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The Great Events by Famous Historians was edited by Rossiter Johnson, LL.D., with associate editors Charles F. Horne, Ph.D., and John Rudd, LL.D., and published in 1905 by The National Alumni, New York. This ambitious 20 volume set presented world history through the original narratives of noted historians, arranged chronologically. This volume covers A.D. 1162 to 1300. The binding is a facsimile of an original held in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, executed by Geoffroy Tory and presented by him to King Francis I. The broken vase worked into the design was Tory's personal device, referenced in his treatise Champfleury as a symbol of the body's fragility. The boards are deep green cloth, elaborately blind stamped with the Tory pot cassé pattern described above. The binding remains firm, and the pages are deckle edged with only light signs of aging. Several signatures remain unopened, meaning the folded page edges were never separated with a letter opener or paper knife. These sections have never been read, and we've left them intact so the next owner can experience that pleasure themselves.