Subject Catalogue of the Library of the Royal Empire Society Formerly Royal Colonial Institute A monumental and comprehensive bibliography that took 7 years to catalogue and print

A monumental and comprehensive bibliography that took 7 years to catalogue and print.

Royal Empire Society, London, 1930-1937
This covers all aspect of the former Colonies, and catalogues books, ephemera and articles. An invaluable reference resource on Colonial Rule.

This is a scarce first edition. Although there are modern facsimiles (which are offered for hundreds of dollars) there are no copies of the complete set available to purchase at the current time.

These are an ex library set - from the Wigan Free Public Library (This closed down some years ago, and is now the Museum of Wigan Life). but as it was from the reference section. there is merely a label to the inside board of each volume, and embossed stamps plus usual accession stamp to the reverse of the title pages.

Overall condition: Blue cloth with gilt titles. Slight rubbing to the boards, A little bumping to the head and tail of the spine. library number to the base of the spine. Inside the work is clean and tidy with the usual library stamps (but quite discrete) a little darkening to the page edges.

Volumes and specific condition are as follows.

1) The British Empire Generally, and Africa.
1930. Contains a geographical index - items are catalogues by general empire (page 1-139) and by country, follwed by the index of authors.
1-582, i-cxxiii (123). pages

2) The Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of New Zealand, The South Pacific, General voyages and travels, and Arctic and Antarctic regions.
1931. Preface, Geographical index. Australia is page 1-383. Although there are a number of Arctic and Antarctic items, as this is primarily about the colonies, these are limited to 10 pages.
Followed by the index of authors.
1-664, 665-761. pages.

3) The Dominion of Canada and its Provinces, the Dominion of Newfoundland, The West Indies and Colonial America.
1932. Preface. Geographical index. Canada comprises pages 1-486. Americal and the United states comprise pages 634-703. Index of authors.
1-712, 713-822. pages.

4) The Mediterranean colonies, The Middle East, Indian Empire, Burma, Ceylon, British Malaya, East Indian Islands and the Far East.
1937. Preface. Geographical Index. India comprises pages 112-491. Index of authors.
1-683, 684-812.