The London bindery of W. T. Morrell was established c. 1861 in Soho, London. Morrells son W.J. Morrell took over the management in 1887 after his fathers death, and subsequently brought his brother John into partnership. In 1891 an observer noted that W.J. & J. Morrell, at that time employing 50 people, preferred to bind all their work by hand and the gilding and the marbling of both paper and leather was also done on site. The editor of these works, George Birkbeck Hill (1835-1903), devoted himself to the study of English 18th-century literature, and gained a reputation as the most learned commentator on the works of Samuel Johnson. The elaborate six-volume edition of Boswell's Life of Johnson, included here, is a monumental work, invaluable to a student studying Johnson. A gorgeous set that will look magnificent on the shelf of any Johnson admirer.
