Maroon cloth binding with gilt title on the spine. Dimensions are for one volume.

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Please view our photographs. This is an excellent listing for a highly regarded historical and political text. Governments and Parties in Continental Europe (Volumes I & II) by Abbott Lawrence Lowell is a foundational work in comparative politics. Published by the Riverside Press (Houghton, Mifflin and Company) in 1897, this specific printing follows shortly after its initial 1896 release. 

Lowell, who later became the President of Harvard University, used this text to offer one of the earliest detailed analyses of the institutional frameworks and party mechanics across European nations like France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland.

Key Details & Summary

• Author: A. Lawrence Lowell
• Publisher & Press: Houghton, Mifflin and Company / The Riverside Press (Cambridge, Mass.)
• Publication Year: 1897
• Format: Two-volume hardcover set
• Dimensions: 6.4 x 8.8 x 1.2 inches
• Language: English
• Condition: Very Good (A well-preserved set of this age typically features firm bindings, minor shelf wear, clean pages, and minimal fading to the spine’s gilt lettering). 

Context for Collectors & Readers

An early edition set in “Very Good” condition is desirable for collectors of 19th-century political science, legal history, and antiquarian books. Because these volumes were heavily used as academic textbooks at the turn of the century, finding a clean copy with intact bindings and minimal interior marking is a great find.