SEELEY, John Robert “A Short History of Napoleon the First” [Seeley & Co, 1895]

SEELEY, John Robert. A Short History of Napoleon the First.

London: Seeley and Co. Limited, 1895. Fifth Thousand. 7.5" X 5.25", xvi + 336pp. Bound in full red polished calf, boards with gilt double-rule border and gilt armorial crest of the University of Boston (“Schola Bostoniensis”) to upper cover, spine elaborately gilt in compartments with black morocco lettering piece. Marbled endpapers and edges (faded). Top edge gilt. Bound by Bickers & Son. Some rubbing and surface wear to boards, light scuffing at joints and corners, spine ends rubbed, text generally clean. Very Good.

First published in 1881, the work reflects Seeley’s emphasis on statecraft, empire, and political consequence rather than personal myth, and it was widely adopted in university and higher-school curricula.