Complete in two volumes. Both volumes first editions, first printings. xii, 464pp; 465-856pp. Volumes uniformly bound in cloth-overed boards with gilt lettering on spine. 8vos. Cloth very slightly pushed at spine ends. Text block edges very slightly and lightly spotted. Previous owner's bookplate on front free endpaper of both volumes. The rear free endpapers in both volumes have faint smudge marks. Both volumes in their original paper dust wrappers, a little bumped on extreme edges. Dust wrappers protected in Mylar-style protective sleeves (the sleeves are a little shelf worn).
Syme's definitive biography of Tacitus, first published in 1958, remains the most extensive study of the ancient Roman historian and is backed by exhaustive analysis of the historical, cultural and political context in which Tacitus lived and worked. Claimed by some to be the single most through study of a major historian ever produced, it is an important work. A very nice, presentable, first edition set.
