very clean, with the faintest of rubbing at the crown and at the tips and faint pink marks on the blank page before the frontispiece in Vol I and the second volume just faint rubbing at the tips. The maroon cloth also distinguishes this set from others, and it runs from $450 and up on the rare book website we use.  

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