detail from Strawberry Hill Press title-page: Euing BD15-b.18

Literature

The general collection is especially strong in 17th- and 18th-century English literature - Euing’s friendship with the Shakespearean scholar, James Orchard Halliwell (later Halliwell-Phillipps), resulted in the acquisition of many choice items in this field, including a copy of the Shakespeare First Folio. There are copies of first editions of Burton’s Anatomy of melancholy, Milton’s Paradise lost and Paradise regain’d, Locke’s Essay concerning humane understanding and Swift’s Gulliver’s travels; and Euing’s collection of 408 black-letter ballads can stand comparison with the Dyce Collection in the Bodleian Library.

Illustrated and Topographical works

Illustrated books and fine typography of the 18th and 19th centuries are also well represented - especially Baskerville, Barbou, Bodoni, Didot, the Strawberry Hill Press and Foulis Press.

Smaller Groups

Euing’s catholic tastes are reflected in the presence of many smaller groups of books: books on travel and exploration (including Americana); art, architecture, design and ceramics; works on marine biology and on angling; tracts on temperance and on vegetarianism; works on Scottish history; fine bindings. In the course of forming his library Euing also gathered together a splendid collection of book sale catalogues, library catalogues and bibliographical works. In addition he made special efforts to collect the works of particular authors: Cervantes’ Don Quixote, Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s progress, the Imitatio Christi of Thomas à Kempis, and the works of George Wither, Allan Ramsay and Ossian.