Crowned Masterpieces Of Eloquence Full Set Of 10 Vols

Crowned Masterpieces of Eloquence is a ten-volume monument to the ancient human belief that, if a thing is worth saying, it is probably worth saying at considerable length, preferably while standing upright and frightening the furniture. Published in 1923 by the International University Society, this full set gathers the grand tradition of public speech: oratory, argument, persuasion, patriotic thunder, moral uplift, courtroom flourishes, parliamentary manoeuvres, commemorative solemnity and the general spectacle of language putting on its best waistcoat and marching into history.

This is not a book, exactly. It is a small architectural decision. Ten volumes of eloquence have a different presence from one volume of eloquence. One volume suggests reading. Ten volumes suggest civilisation has arrived with luggage and expects a decent shelf. These are the sort of books that make a room look more serious simply by standing in it, even if everyone nearby is eating crisps and looking for the remote control.

Inside is the world before speeches were broken into clips, captions and nervous fragments. Here are people addressing nations, courts, causes, assemblies, mobs, mourners, voters, pupils, enemies and posterity itself, often with the serene confidence that posterity had cleared the afternoon. The set belongs to the age when eloquence was still treated as a public instrument: something that could instruct, inflame, console, flatter, condemn, persuade and occasionally make everyone forget the speaker was also after votes.

There is a lovely irony in the title. “Crowned Masterpieces” has no interest in modesty. These are not “quite good speeches” or “selected remarks from people who probably meant well.” No, these are crowned. Language has been placed on a throne, handed a sceptre, and told to behave as if the future of civilisation depends upon the next subordinate clause. And perhaps, sometimes, it did. Before television softened everyone into panels and soundbites, a speech could still be an event rather than a thing endured before the buffet opened.

The physical set is part of the appeal. Ten matching 1920s volumes, decorated spines, proper old-book gravity, and enough collective bulk to suggest that opinions used to be manufactured in harder-wearing materials. They sit together with that pleasing interwar dignity: not flashy, not modern, not streamlined, just solidly convinced that knowledge should weigh something. They are ideal for a reader, collector, decorator, speechwriter, history enthusiast, or anyone who feels their shelves have become too flimsy and need to be reminded of rhetoric, empire, law, liberty, and dust.

Very Good full set of ten volumes, as sold by Crappy Old Books. Near perfect condition considering the age, with only a slight nick to the spine of volume 2, which after more than a century feels less like damage and more like the set politely admitting it has lived on Earth. No ISBN, naturally, because this is from the period when books identified themselves by standing heavily in a room and looking important.

Please note: this is an 11kg set, because eloquence was apparently denser in 1923. UK shipping is likely to be around £15 and will need to be charged after purchase as an additional payment on top of the normal standard shipping. A splendid old ten-volume shelf-filler, mind-improver and postage-complicator, ready to bring instant gravitas to any home willing to reinforce the bookcase.

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