World Orders of Knighthood & Merit

There was a time, not so long ago, that we thought that there might never be another Burke's, i.e. Burke's Peerage, and for decades the 1970 volume was being used to death. Such was the fame of Burke's that the offered alternative, Debrett's, never seemed to satisfy (such was the power of the Burke's brand name!). After a crises‐strewn publishing history Burke's Peerage eventually resurfaced in 1999. Now a two‐volume eight‐kilo heavyweight publication costing £250 lands on my desk! Emblazoned in gold on the rich maroon cover is the legend Burke's Peerage & Gentry/World Orders of Knighthood...