Hob-nobing with 18th c. nobility: Maurice Shelton - The True Rise of Nobility (1718)

[SHELTON, Maurice]. An Historical and Critical Essay on the True Rise of Nobility, Political and Civil, From the First Ages of the World, thro the Jewish, Grecian, Roman Commonwealths, &c. down to this Present Time, to which is Annex’d The Order of Precedency; with other Curious Things: Chiefly extracted from a Valuable Manuscript, write by an Herald. With A Compleat Index to the Whole. London: Printed for C. Rivington, M.DCC.XVIII [1718].  FIRST EDITION (195 x 125mm) pp. vii,[1],179,[21]. Penmark on title page, occasional browning. Contemporary card binding. Overall in VERY GOOD condition.  ESTC T89512.    MB196