RUSHWORTH, John (ca 1612-1690). Historical Collections... [The Second Part....] [The Second Volume of the Second Part....] [The Third Part; in Two Volumes...] [The Third Part: Volume the Second.] London: [the First part and the Second Part] J.D. for John Wright, 1659, 1680. [The Third Part] Richard Chiswell and Thomas Cockerill, 1692.

3 parts in 5 volumes only (of 8), folio (317 x 198 mm). Vol. I: engraved portrait of Charles I, double-page engraved map showing England and a view of Prague by Hollar; Vol. II: engraved portraits of Charles I, Archbishop Laud, and the Duke of Hamilton; Vol. II: engraved portrait of Sir Thomas Wentworth; Vol. IV: engraved portrait of Rushworth. (Some browning and staining, a few small wormholes or rust-holes). Contemporary blind-ruled calf (neatly rebacked preserving original spines, corners repaired, some adhesive remnants to a few paste-downs from an old bookplate).

FIRST EDITIONS OF RUSHWORTH'S "HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS," THE FIRST DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR. Rushworth incorporated council and parliamentary papers to which he had privileged access, and collected news pamphlets and periodicals which all served as important source material for his History. Only the first two parts were published during Rushworth's lifetime, despite his work on it throughout the 1650s. Rushworth later found favor in America, where his works served as a source of inspiration for Thomas Jefferson, who had a copy of Historical Collections in his library from which he quoted often.