[Provenance: Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun] P.A. Samson. Histoire de Guillaume III

Roi d'Angleterre, d'Ecosse, de France et d'Irlande, &c. Contenant ce qui s'est passé de plus particulier depuis sa naissance jusques à sa mort (...). Par P.A. Samsom. The Hague, E. Foulque, 1703-1704, 3 vols., (14),473,(29); 476,(42); 478,(49) p., with engr. frontisp. portrait, 14 other portraits, engr. title vignettes, 3 (large) fold. maps and a large fold. view of a sea battle, contemp. unif. calf with gilt and ribbed spines, gilt board edges, 12mo.

Offsetting from turn-ins; tops of spines worn (headbands showing). Attractive set of this rather scarce work, from the library of Andrew Fletcher, with his owner's entry in pen on lower pastedowns. Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun (1655-1716), Scottish bibliophile, globetrotter, author of political works and member of parliament, friend of the philosopher John Locke. The greater part of the huge library (6000 books across a wide range of subjects, often bought during his travels) was sold in the 1960s. His choice of books reflects his broad interest in law and government (both theoretical and in practice), in politics, conspiracy and intrigue, religion, history and literature. See P.J.M. Willems, Bibliotheca Fletcheriana, the extraordinary library of Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, Reconstructed and Systematically Arranged (1999); W.C. Mackenzie, Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, his life and times (1935). On the work: De Buck 2629; Lowndes III, 2183. Almost the entire stock of a fourth volume was seized and destroyed.