[Beaumont, J.], The Present State of the Universe, 3rd edition, London, 1701, containing "the Ensigns, Colours or Flags of the Ships at Sea: Belonging to the Several Princes and States in the World"
antique calf, with decorated boards and ribbed spine with original label, some old damages within the text and preliminary pages but the 70 hand-coloured flags in good condition, with index

Although a very small number of flag treatises are recorded from the seventeenth century, almost all are in manuscript form and are predominantly European rather than English; the third edition of The Present State of the Universe is, however, believed to be the first printed work in English which illustrates sea flags [it is presumed that the two earlier editions lacked this section]; copies of this third edition are rare and hand-coloured ones excessively so.