Ackermann’s first large format book was the Loyal Volunteers of London, 1799. This was a slightly different type of work in that it shows the volunteer regiments that were formed for the defence of England at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. It did, however, give Ackermann a chance to show his patriotism for his adopted country, and he seized it with both hands, the text having a strong anti-French message. The plates themselves are more interesting than the typical military books of the time as they show various drills. Our copy is one of the early ones with the plates heightened with gold and silver. It was a great way for Ackermann to launch himself into the world of luxury books.
What he has left book collectors is a large collection of books usually in superlative condition, the result of his discrimination in the first place, and just as important the fact that they have changed hands very infrequently. Indeed, until the 1975 sale, these books would only have come to market at the Hamilton Place sales in the 1880’s, Beckford’s daughter Susan, having married the Duke of Hamilton, where they were bought by the fifth Earl of Rosebery.
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