This account of the English civil wars is remarkable for having been written by someone directly involved. Edward Hyde was a lawyer and MP and was advisor to both Charles I and Charles II. His daughter Anne married Charles II's brother, later King James II and he was created Earl of Clarendon after the restoration, in 1661. However, he fell out of favour and was exiled for life in 1667. During this exile, he wrote and revised his history of the years around the civil war. This copy originally belonged to Sir Robert Harley, first Earl of Oxford and Mortimer (1661–1724) who was an avid bibliophile. He collected an amazing number of medieval manuscripts, as well as charters, rolls and more modern books. This volume was later purchased for the Royal Library by King George III. This particular 3-volume set of Clarendon's history is, however, most remarkable for its illustrations. It was extra-illustrated, probably in the 1720s by John Bulfinch for Robert Harley. The three volumes contain over 300 prints, mostly portraits and maps, which have been tipped in by hand at relevant pages. Although the practice of extra-illustrating books, especially histories, later became popular, this is thought to be the very first instance of the practice.