Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne (1845-1927) was Viceroy of India from 1888 to 1894. Lansdowne made “Autumn tours” to important states in order to maintain relationships with rulers and exert a gentle influence, as princely states were...

Just one of many wonderful old albumen photographs in four large, heavy albums of original photographs by Fratelli Alinari, the world's oldest photography firm, founded in Florence in 1852. In the beginning the company, started by two brothers, focused on documenting...

Marco Polo’s tales of his travels to the exotic Far East were filled with visions of fabulous riches and strange customs. It set parts of Europe on fire with curiosity, then fell from favor for a long time, and surged back to lasting prominence long after Marco Polo had left this world. This century-old edition has literally hundreds of handsome plates, illustrations, and detailed fold-out color maps and plans.

This small set of books has an especially interesting provenance, as it was given in 1882 to Victoria, Princess Royal by a British aristocrat that was close to the royal family. Victoria was an avid gardener, which may have been the motivation for the subject matter.