Phillip J. Pirages Rare Books Archives - Rare Book Insider

Phillip J. Pirages Rare Books

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THE WILD GALLANT: A COMEDY

DRYDEN, JOHN 216 x 160 mm. (8 1/2 x 6 1/4"). [8], 48, 57-78, [2] pp. (with pagination errors, but complete). Attractive 20th century blue half morocco over marbled boards, smooth spine, gilt titling. With small ink stamp of the Selbourne Library on verso of title and one other leaf. Macdonald 72a; ESTC R31381. See: Hume, "The Development of English Drama in the Seventeenth Century," p. 243. ◆Faint browning throughout (though mild relative to other copies of Restoration literature), small dampstains here and there, but no severe condition issues, and on the whole an excellent copy internally in a lustrous and virtually unworn binding. This is a rare copy of the first edition of Dryden's first play, a comedy, which was first staged in 1663. Hume notes that it "has often been seized on as an important prototype, especially for its low and sexual humour and its relatively realistic London love plot." Scholars have noted that the play is largely derivative of Spanish melodramas of the period, and borrows from the work of the Caroline dramatist Richard Brome; however, it still contains some memorable plot elements, such as Lord Nonsuch's belief that the Devil impregnated him, and Lady Constance's plan to dress up as the goddess Fortune in order to snare her lover into matrimony. Although Dryden had already earned esteem as a poet by the time he ventured into playwriting, his theatrical debut was not a success; as DNB relates, "Dryden's naïvety in matters of dissipation was apparent, and Pepys commented that: 'it was ill acted and the play so poor a thing as I never saw in my life almost, and so little answering the name, that from beginning to end I could not, nor can at this time, tell certainly which was the wild gallant.'" Our copy once belonged to Hugh Selbourne (1906-73), a respected Manchester physician and a passionate bibliophile with a notable library strong in the sciences. He was the owner of virtually all of Robert Boyle's works, and his care in choosing copies is reflected in the fact that his first printing of "The Sceptical Chymist" sold at Bonham's in 2015 for a remarkable £362,500. Copies of the first edition of "Wild Gallant" are uncommon in the marketplace.
  • $1,560
  • $1,560
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[Title in Greek]: MYTHOI. FABULAE GRAECÈ ET LATINÈ

(PLANTIN IMPRINTS). AESOP 123 x 80 mm. (4 3/4 x 3 1/8"). 166, [2] pp. Latin translation by Lorenzo Valla; life of Aesop by Maximo Plude. Contemporary blind-stamped pigskin, covers framed by multiple rules and foliate roll, central panel with figure of Justice holding a sword and scales, raised bands (flyleaves missing). Printer's compass device on title page. Printed in Greek and Latin in parallel columns. Front pastedown with armorial bookplate of Franz, Prince zu Thun-Hohenstein, of Tetschen, Bohemia; title page with ink stamps: V. Engelshofen 1888." Voet 16; Adams A-289; USTC 406068. ◆A bit splayed and with four tiny wormholes, pigskin a little stained, slight signs of wear, but a perfectly inoffensive original 16th century binding. Text with faint overall browning, a few other inconsequential imperfections, but internally fresh and clean. Coming from an important collection 19th century Bohemian library, this petite bilingual edition of Aesop's Fables was issued by the renowned press of Christopher Plantin (1520-89), who set up shop in Antwerp as a bookbinder in 1549, but turned to printing in 1555. He soon rose to the top of his trade, both as a printer and type designer. He produced, among a great many things, the celebrated Antwerp Polyglot Bible of 1569-72 and a steady stream of emblem books. In 1575, he employed nearly 150 workers, who helped to keep more than 20 presses going, and for a time, he established premises in Paris and Leyden. One can find other Plantin editions of Aesop, but this one is not traced in RBH. Our copy comes in a binding that features a panel stamp of Justice in Renaissance dress, a sword in one hand, scales in the other. The stamp does not appear in Haebler or EBDB, but is likely from a Low Countries or German binder. Our volume has had at least one distinguished previous owner--Austro-Hungarian noble and statesman, Prince Franz Anton von Thun und Hohenstein (1847-1916) was twice Governor of Bohemia (1889-96 and 1911-15) and was for a brief time Minister-President of Austria as well as Minister of the Interior from 1898 to 1899.
  • $676
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THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL

SHERIDAN, RICHARD BRINSLEY 213 x 130 mm. (8 1/2 x 5 1/4"). vi, 93, [3] pp. Full green levant by Riviere and Son (stamp-signed in gilt on front turn-in), raised bands, two compartments with gilt titling, gilt-ruled turn-ins. Front pastedown with armorial bookplate of Charles Lilburn; with two old catalogue descriptions laid-in. Williams, p. 216 (citing it as the first edition); Rothschild 1845; ESTC T762. See Day, "History of English Literature 1660 to 1837," pp. 193-94. ◆Covers detached, spine and edges of covers sunned to brown, corners a bit rubbed, but the contents in excellent condition, with just a hint of toning to title and a couple negligible blemishes elsewhere. First performed in 1777, this play attacking sentimentalism and scandal-mongers is called by Hazlitt "perhaps the most finished and faultless comedy which we have," and Day praises its "verbal ingenuity and sparkling prose." It is also one of the few 18th century plays that remains popular to the present day. As expected, the play is about love, but the plot is largely generated by the openly malicious machinations of the wonderfully named Lady Sneerwell, whose calumny not only furthers her matrimonial goals, but also simply gives her pleasure as the source of ignominy in others. As DNB observes, Sheridan's "comic invention exposes folly and hypocrisy through dramatic crises in a timeless way, and this has meant [his] plays remain alive." After a brilliant career as playwright and theatrical manager at Drury Lane, Sheridan (1751-1816) occupied a major place in the political landscape of the day in Parliament and later as Undersecretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury. And Day tells us that he was such a close confidant of the Prince of Wales that he wrote love letters for him. The present edition was long believed to be the first (and, in fact, one of the laid-in catalogue descriptions here advertises it as such), but it is now thought to be a later printing. ESTC notes that the BL catalogue proposes a date of 1795 for this edition, whereas other sources suggest it was printed in 1799. The Rothschild catalogue adds that this edition (along with the true first edition printed in Dublin and dated 1780) "were both piracies, and differ extensively from the authentic text in the MS copy annotated by Sheridan and presented by him to Mrs Crewe in 1777.".
  • $312
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MARRIAGE A-LA-MODE

DRYDEN, JOHN 222 x 168 mm. (8 3/4 x 6 1/2"). 6 p.l., 85, [1] pp. (lacking final blank). Later full calf with French fillet border, smooth spine with gilt lettering, lacy gilt turn-ins. Front pastedown with ex-libris of G. Walter Steeves; front free endpaper with book label of Marion C. Walker; small stamp of Selbourne Library on verso of title and in one lower margin. Macdonald 77a; ESTC R3349; Pforzheimer 330. ◆Joints cracked and the upper board detached (lower board holding firm), a little loss at head of spine and light rubbing to extremities; paper lightly toned, final leaf slightly soiled and with three small tears neatly repaired at fore edge (well away from the text), occasional stain, vague foxing, or other minor imperfection, but generally very good internally. This double-plotted mixture of Spanish intrigue and heroic love was the author's own favorite comedy. Of the two plots, the more intriguing one (in both senses) features two couples, each with a male attracted to the other male's woman. This attraction leads to various assignations by both of the tempted pairs, but the trysts are invariably and hilariously scheduled for exactly the same time and place! Eventually, as expected, the amorous whirlwind stops amicably. Like this play, Restoration audiences loved the Spanish comedies derived from Calderon because they emphasized ingenious reversals and usually degenerated into farce. But here Dryden operates on two levels: he uses bawdy songs while still maintaining a high social tone; he is thus able to manage incongruous plot elements to elevate as well as to delight his audience. Former owner Hugh Selbourne (1906-73) was a respected Manchester physician and a passionate bibliophile with a notable library strong in the sciences. He was the owner of virtually all of Robert Boyle's works, and his care in choosing copies is reflected in the fact that his first printing of "The Sceptical Chymist" sold at Bonham's in 2015 for a remarkable £362,500.
  • $520
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MASTER HUMPHREY’S CLOCK

DICKENS, CHARLES. (BINDINGS - ALVAH COOK?) 257 x 171 mm. (10 1/8 x 7 3/4"). Three volumes. VERY PRETTY CORAL RED MOROCCO, EXUBERANTLY GILT, LIKELY BY ALVAH COOK, covers tooled in a 17th century style with repeating compartments formed by drawer-handle tools, filled with flowers and stippling, raised bands, spines delicately tooled with central fleuron, leafy cornerpieces, gilt lettering, turn-ins with floral gilt roll, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. With frontisipiece in each volume and wood engravings throughout by George Cattermole and Hablot K. Browne. Eckel, pp. 67-70; Podeschi A51. ◆One leaf with upper corner restored (perhaps before printing), some margins faintly browned (because of paper quality), here and there a fox spot, other trivial internal imperfections, spines just slightly and evenly sunned, but AN ESPECIALLY PLEASING SET, internally with virtually no signs of use, and the lovely bindings unworn. First issued as a weekly periodical between April 1840 and December 1841, "Master Humphrey's Clock" contains several short stories and two of Dickens' novels, "The Old Curiosity Shop" and "Barnaby Rudge." An elderly and rather lonely Londoner, Master Humphrey decides to start a club for a handful of writing friends. These writers, among them Mr. Pickwick (of the eponymous "Papers"), would deposit their manuscripts in the case of Master Humphrey's grandfather clock, and Humphrey would read them aloud during meetings of the club. This sets the frame for relating "The Old Curiosity Shop," followed by "Barnaby Rudge." Dickens tired of using this device to present his novels, and ended "Master Humphrey's Clock" with the title character's death. In his "Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens," G. K. Chesterton regretted the fact that this is the only Dickens books in which characters from earlier stories appear, and declared that the stories of Master's Humphrey's writing club "show us better than anything else the whole unconscious trend of Dickens, the stuff of which his very dreams were made. If he had made up tales to amuse himself when half-awake (as I have no doubt he did) they would be just such tales as these." The most attractive bindings, employing tools and designs popular in the 17th century, are very possibly the work of Alvah Cook. The Bath Record Office holds 100 bindings by Cook, whom they identify on their website as "a lawyer by trade and amateur art bookbinder." Pictures of bindings from this collection clearly show that Cook was extraordinarily adept at replicating a variety of styles, including the complex 16th century French strapwork and even more challenging and intricate English Restoration work. Although his hometown has a cache of his bindings, examples--at least with an identifying stamp--seem to be rare in the marketplace. We could trace just one binding signed by him in RBH, a copy of Dickens' "Oliver Twist" beautifully covered in red morocco in the French 18th century style. Whoever did our "Humphrey's" bindings, it makes an extremely attractive impression on the shelf.
  • $6,760
  • $6,760
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EACH WITH A FULL-PAGE MINIATURE

(VELLUM PRINTING). LEAVES, OFFERED INDIVIDUALLY, FROM A BOOK OF HOURS PRINTED ON VELLUM 170 x 111 mm. (6 3/4 x 4 3/8"). Single column, 26 lines in a roman typeface. Each leaf with multiple one- to three-line initials, ALL WITH FULL METALCUT BORDERS on one side, incorporating vignettes and decorative designs, including the Dance of Death, and vining flowers and acanthus entwining animals and human figures, AND the other side of each leaf WITH A FULL-PAGE MINIATURE surrounded by an architectural border. Printed in red and black. ◆A little soiling in places and the occasional additional trivial imperfection, otherwise in fine condition. These leaves contain attractive full-page metalcut miniatures with highly desirable imagery, including the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Resurrection, the Three Dead, Betrayal, and Deposition, all executed with a fine degree of detail and attractive composition. Besides their obvious aesthetic appeal, these leaves also help to tell the story of the gradual shift from manuscript to print and encourage further study of the iconography, typography, and artistic processes involved. Printer Thielman Kerver the elder (d. 1522) came from Koblenz to Paris around 1497, and began printing works for the foremost Parisian publisher, Jean Petit, who was preeminent in the Paris book world for some 35 years, beginning about 1495. ISTC lists Kerver as the printer of 70 works, nearly half of them Books of Hours. After his death, Thielman's widow, Yolande Bonhomme, took over the shop and continued to print Books of Hours and other devotional and liturgical works, including the first Bible to be published by a woman (1526). For additional leaves at different price points, please check our website.
  • $364
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THE REMINISCENCES AND RECOLLECTIONS OF CAPTAIN GRONOW: BEING ANECDOTES OF THE CAMP, COURT, CLUBS, AND SOCIETY, 1810-1860

(BINDINGS - ZAEHNSDORF). GRONOW, [REES HOWELL] 267 x 168 mm. (10 1/2 x 6 5/8"). Two volumes. EXTREMELY HANDSOME RED CRUSHED MOROCCO, VERY INTRICATELY GILT, BY ZAEHNSDORF (stamp-signed on front turn-ins and with special oval gilt stamp on rear pastedowns), covers with wide filigree frame with densely massed scrolling fleurons, raised bands (unevenly spaced in the continental style) forming five compartments, the second and two small bottom compartments with titling, the top and elongated middle compartment decorated with intricate gilt in the same way as the boards, broad inner gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers (with a thickly gilt lining between dentelles and pastedowns), top edges gilt, other edges untrimmed. With 50 plates (comprising 25 images, each in two states: one proof before letters done on plate paper, the other on Whatman paper, titled and hand colored), as called for. A Large Paper Copy. Front pastedown with engraved bookplate of John Raymond Danson. ◆A couple of very faint scratches on back cover of volume II, just a hint of rubbing at top and bottom of lower joint of same volume, corners gently rubbed, but AN ESPECIALLY FINE COPY in remarkably decorative morocco, the text virtually spotless, and the bindings extremely lustrous and scarcely worn. Offered here as a particularly beautiful set, these "reminiscences" provide a memorable window into military and social life in London and on the continent during the half century preceding the author's death (at 71) in 1865. Captain Rees Howell Gronow had a knack for being in the right place at the right time, whether it be the Almack's assembly rooms where he was present for the introduction of the "shocking" new waltzes that replaced reel dances, or the Battle of Waterloo, for which he provided one of the finest eyewitness accounts. He also had the ability to write of his adventures in an entertaining fashion. After serving in the army for nearly 10 years, he returned to London with the intention of entering politics and, more importantly, pursuing life as a man about town. He purchased the house that had belonged to Beau Brummell, the famous dandy whose dress and manners were obviously an inspiration to Gronow. His political career was brief, as he was unable to afford the bribes necessary to sustain it. According to DNB, he then "devoted the next thirty years to a life of idleness and fashionable pursuits in London and, later, in Paris, where he was present during the coup d'état of 1-2 December 1851." He also began work on these memoirs, first published in 1861, with a second edition and three sequels to follow. DNB tells us that these accounts are accurate as to "his personal experiences, . . . the state of Paris in 1815, the condition of society in London in his own time, and the doings of the court of Napoleon III," but are not to be relied upon when Gronow embarks, however amusingly, on gossip about persons he never met. The present limited edition is illustrated with charming engravings selected by art writer Joseph Grego (1843-1908), and the book's glimmering, elaborately decorated morocco is very striking. No. 22 OF 870 COPIES printed for England and America with 25 plates in two states.
  • $2,028
  • $2,028
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OBSERVATIONS ON MODERN GARDENING

WHATELY, THOMAS 210 x 133mm. (8 1/4 x 5 1/4"). 4 p.l., 257, [1] pp. Contemporary quarter calf (tightened, and with joints replaced some time ago), marbled paper boards, raised bands, compartments with gilt floral tool, red morocco label with gilt lettering. Front pastedown with armorial bookplate of Porchester and three-character alphanumerical private library shelf location; title with the last name of the author written in ink in a contemporaneous hand. Henrey 1189. ◆Head and tail of spine with a little loss, the calf rather aged, boards with general overall soiling, edges and corners somewhat worn, but the restored binding quite sturdy; title slightly foxed, one opening with a few light stains, otherwise a surprisingly attractive copy internally--clean, fresh, and bright, with just the occasional negligible imperfection. According to Henrey, this is "the most comprehensive work on the theory of landscape design developed by the natural school before the time of Humphrey Repton." In his introduction, Whatley states that gardening is now brought to such perfection as to entitle it to "a place of considerable rank among the liberal arts," superior to landscape painting by being real. It has been "released now from the constraints of regularity, and enlarged beyond the purposes of domestic convenience," and "the most simple, the most noble scenes of nature are all within its province." The first part of the book discusses the components of a garden and their individual effects (ground, wood, water, rocks, and buildings); the second discusses the combining of parts into a unified scene that reflects the character of the garden. It was a popular book that went through several editions, was translated into French and German, and pirated. Among a number of persons giving the work high praise, Walpole described Whatley's book as "a system of rules [for garden design] pushed to a great degree of refinement, and collected from the best examples and practice . . . The work is very ingeniously and carefully executed, and in point of utility rather exceeds than omits any necessary directions." A person with a distinguished political career, Thomas Whatley (1726-72) was Secretary to the Treasury under George Grenville and was Lord North's Under-Secretary of State. Whately wielded considerable influence over matters of colonial legislation at a crucial time, and he was instrumental in producing the notorious 1764 American Revenue Act and the 1765 American Stamp Act. DNB tells us that his position on these issues was so intractable that "many Americans in London came to see him as their arch-foe." In spite of these sentiments, however, at least one prominent American was able to look past Whately's political stance where matters of gardening were concerned: Thomas Jefferson is known to have owned a copy of this work, and, according to DNB, "was impressed by it, and consulted it while laying out the grounds of Monticello.".
  • $988
DON SEBASTIAN

DON SEBASTIAN, KING OF PORTUGAL

DRYDEN, JOHN 217 x 170 mm. (8 1/2 x 6 3/4"). 8 p.l., 87, 96-132, [4] pp. (complete). Very fine dark green morocco by Lortic (stamped in gilt on front turn-in), covers with gilt coat of arms of the Comte de Penha Longa (with the motto 'Superabo'), raised bands, gilt titling, thick gilt turn-ins with multiple rules and decorative rolls, all edges gilt. Front pastedown with the book label of Marion C. Walker; verso of title and one other leaf with small ink stamp of the Selbourne Library; a couple of marginal pencil notations. Macdonald 89a; ESTC R16736; Pforzheimer 322. ◆Probably washed at the time of binding, faint browning and vague mottling due to paper quality, otherwise an especially fine copy, the text entirely clean, and the lustrous binding in virtually perfection condition. Esteemed by the Oxford Companion as "Dryden's most complex dramatic treatment of a number of important political, sexual, and religious themes," this tragicomedy involves various captures, reprieves, deaths, and, most notably, a renouncement of marriage vows at the end when the title character and his wife discover that their wedlock has been incestuous. It is of political pertinence that this was the author's first play to be written and staged after the Glorious Revolution (1688-89). As a Catholic convert, Dryden refused to pledge allegiance to the newly crowned Protestant William and Mary, and paid dearly for it--he was subsequently relieved of all appointments, including the title of poet laurate. "Don Sebastian" certainly ranks as one of Dryden's longest plays, but was successful in its day as "a powerful drama whose themes of friendship, loyalty, true kingship, and love thwarted by destiny carried contemporary resonances." (DNB) This is an especially nice copy, offered in an appealing binding. It is no surprise then that it once belonged to Hugh Selbourne (1906-73) was a respected Manchester physician and a passionate bibliophile with a notable library strong in the sciences. He was the owner of virtually all of Robert Boyle's works, and his care in choosing copies is reflected in the fact that his first printing of "The Sceptical Chymist" sold at Bonham's in 2015 for a remarkable £362,500.
  • $2,028
  • $2,028
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L’EXAMEN DES ESPRITS POUR LES SCIENCES . . . AUGMENTÉ DE PLUSIEURS ADDITIONS NOUVELLES PAR L’AUTEUR SELON LA DERNIERE IMPRESSION D’ESPAGNE

133 x 79 mm. (5 1/4 x 3"). 32 p.l., 629 pp.Translated from the Spanish by François Savinien d'Alquié. Excellent 19th century brown morocco "Cathedral" binding, covers with blind-stamp of gothic design, raised bands, gilt lettering, gilt-rolled turn-ins, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. With engraved allegorical title page by Romeyn de Hooghe, Ravesteyn's Elijah device (Rahir M. 46) on title page, Elzevier floral tailpieces (Rahir 91 and 94) at end of preface and on last page of text. Front pastedown with evidence of bookplate removal. Garrison-Morton 4964 (first edition); Krivatsy 6097; Rahir 1572; STC Netherlands 863948316; USTC 1809027. ◆Spine and head edge of rear board sunned to honey brown, extremities lightly rubbed, isolated faint foxing, but a very nearly fine copy, quite clean and fresh internally, in a binding showing very few signs of use. Printed by the esteemed Elzevier firm for a major Dutch bookseller, this is a 17th century French translation of a work described by Garrison-Morton as "the first attempt to show the connection between psychology and physiology." Translated as "The Examination of Men's Wits" in English, it was first printed as "Examen de Ingenios para las Ciencias" in Baeza, in 1575. A physician who had distinguished himself by his heroism during the plague at Baeza in 1566, Huarte (1529-88) explains here that by analyzing hereditary skills, strengths, humors, and other factors such as diet, climate, conjunction of the stars, education, and so on, one could determine the profession or trade to which a person is best suited. Much ahead of his time, Huarte, as a logical extension of his analysis, recommended a rudimentary form of aptitude testing and career counseling for the schools. When examining the various ways the four bodily humors are mixed, the author theorized, contrary to modern expectations, that "well balanced" individuals will necessarily be mediocre, and only an imbalance or "distemper" of some sort can make a man exceptional. Although the Inquisition did not at first object to the work, professors at Baeza, feeling that their disciplines were being mocked by Huarte's thesis, succeeded in petitioning inquisitors to have the book prohibited. But by that time, the work had already appeared in multiple Spanish and French editions, and quickly thereafter appeared in Italian, Latin, English, Dutch, and German. Although our volume does not bear the family name, it was one of those produced by the Elzeviers for Amsterdam bookseller Johannes van Ravesteyn. Although Willems thought it might have been produced by Elzevier imitator Jacob de Jonge, Rahir determined the Elzevier provenance by identifying the tailpieces, ornamental letters, and the Ravesteyn device, showing Elijah being fed by ravens. Our binding, like the text, is French, done in the "Cathedral" style popular in the first quarter of the 19th century.