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A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities

DICKENS, CHARLES Original red cloth (first binding). Joints very slightly tender, light soiling. A very handsome copy in original, unrestored condition. Half morocco case. FIRST EDITION, FIRST BINDING, FIRST PRINTING (with page 213 mis-numbered 113 and sig. b present on the list of illustrations, points that were corrected in later copies of this edition). A Tale of Two Cities is one of Dickens’s greatest and most-quoted novels. “The force of the novel springs from its exploration of darkness and death but its beauty derives from Dickens’s real sense of transcendence, from his ability to see the sweep of destiny . . . this is what emerges most clearly from one of his shortest and most powerful novels” (Ackroyd). Dickens was emotionally vested in this great novel. He wrote, “It has had complete possession of me; I have so far verified what is done and suffered in these pages as that I have certainly done and suffered it all myself.” The quality and strength of the prose is some of the finest he was ever to produce, for example, “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.” This is the best copy we have seen. The novel’s serialization in Dickens’s weekly All the Year Round reduced the demand for the book and parts issues, and thus collectible copies are scarce. Provenance: Mrs. J. Insley Blair, Sotheby’s, New York, 3 December 2004, lot 140.
  • $35,000
  • $35,000
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The French Revolution

The French Revolution, a History

(EMERSON, R. W.) CARLYLE, THOMAS Two volumes. Original cloth. Light fraying to spine ends, else a fine set. First American edition. A splendid presentation copy inscribed by Ralph Waldo Emerson to his brother: “Wm. Emerson from his brother Waldo.” The inscription is in pencil in the second volume. Emerson used this intimate signature only with his immediate family. Page 270 of the first volume bears a pencil correction apparently in Emerson’s hand. Emerson paid his greatest tribute and service to his friend Thomas Carlyle in arranging for this first American publication of The French Revolution. Thus Emerson was responsible for establishing in America the view of the French Revolution that has “molded popular conception of the French Revolution down to the present day” (Printing and the Mind of Man 304). The French Revolution “is a prose epic, a work of creative genius, in which the facts of history are illumined by the imagination of a poet” (Cambridge History). “I know nobody among my contemporaries except Carlyle who writes with any sinew and vivacity comparable to Plutarch and Montaigne” (Emerson’s journal June 24, 1840). Maintaining a close friendship and literary association for decades, Emerson and Carlyle served as intellectual inspirations and touchstones for each other. In 1836 Emerson arranged for the American publication of and wrote an introduction for Carlyle’s Sartor Resartus, and Carlyle returned the favor a few years later, writing an introduction for the English edition of his friend’s Essays. Emerson wrote in his journal, “Carlyle represents very well the literary man, makes good the place of and function of Erasmus and Johnson, of Dryden and Swift, to our generation. He is thoroughly a gentleman and deserves well of the whole fraternity of scholars, for sustaining the dignity of his profession of Author in England” (July 12, 1842). RARE: we can trace no other inscribed copies at auction or in any of the major collections of American literature (Arnold, Chamberlain, Wakeman, Wilson, etc.). This is a 19th-century literary association copy of the greatest significance.
  • $30,000
  • $30,000
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A Dictionary of the English Language

A Dictionary of the English Language

JOHNSON, SAMUEL Two volumes. Large folio. Contemporary mottled calf, with big, bold morocco labels stating English Dictionary and Johnson. Joints tender, some wear and browning. A very good copy in original condition. An outstanding copy of the first edition of this enduring classic of English literature. This is Johnson s audacious attempt to tame his unruly native tongue combining huge erudition with a steely wit and remarkable clarity of thought (Hitchings). Dr. Johnson performed with his Dictionary the most amazing, enduring, and endearing one-man feat in the field of lexicography It is the dictionary itself which justifies Noah Webster s statement that Johnson s writings had, in philology, the effect which Newton s discoveries had in mathematics (PMM). To be sure, there had been dictionaries before his. The difference is that, while these were compiled, Johnson s was written. The glory of the book is that it is also a compendium of English literature, reprinting fine examples of words from the masters, often Shakespeare or Sir Francis Bacon. Johnson sought to intersperse with verdure and flowers the dusty desarts of barren philology (Smithsonian Book of Books). Johnson illustrated the meanings of his 40,000 definitions with more than 100,000 quotations drawn from the time of Shakespeare down to Johnson s own time. He wrote in the preface, It is the fate of those that toil at the lower employments of life, to be rather driven by fear of evil, than attracted by the prospect of good; to be punished for neglect, where success would have been without applause, and diligence without reward. Among these unhappy mortals is the writer of dictionaries. Every other author may aspire to praise; the lexicographer can only hope to escape reproach. This enormous book is generally found rebound, rebacked, or in dilapidated condition. This splendid copy in original condition is one of only a handful of unrestored copies to appear for public sale in recent decades. Printing and the Mind of Man 201. Rothschild 1237.
  • $65,000
  • $65,000
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Le Deuxieme Sexe [The Second Sex]

Le Deuxieme Sexe [The Second Sex]

BEAUVOIR, SIMONE DE Two volumes. Original decorated cloth designed by Mario Prassinos. Fine. FIRST EDITIONS. The two volumes were published months apart in 1949, each in an edition of 2000 numbered copies (from a total edition of 2,150). This landmark of feminism presents a scathing analysis of the history and treatment of women in the patriarchal West. Beauvoir begins by asking, “What is woman?” She argues that man is the default, while woman is Other: “Thus humanity is male and man defines woman not herself but as relative to him.” “To state the question is, to me, to suggest, at once, a preliminary answer. The fact that I ask it is in itself significant. A man would never set out to write a book on the peculiar situation of the human male. But if I wish to define myself, I must first of all say: ‘I am a woman’; on this truth must be based all further discussion. A man never begins by presenting himself as an individual of a certain sex; it goes without saying that he is a man ” “The Second Sex was published in France in 1949, a year after the author—a thirty-eight-year-old public intellectual—was allowed to vote for the first time. French women, so belatedly enfranchised, would not have access to legal birth control until 1967, or to legal first-trimester abortions until 1975” (Judith Thurman). The Second Sex has been translated into more than a dozen languages and has sold millions of copies. It is central work in the transition from the feminism of the woman suffrage era to the second wave feminism of the second half of the 20th century and beyond. A beautiful set of this landmark work. New York Public Library Books of the Century 129. En Français dans le Texte 392. Le Monde Books of the Century 11.
  • $3,500
  • $3,500
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Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe

(STOWE, HARRIET BEECHER.) John A. Whipple Salted paper print from a calotype negative (6 ½ x 5 inches). Tipped onto later mount. Excellent condition. This is a fine salt print portrait of Harriet Beecher Stowe by John A. Whipple, a leading early American portrait photographer. When she sat for this portrait in 1853, Stowe was at the height of her fame. Her Uncle Tom’s Cabin had become a runaway best seller in the United States and Great Britain when it was published in 1852. The book invigorated the abolition movement and moved many Northerners who were on the fence to active opposition to slavery. Stowe visited Lincoln at the White House in 1862, and the president is said to have exclaimed, “So this is the little lady who made this big war.” John A. Whipple (1822-1891) was one of the pioneers of American photography. He came to Boston as a young man in 1840, he was one of the first in the United States to learn Daguerre’s process. That year he became the first American to produce the chemicals for Daguerre’s process. “He was instrumental in the development of the glass negative/paper positive process in America,” and several of his techniques and inventions played an important role in American photography. In the 1840s and 1850s he was one of Boston’s foremost portrait photographers. “His portrait clientele included the highest of Boston society. Whipple was known for the psychological content of his portraits, for his ability to put clients at ease by telling little stories, and for his skill in arranging sitters” (Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography). A smaller print of this rare portrait was published in the Photographic Art-Journal (August 1853), the first American periodical to be illustrated with original photographic prints. Our print measures 6 ½ x 5 inches, while the example of the print in the journal found in the Dibner Library, Smithsonian Institution, is just under 4 x 3 in. This rare, large salt print is one of the most important Harriet Beecher Stowe photographs to appear in the market in many years.
  • $15,000
  • $15,000
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The Home of Washington

The Home of Washington, as it appeared May 14th 1859

(GEORGE WASHINGTON & MOUNT VERNON.) Israel & Riddle, photographers. The earliest dated photograph of Mount Vernon, this is one of the very earliest known photographs of George Washington’s home. By this time Mount Vernon was badly dilapidated. This view from the northeast shows ship masts propping up the portico’s sagging roof where several columns had rotted away. A man wearing a dark suit and top hat stands in the foreground, his arm on a white painted fence protecting a small tree. The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, formed in 1853, purchased the mansion and estate from Washington’s descendant John Augustine Washington III for $200,000. After an intensive fund raising effort and protracted negotiations, the organization took possession on February 22, 1860, nearly one year after this photograph was made. Extensive renovations were soon made. As a result this image shows a number of architectural and landscape elements differing from those seen in photographs of the 1860s. Salted paper print (5 ¼ x 7 ½ in., on publisher’s 8 ¼ x 10 ¼ inch mount with gold lithograph captions and decorative border. Neat punch holes in upper margin, ½ inch adhesion at lower right, faint pencil note in lower corner. Very good. Rare. The other known examples are at the Fred W. Smith National Library at Mount Vernon and at the Getty Museum.
  • $12,500
  • $12,500
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Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin

(DARWIN, CHARLES.) CAMERON, JULIA MARGARET The great Darwin portrait, Julia Margaret Cameron’s 1868 profile of Darwin is probably the most famous photograph of a 19th-century scientist. Darwin remarked, “I like this photograph very much better than any other which has been taken of me.” In 1868, Darwin and his family traveled to the Isle of Wight, both for a long holiday and to aid in his recuperation from a recent illness. The Darwins rented a house from Cameron and were immediately charmed by the photographer: “She received the whole family with open-hearted kindness and hospitality, and Darwin always retained a warm feeling of friendship for her. When they left she came to see them off, loading them with presents of photographs. Moved, Darwin said: ‘Mrs. Cameron, there are sixteen people in this house, all in love with you.’ Darwin paid her for her portraits of him, and as the Camerons had by that time lost a great deal of money through the continued failure of the coffee crop, she gladly accepted payment and ran boasting to her husband, ‘Look, Charles, what a lot of money!’” (Gernsheim, Julia Margaret Cameron). Cameron is now widely regarded as one of the most accomplished photographers of all time. Her portraits are easily recognized by their dramatic lighting and soft focus. Albumen print from a collodion negative (11 1⁄4 x 9 1⁄2 in.), mounted on original gilt-ruled card (14 1⁄2 x 12 1⁄2 in.). Signed, dated, and inscribed by Cameron: “From life. Registered photograph. Copyright.” and “Julia Margaret Cameron Freshwater 1868.” Blindstamp of “Messrs Colnaghi, 14 Pall Mall, London” on separated card with printed facsimile signature and inscription: “I like this Photograph very much better than any other which has been taken of me. Ch. Darwin.”
  • $60,000
  • $60,000
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Autograph manuscript observations of her discovery of a comet

Autograph manuscript observations of her discovery of a comet

HERSCHEL, CAROLINE In this wonderful scientific manuscript Caroline Herschel records her observations of her newly-discovered comet, known today as 35P/Herschel-Rigollet. Caroline Herschel is one of the most famous women in the history of science. The effects of childhood smallpox and typhus and a domineering mother seemed likely to limit her to housework in the family home. But in 1772 her much older brother William asked her to join him in England where he worked as a musician, and soon Caroline was featured there as a singer. When William turned to astronomy and the building of ever-larger reflecting telescopes, she worked as his assistant and collaborator. In 1781 William discovered Uranus, resulting in a royal pension of £200 and the opportunity to build an observatory near Windsor. When Caroline discovered a comet in 1786, George III granted her an annual salary of £50 for her work as William’s assistant, making her the first professional female astronomer. This was “the first professional salary ever paid a woman scientist in Britain, marking a social revolution” (Olson and Pasachoff). Caroline Herschel is perhaps most famous for her discovery of eight comets. This manuscript documents her second comet discovery, which “came on 21st December, 1788, when she found a comet around one degree south of Beta Lyrae. Like her first comet, the brightness was around magnitude 7.5, and brother William described it as ‘a considerably bright nebula, of an irregular form, very gradually brighter in the middle, and about five or six minutes in diameter’” (Bryant, “The Comets of Caroline Herschel,” Universe, May 1997). The comet reappeared in 1939 when Roger Rigollet in France discovered it. It is today known as 35P/Herschel- Rigollet. The comet will next appear at the end of this century. William Herschel wrote a letter to the president of the Royal Society describing Caroline’s discovery and fully crediting her. That paper, “Observations on a Comet. In a letter to Sir Joseph Banks,” dated March 3, 1789, appeared in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. “Caroline’s career was rather like that of a comet. At first her glory reflected that of her brother—as a comet reflects the light of the sun—but as she approached perihelion, she burned brightly not only with William’s light but also with the light of her own achievements” (Olson and Pasachoff). Caroline Herschel manuscripts are very rare in the market. Only one letter—and no scientific manuscripts—appears in the auction records of the past fifty years. This rare Herschel manuscript on her discovery of a comet is worthy of any collection of the history of astronomy or the history of women in science. One page. Light creasing. Herschel’s observations are followed with her statement, “Hence the Comet preced P Lyra 7’ 5” in time and is in the parallel of the small star (P being double) See 5 Class 3rd Star of my brother’s Catalogue.” Provenance: the Herschel family, by descent. Olson and Pasachoff, “The Comets of Caroline Herschel (1750-1848), Sleuth of the Skies at Slough,” Culture and Cosmos (2012).
  • $30,000
  • $30,000
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The Complaint: or

The Complaint: or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality. To which is added, A Paraphrase on Part of the Book of Job

[Young, Edward]; Herrick, Gale (binder) Early edition of clergyman poet Edward Young's Night Thoughts, first published in 1742. Shaken by the deaths of his wife, his step-daughter, and her husband, Young wrote Night Thoughts to affirm his Christian faith in the face of doubt and grief: "What pain to quit the world, just made their own, / Their nest so deeply down'd, and built so high! / Too low they build, who built beneath the stars." This 1751 edition includes an engraved frontispiece depicting a lone mourner in a moonlit graveyard at night. Pettit 13d. This copy features an early design binding by California bookbinder Gale Herrick (1909-2001). Herrick studied binding late in life, but became an important figure in the American book arts community, serving as the first president of the Hand Bookbinders of California, and as Master of the Press of the Roxburghe Club of San Francisco. A near-fine copy, handsomely bound. Twelvemo, measuring 6.5 x 3.75 inches: iv, 296. Modern design binding of espresso morocco with windowpane pattern stamped in dark brown to boards and spine, lettered in silver across both boards ("THE COMPLAINT OR" to lower board, place and date of publication to foot of spine, "NIGHT THOUGHTS" to front board); charcoal and black marbled endpapers. Bound without preliminary blank, engraved frontispiece by "Parr." Binder's ticket of Gale Herrick, dated 1970, to rear free endpaper. Lightest occasional spotting to text. Housed in custom paper-covered box.
  • $850
  • $850
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Knock or Ring

Knock or Ring

Nelson, Michael; [Justice, James Robertson] First edition of this cheerfully cynical novel of the English book trade, following the sale of a country-house library dominated by a ring of London dealers: "To think we could have bought the books for shillings and he has to go and chuck money away. It makes me spit blood. Why people can't be friendly so that we can earn a bob or two, beats me." Although Michael Nelson worked primarily as a journalist, he briefly ran a bookshop in Winchester after World War II; the dust jacket announces: "This is a novel based on fact -- the author has taken place in knock-outs." This copy is inscribed by Nelson to the flamboyant British character actor James Robertson Justice in the year of publication: "from Michael Harrington Nelson / ex-ringer." A very good association copy of a diverting book, scarce inscribed. Single volume, measuring 7.25 x 5 inches: 255, [1]. Original green textured boards lettered in silver, unclipped pictorial dust jacket printed in black, white, and lavender. Ink inscription from Nelson to James Robertson Justice on front free endpaper. Light spotting to jacket.
  • $300
  • $300
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MOTIVO (wooden puzzle)

MOTIVO (wooden puzzle)

Huber-Kono, Aoi (designer) Original example of this graphic wooden puzzle by Japanese designer Aoi Huber-Kono for the Swiss toymaker Kurt Naef. The MOTIVO blocks combine to form eight images: red apple and sunburst, yellow bird and flower, green leaf and butterfly, blue house and fish. An iconic modern design object. Eight wooden cubes, screenprinted in four colors, each measuring 1.25 x 1.25 x 1.25 inches. "Naef / Swiss made" printed at base of leaf image. Lacking original box.
  • $200
  • $200
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Aviation Engines Design Construction Operation And Repair

Aviation Engines Design Construction Operation And Repair

Pagé Major Victor In-8 (220x140 mm.), pp. 589, 33, (1). Legatura in tela editoriale con incisioni al dorso e al primo piatto. Numerose illustrazioni nel testo. Ottimo esemplare.
  • $280
  • $280
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Blanding City Centennial Family Histories

Blanding City Centennial Family Histories, 1905-2005, Volumes I-III

Three volume set. Blue cloth with gilt imprint on front and spine. Fine condition. An impressive familial history of the non-Native settlers of Blanding. Shipping will cost extra due to weight of books. ; B & W Photographs; 4to 11" - 13" tall; 1766 pp
  • $150
  • $150
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Rome - Veduta della rovina del gran Arco . ove é la Confessione di S. Paolo fuori la mura

Rome – Veduta della rovina del gran Arco . ove é la Confessione di S. Paolo fuori la mura

Rossini, Luigi Rossini, Luigi (1790-1857). Rome. Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. "Veduta della rovina del gran Arco trionfale della nave traversa, ove é la Confessione di S. Paolo fuori la mura". Orig. etchig, L. Rossini, Rome, 1823. Typograficaly signed and dated under the picture. 48,5:58 cm (19 x 23 inch.). A view of the tomb of St. Paul under the main altar (ciborium) in Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome after the fire in 1823. - Printed on paper with full margins ( 55:77 cm; 21 3/4 x 30 1/4 inch.).
  • $234
  • $234
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Children's Games

Children’s Games

Hollar, Wenceslaus Hollar, Wenceslaus (1607-1677). Children's Games. "Four childrens with a goat". Orig. etching by W. Hollar, 1647, after P. van Avont's drawing. Signed at the bottom in the desk. 13,5:20,6 cm (5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inch.). Parthey 510. - Old repaired paper tear (ca. 7:9 mm) in the centre right margin (in the plate outside the etched image). - At the upper edge mounted on collector's cardboard.
  • $164
  • $164
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The sacrifice to Diana

The sacrifice to Diana

Aquila, Pietro Pietro Aquila (ca. 1630-1692) after Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669). The sacrifice to Diana; men gathering with their spoils from the hunt to offer to the goddess. Orig. etching, 2nd half of the 17th century. Published in Rome by Giovanni Giacomo de Rossi. With Italian title and description under the picture. 41,5:62,5 cm (16 1/4 x 24 1/2 inch.; the picture). Nice, dark impression. Prinetd on paper sized 48:68 cm (19 x 26 3/4 inch.). - The margins a little soiled, otherwise well preserved.
  • $584
  • $584
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Ausführliche Anleitung zu der gantzen Civil-Baukunst

Ausführliche Anleitung zu der gantzen Civil-Baukunst

Aviler, Augustin-Charles d' Aviler, Augustin-Charles d'. Architecture. "Ausführliche Anleitung zu der ganzen Civil-Baukunst, worinnen Nebst denen Lebens-Beschreibungen, und den fünf Ordnungen von J. Bar[ozzi] de Vignola Wie auch dessen und des berühmten Mich. Angelo vornehmsten Gebäuden, Alles, was in der Baukunst dem Bauzeuge, der Austheilung und der Verzierung nach, so wol bey der Bildhauer, Mahler, Steinmetze, Maurer und Zimmerleute als Dach-Decker, Schlösser, Tischer, Gärtner u. d. gl. Arbeit an allerley Arten der Gebäude vorkommen mag, berühret, an deutlichen Beyspielen erkläret und mit schönen Rissen erläutert wird. Erstlich in Frantzösischer Sprache zusammen getragen und herausgegeben von Sr. A. C. Daviler. nach diesem in das Teutsche übersetzet und mit vielen Anmerkungen auch dazu gehörigen Rissen vermehret von Leonh[ard] Christ[oph] Sturm". Augsburg: Hertl, 1759. 2 volumes. Vol. 1: large 8vo. Engraved frontispiece, (30), 402, (26) pp., 152 copperplates (68 folded, 72 full-page in text). Vol. 2: smaller 4to. 23, (1) pp., 33 copperplates (15 folded). Orig. half-leather bindings from the time. Practical manual with many details of Baroque architecture (gates, windows, floors, tiles, etc.). - Augustin-Charles d'Aviler (also Daviler; 1653, Paris - 1701, Montpellier) was an important French architect. - Giacomo (or Jacopo) Barozzi (or Barocchio) da Vignola (1507 - 1573) was one of the great Italian architects of the Baroque in the 16th century, working with Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), who strongly influenced his style. He later built St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. His most important building, however, is the Jesuit church Il Gesú in Rome, which became the model for Jesuit Baroque churches throughout Europe. - Binding of volume 1 with a tear at the top of the spine (ca. 5 mm), otherwise complete and very well preserved.
  • $1,402
  • $1,402
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Plan de Temiswar. Plaan van Temiswar

Plan de Temiswar. Plaan van Temiswar

Dumont, Jean Timi?oara. "Plan de Temiswar. Plaan van Temiswar". Orig. copperplate engraving from J. Dumont's 'Batailles gagnées par . prince Fr. Eugene de Savoye', Den Haag, 1725. With Fr.-Dutch title-cartouche with explanatory notes (A.-V.). Printed from 4 plates, joined. 68,5:93,5 cm (27 x 36 3/4 inch.). A large plan of the fortifications of Timisoara (Temeswar), a city in western Romania.
  • $491
  • $491
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Dance of the Nymphs

Dance of the Nymphs

Lairesse, Gerard de Lairesse, Gerard de (1641-1711). Dance of the Nymphs. "Choreae honestae licitae, at turpes abominandae". Orig. etching, 1685/90. Published by N. Visscher II. and G. Valck in Amsterdam. With Latin title under the picture. 32:57,5 cm (12 3/4 x 26 3/4 inch.; the picture). Printed on paper with full margins sized 42,5:66,5 cm (16 3/4 x 26 1/4 inch.).
  • $374
  • $374
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Kämmerer-Almanach

Kämmerer-Almanach

Pickl von Witkenberg, Wilhelm Pickl von Witkenberg, Wilhelm (Hrsg.). "Kämmerer-Almanach. Historischer Rückblick auf die Entwicklung der Kämmerer-Würde. Zusammenstellung der kaiserlichen Kammerherren seit Carl V. bis zur Gegenwart. Die Geschichte der Landeserbkämmerer. Im Anhange die lebenden k. und k. Kämmerer mit ihren Titeln, Würden etc. und Domizil". Wien: Verlag des Kämmerer-Almanach, (1903). EA. 12mo. XIV, 521, (1) S., Porträt im Frontispiz (". Rat und Kämmerer Gustav Graf Podstatzky-Lichtenstein") und 17 (1 doppelblattgr.) farb. chromolithogr. Tafeln. OSeideneinband mit goldgepr. Rücken u. Vorderdeckel. Einband im Ecken und Kanten nur wenig berieben. Ausscheidungsstempel der Bibliothek des Tschechischen Museums auf dem Titel sowie auf dem fliegenden Vorsatz vorne. Sonst sauber und sehr gut erhalten.
  • $234
  • $234
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Children's Games

Children’s Games

Hollar, Wenceslaus Hollar, Wenceslaus (1607-1677). Children's Games. "Four childrens and a satyrisk with a goat". Orig. etching by W. Hollar, 1647, after P. van Avont's drawing. Signed and dated at the bottom right of the desk. 13,5:19,6 cm (5 1/2 x 7 3/4 inch.). Parthey 511. - At the upper edge mounted on collector's cardboard.
  • $280
  • $280
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Europäische Parlaments-Chronik

Europäische Parlaments-Chronik

"Europäische Parlaments-Chronik". Leipzig: Brockhaus & Avenarius, April - Juni, 1848. Nr. 1 - 120 (S. 1 - 480 - mehr nicht erschienen). Vorderseiten von 2 Ümschläge (Zweites Heft, Nr. 16-30 - mit Inhalt verso und Drittes Heft, Nr. 31-45) und Rückseiten von 3 Hefte mit Inhalten (Erstes Heft, Nr. 1-15; Drittes Heft und Viertes Heft, Nr. 46-60) zugebunden. O. gepr. HLwd. mit Rücken-Vergoldung. Seltenes Periodikum. - Graf Belcredis heraldische Exlibris auf dem Innenspiegel vorne. - Einband etwas angeschmutzt, sonst gut erhalten.
  • $210
  • $210
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Discours . sur le moyen . - Dissertation sur les variétés naturelles . - Dissertation Physique .

Discours . sur le moyen . – Dissertation sur les variétés naturelles . – Dissertation Physique .

Camper, Petrus Camper, Petrus (1722-1789). Physiognomy. "Discours prononçés par feu Pierre Camper, sur le moyen de représenter d'une manière sûre les diverses passions qui se manifestent sur le visage; sur l'étonnante conformité qui existe entre les quadrupèdes, les oiseaux, les poissons et l'homme; et enfin sur le beau physique" (Speeches given by the late Pierre Camper, on the means of representing in a sure way the various passions which are manifested on the face; on the astonishing conformity which exists between quadrupeds, birds, fish and man; and finally on physical beauty). Published by Camper's son Adriaan Gilles. Utrecht: Wild and Altheer, 1792. Engraved frontispiece, (1), VIII, 107 pp., XI engraved plates (6 folded). [bound with] "Dissertation sur les variétés naturelles, qui caractérisent la physionomie des hommes des divers climats et des différens ages" (Dissertations on human races and their physiognomy in different climates and ages). Paris: Jansen and The Hague: van Cleef, 1791. 168 pp., XI folded plates. [bound with] "Dissertation physique de Mr. Pierre Camper sur les différences réelles que présentent les traits du visage chez les hommes de différents pays et de différents âges; sur le beau qui charactèrise les statues antiques et les pierres gravées ; Suivie de la proposition d'une nouvelle méthode pour déssiner toutes sortes de têtes humaines avec la plus grande sûreté" (Physical dissertation by Mr. Pierre Camper on the real differences in the facial features of men of different countries and ages; on the beauty that characterises ancient statues and engraved stones; followed by the proposal of a new method for drawing all kinds of human heads with the highest accuracy). Published by Camper's son Adriaan Gilles. Utrecht: Wild and Altheer, 1791. VIII, 114, (2) pp., X plates (6 folded). Full-leather binding from the time with gilt title on the spine. Three important works on physiognomy i one volume. First French editions. - Petrus Camper (11 May 1722 in Leiden - 7 April 1789 in The Hague), was a Dutch physician, anatomist, physiologist, midwife, zoologist, anthropologist, palaeontologist and a naturalist in the Age of Enlightenment. He was one of the first to take an interest in comparative anatomy, palaeontology, and the facial angle. He was among the first to mark out an "anthropology," which he distinguished from natural history. He studied the orangutan, the Javan rhinoceros, and the skull of a mosasaur, which he believed was a whale. Camper was a celebrity in Europe and became a member of the Royal Society (1750), the Göttingen (1779), and Russian Academy of Sciences (1778), the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1783), the French (1786) and the Prussian Academy of Sciences (1788). He designed and constructed tools for his patients, and for surgeries. - Binding in corners abraded with a crack (ca. 3 cm) at the top of the spine. Inside well preserved.
  • $1,682
  • $1,682
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A Christmas Carol.

A Christmas Carol.

RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); DICKENS, Charles. Signed limited edition, number 156 of 525 copies signed by the illustrator. James Hamilton notes that Heinemann commissioned the "obvious, popular and consumable story, A Christmas Carol, to be the Rackham book for Christmas 1915. This was the first Dickens story Rackham had attempted". Hamilton, Arthur Rackham, 1990, p. 108; Latimore & Haskell, pp. 44-5; Riall, pp. 124-5. Quarto. Original vellum, spine and front cover lettered and with designs in gilt, pictorial endpapers, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Colour frontispiece and 11 colour plates tipped-in on thick brown paper, with captioned tissue guards, black and white illustrations in the text, all by Rackham. Bookplate to front pastedown. Vellum slightly soiled and bowed, lacking silk ties, some foxing and browning, minor abrasion to p. 100, light dampstaining to front endpapers, short split to front hinge at foot, many gatherings unopened; a very good copy.
  • $4,767
  • $4,767
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The Sign of Four.

The Sign of Four.

DOYLE, Arthur Conan. First edition in book form, second issue. The idea for the work sprang from a meeting between Doyle, Wilde, and Joseph Marshall Stoddart, who was managing editor of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. Stoddart sought to commission a story from each writer to expand his paper's reach from America to Britain; Doyle contributed the present title, and Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray. The Sign of Four first appeared in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in February 1890. The book-form edition was first issued later in 1890; the following year, Griffith Farran & Co. purchased and reissued the original sheets in the same binding but with their imprint on the spine, as here. This copy has the points called for by Green & Gibson, with "w shed" for "wished" on p. 56, and "13" for "138" on the contents page. The second issue was bound with and without rear adverts, with no priority; they are not present in this copy. Green & Gibson A7a.i. Octavo. Original red cloth, spine and front cover lettered in gilt, black decorative border to extremities with floral cornerpiece at outer corners, dark brown-coated endpapers, edges untrimmed. Engraved frontispiece with tissue guard by Charles Kerr. Contemporary gift inscription on frontispiece recto. Spine cocked and darkened, short split to head, contents clean. A very good, unrestored copy.
  • $6,356
  • $6,356
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Sleeping Beauty and Other Prose Fancies.

Sleeping Beauty and Other Prose Fancies.

LE GALLIENNE, Richard. First edition, the dedication copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper to his friend and predecessor as book critic for The Star, Clement Shorter (1857-1926). In his inscription, Le Gallienne (1866-1947) refers Shorter to the printed dedication page, which reads "To Clement Shorter, with admiration of a courageous critical gift too rarely employed, and in friendship". The author's inscription reads "To Clement Shorter - (for remainder of inscription see Dedication) from his friend Richard Le Gallienne. Indianapolis - Christmas, 1900". Nine years prior, Shorter assisted Le Gallienne in securing his first job in journalism, "the writing of a 'Books and Bookmen' column for the famous radical paper, the Star, a column that up to that time had been written by Mr Clement Shorter" (Le Gallienne, The Romantic 90s, p. 9). News of Shorter's departure from The Star in 1891 reached Le Gallienne via his publisher John Lane and the two immediately began planning how Le Gallienne could fill the vacancy. Both Lane and Shorter wrote a letter of recommendation for Le Gallienne to the paper's editor, Ernest Parke, who "referred to a note he had received from Shorter as 'encouraging'" (Nelson, p. 28), helping Le Gallienne secure his friend's role in what was a closely contested hiring process. Le Gallienne thus embarked on his writing career and the happiest period of his life - "those many coloured energetic years" (cited in Cozens-Hardy, p. 124). He adopted the "Logroller" pseudonym at The Star to supreme effect and his column was largely responsible for the paper's reputation as "the acknowledged organ of the literary world of London" (ibid, p. 123). Published between 1888 and 1960, The Star's book column was a staple feature under the tenures of both Shorter and Le Gallienne and they helped to cement the journal's "unique position in the history of morning and evening newspapers" (Goodbody, p. 141) as a dominant daily paper that promoted radical socialism. The author's Prose Fancies series was printed in the Yellow Book journal and in various collections in book form. The titular essay of this edition is a meditation on art and aesthetic rather than a retelling of the fairy tale. The volume's 21 essays also include "So This is America!", "The Dethroning of Stevenson", and "A Propos the Browning Love-Letters". Colbeck, I, p. 483. Harry Theobald Cozens-Hardy, The Glorious Years, 1953; John Goodbody, "The Star: Its Role in the New Journalism", Victorian Periodicals Review, vol. 20, no. 4, Winter 1987, pp. 141-50; Richard Le Gallienne, The Romantic 90s, 1925; James Nelson, The Early Nineties: A View from the Bodley Head, 1971. Octavo. Original blue cloth, spine lettered in gilt, edges untrimmed. Blue morocco bookplate of Francis Kettaneh (1897-1976), business executive and trustee of the Morgan Library, on blank half-title verso, browning facing title page. Spine sunned to green, else bright, short frays to spine ends, tiny bump to corners, cosmetic split to front inner hinge, spotting to endpapers, contents clean. A very good copy.
  • $3,178
  • $3,178
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Collected Poems.

Collected Poems.

MASEFIELD, John. Signed limited edition, number 429 of 530 copies, signed by the author, together with a couplet ("Yet, when the Trinity exults, oh, then, / What bliss to be, altho' despised of men.") on the limitation page. The collection includes "Sea-Fever" and "Cargoes", two poems which a subsequent Poet Laureate, John Betjeman, stated would be "remembered as long as the language lasts". Masefield was approached by his publishers about a single volume of collected poetry and, hesitant about killing sales of individual titles, he asked Thomas Hardy for advice. Hardy responded that "the more editions there are the better", and encouraged Masefield to trust his publishers (see Purdy & Millgate). The standard trade edition was a phenomenal success with the first impression of 10,000 copies selling out during the first week of publication. It has been stated that 100,000 copies sold in the first seven years of publication (Buchan). Each copy in the limited edition included one of eight couplets. Six of the couplets form a single poem, commencing "On these three things a poet must depend", and the present copy presents the final two lines of the poem. The complete poem exists in manuscript in the Masefield papers at the University of Texas, and was first published in Errington's bibliography of Masefield. Errington A71(bb); Purdy & Millgate, Collected Letters of Thomas Hardy, VI, 1987, p. 189; Buchan, ed., Letters to Reyna, 1983, p. 26. Octavo. Original tan cloth, spine lettered in gilt and to navy blue morocco label, top edge gilt. With dust jacket. Frontispiece photogravure portrait. Browning to endpapers; dust jacket toned with some minor loss to top edge: a fine copy in a very good jacket.
  • $509
  • $509
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Grimm's Fairy Tales. Translated by Mrs. Edgar Lucas.

Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Translated by Mrs. Edgar Lucas.

RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); GRIMM, Brothers. Signed limited edition, number 371 of 750 copies signed by the illustrator. This is a revised and enlarged edition of the work originally published in 1900 with some new illustrations, as well as others redrawn and coloured by Rackham. As noted by Rodney Engen, "Rackham greatly loved fairy tales and had collected his many favourites over the years. The Brothers Grimm held a special place in his collections since they represented his love of all things German and contained the elements of the grotesque which fascinated him throughout his career". Rodney Engen, Arthur Rackham, 2002. Quarto. Original vellum, spine and front cover lettered and with designs in gilt, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Colour frontispiece and 39 colour plates tipped-in, with captioned tissue guards, numerous black and white illustrations in text, all by Rackham. Bookplate to front pastedown. Vellum lightly soiled as usual, vellum lifting slightly from rear pastedown, lacking silk ties, some minor foxing and browning; a very good copy.
  • $4,450
  • $4,450
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English Fairy Tales.

English Fairy Tales.

RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); STEEL, Flora Annie. Signed limited edition, number 366 of 500 copies numbered and signed by the artist. Reviewed in The Bookman in December 1918, this edition was hailed with the comment that "it would be difficult to find a more fascinating and artistically produced volume than the collection of English Fairy Tales retold by Mrs Flora Annie Steel. There are sixteen delightfully fanciful full-page illustrations in colour by Mr Arthur Rackham, and countless black-and-white drawings in the text. It is a sumptuous feast and a gift that will be prized by all art-loving and imaginative children". Latimore & Haskell p. 48; Riall p. 132. Quarto. Original vellum, spine and front cover lettered and with designs in gilt, pictorial endpapers, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Colour frontispiece and 15 colour plates mounted on heavy off-white paper, with captioned tissue guards, black and white illustrations in the text, all by Rackham. Some light soiling to binding, as usual, rear joint slightly splitting, light browning and creases to tissue guards: a very good copy.
  • $2,860
  • $2,860
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Comus.

Comus.

RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); MILTON, John. Signed limited edition, number 320 of 550 copies signed by the illustrator. Latimore & Haskell pp. 54-55; Riall, p. 143. Quarto. Original vellum-backed boards, spine and front cover lettered and with designs in gilt, pictorial endpapers, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Colour frontispiece and 23 coloured plates tipped-in on heavy brown paper, with captioned tissue guards, black and white illustrations in the text, by Rackham. Bookplate to front free endpaper. Covers lightly toned, corners slightly worn, occasional browning, minor crease to plate 7, minor abrasions to plate 19; a very good copy.
  • $1,017
  • $1,017
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A Year of the Pig: 1947.

A Year of the Pig: 1947.

KOEHN, Alfred. First edition, first printing, of this private press guide to the complex beliefs enshrined in the traditional Chinese calendar, listing auspicious and inauspicious activities for each day of the year, as well as important weather forecasts. Also included is a catalogue of "commonly accepted superstitions": the twitching of the right eye in the late evening foreshadows a new business opportunity, while the chatter of a magpie in the early morning brings wealth, happiness, and plenty to eat and drink. Alfred Koehn was a German diplomat and botany enthusiast who worked in Japan and then in China. In Beijing, he established a residence and publishing house, "The Lotus Court", in a traditional Beijing hutong. He wrote and printed a number of books on the two countries, many of which are now seldom encountered. Octavo (250 x 171 mm). Original paper wrappers, blue thread xianzhuang stitching, spine ends capped with blue silk, front cover lettered in blue with red silhouette of a pig. Front cover with some indentations and light foxing, top edge toned, internally clean. A very good copy indeed.
  • $826
  • $826
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The Heart of Arabia: A record of travel & exploration.

The Heart of Arabia: A record of travel & exploration.

PHILBY, Harry St John Bridger. First edition, first impression. The Heart of Arabia is the substantial account of Philby's 1917 mission to Ibn Saud, ruler of the Nejd; uncommon in such collectible condition. Philby started in November 1917 in Al Uqayr, then travelled with a small party by camel, via Hufuf to Riyadh, to meet Ibn Saud. The British were keen to woo him into an attack on the Rashids of Ha'il, allies of the Turks. Philby spent ten days with the ruler "and was deeply impressed by the personality of Ibn Sa'ud. It was the start of an admiration that stayed with him for life. Persuading Ibn Sa'ud to provide an escort, he continued his journey, again by camel, to Jiddah on the Red Sea, characteristically without waiting for Baghdad's permission" (ODNB). The journey of almost 900 kilometres (560 miles) to Jeddah was not without its problems. Philby's escort resented having to guard him, "refusing to even eat with him, while villagers on the way were proved similarly unwelcoming. However Philby's crossing of the Arabian peninsula, only the third of the century, had now brought him firmly into the public eye" (Howgego). In Jeddah, he met Sharif Huasain, the Hashemite ruler of Hejaz, and leader of the Arab Revolt. He was the preferred choice as future Arab leader of both T.E. Lawrence and the British authorities. "Few would quarrel with the inscription on [Philby's] tombstone: 'Greatest of Arabian explorers'. And in the central judgements of his life - that Ibn Sa'ud was the man to back in Arabia and that the Arabs had to have their independence - he was right and almost everyone else was wrong" (ODNB). Howgego P31. 2 volumes, octavo. Original green cloth, spines lettered in gilt and with three-line gilt rules at head and tail extending across the covers in blind, fore and lower edges uncut. With 48 plates and a plan, 2 folding colour maps at end of vol. II (Southern Nejd and Central Arabia). Newspaper clipping mounted to front pastedown of vol. I, "The Daily Mail, Sept. 4, 1930" in pen at head. Spine ends and tips slightly rubbed, cloth bright, occasional foxing mostly to edges, starting at title page of vol. II, closed tears to map stubs: a very good copy.
  • $3,496
  • $3,496
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The Peerless 100-Year Chinese-English Calendar

The Peerless 100-Year Chinese-English Calendar, 1849-1948.

GARDNER, J. Endicott. First edition, first printing, of this guide published in a period of increasing commercial, educational, and cultural exchange between China and the US. The painstakingly compiled tables help merchants, students, and professionals convert between Western dates and the traditional Chinese sexagenary cycle, as well as locate years within particular imperial reigns. The author was a professor of Chinese language at the University of California and an immigration inspector in San Francisco. He first compiled 50- and 77-year guides for the use of the US immigration and diplomatic services, and the demand for these demonstrated the viability of a commercial publication. "The work now sent out from the press is a vast improvement upon its predecessors, especially in that it is printed in the two languages, distinguished by as many colours" (preface). Octavo. Original wire-stitched red card wrappers, red cloth backstrip, front cover lettered in brown. Tables throughout; text partly printed in red. Wrappers worn and faded, internally clean, small indentation on final few leaves not affecting text. A very good copy.
  • $445
  • $445
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Historical Notes on the Lennox or Darnley Jewel; the Property of the Queen.

Historical Notes on the Lennox or Darnley Jewel; the Property of the Queen.

TYTLER, Patrick Fraser. First edition, one of only 25 copies, privately printed on commission by Queen Victoria to showcase the Darnley Jewel, which she purchased from the sale of Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill collection, and which remains one of the most important early jewels in the Royal Collection. The Darnley Jewel, a Scottish heart-shaped jewel richly decorated with emblems and inscriptions, is said to have been commissioned by Lady Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox (1515-1578) for her husband Matthew Stewart, Earl of Lennox and Regent of Scotland, who fell in battle in 1571. It is not known how it later ended up in Horace Walpole's collection. Queen Victoria purchased it in the sale in 1842 for £136.10s. The Scottish historian Tytler "had been commanded in the early part of the year (1843) to examine a singular relic in her Majesty's possession, known as 'the Darnley jewel', and to make a report upon it. His notes he transmitted in writing to the Palace, where they gave so much satisfaction that he received her Majesty's orders through his friend the Hon. C. A. Murray to cause a few copies to be printed for her Majesty's use; and by the end of April, twenty-five elegant little quarto volumes were the result" (Burgon, p. 325). The book gives a detailed account of the jewel, the symbolism of its emblems, and how far its history can be traced from documents at the time. Of the 25 copies printed, Library Hub locates only two in British institutions, in the National Library of Scotland and the Society of Antiquaries (the lack of copies in the British Library and Bodleian is confirmed by their online catalogues). WorldCat finds a few more on the continent; none are recorded at auction by Rare Book Hub. John William Burgon, A Memoir of Patrick Fraser Tytler, 1859. Small quarto. Original blue watered silk, gilt floral blocking to spine and covers within rules, gilt lettering to front cover, yellow endpapers, gilt edges. Housed in contemporary, possibly original red morocco box. Chromolithographic frontispiece by Henry Shaw. Victorian love card with handwritten "D + J" above cupid hearts mounted to front free endpaper. Minimal wear to corners, else in fine condition. Box lightly rubbed, else very well preserved.
  • $4,767
  • $4,767
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Against the Grain. [A Rebours.] From the French by John Howard. Introduction by Havelock Ellis.

Against the Grain. [A Rebours.] From the French by John Howard. Introduction by Havelock Ellis.

HUYSMANS, Jorris Karl. First edition in English, first printing. This is a remarkably smart copy, notably uncommon in such good condition and in the rare dust jacket. Against the Grain was originally published in French in 1884 under the title À Rebours. It became prominent in Britain after it was discovered that a passage in Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray, in which a licentious book has a powerful effect on the protagonist, referred to Huysmans's work - it is this very passage that is excerpted on the front panel of the dust jacket here. The original French edition, published in lurid yellow wrappers to warn of the salacious content, is believed to have been the source of the name of The Yellow Book (published from 1894 to 1897), the British literary journal associated with decadence and aestheticism. The plot of the novel follows a reclusive aesthete who seeks to abandon degenerate society and retreat into his own artistic world. This edition was somewhat abridged; the first full English translation was not published until 1926. Octavo. Original black cloth, spine and front cover lettered in gilt, publisher's device in blind to rear cover, top edge orange. With dust jacket, not price-clipped. Spine sunned, but an extremely sharp copy, square and sound; the jacket darkened to spine but otherwise effectively faultless: a near-fine copy in like jacket.
  • $3,178
  • $3,178
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The Empty Quarter. Being a description of the Great South Desert of Arabia known as Rub' al Khali.

The Empty Quarter. Being a description of the Great South Desert of Arabia known as Rub’ al Khali.

PHILBY, Harry St John Bridger. First edition, first impression, of this record of the greatest of Philby's remarkable journeys - the crossing of the 'Empty Quarter' between Hufuf and As Sulayyil. This copy from the library of David Garnett, the editor of Selected Letters of T.E. Lawrence. In January 1932, Philby set out from Hufuf with a escort of 14 men "provided by Ibn Sa'ud, along with 32 camels and provisions for three months. Proceeding initially southeast to the southwest corner of the Qatar peninsula, the caravan then struck southwest across the Al Jafurah desert to the Jabrin (=Yabrin) oasis. About 150 kilometres from Shanna, and about the same distance from the next waterhole, even the camels began to suffer the effects of heat and exhaustion, forcing the party to turn back to the oasis of Naifa. The party successfully entered Sulayyil on 14.3.32 after travelling for 2700 kilometres in ninety days" (Howgego). Philby made the first east to west crossing of the area, and explored the Empty Quarter in great depth. Ronald Wingate considered that "it is mainly to him that the world owes its present knowledge of Central Arabia" and Philby's tombstone in Beirut describes him as the "greatest of Arabian Explorers" (ODNB). Provenance: ownership signature of David Garnett on front free endpaper. Garnett (1892-1981) was a writer and publisher, as well as a prominent member of the Bloomsbury Group. Interestingly, the Empty Quarter is discussed by Lawrence in 1929, in a letter to Air Marshal Sir Hugh Trenchard, in which he suggests that the area could be crossed by airship: "no European has ever crossed it, nor any Arab any of us has actually questioned. All the Geographers refer to is annually as the great unsolved question of Geography. Now, I want the trial trip of the airships to settle in the Ruba el Khali. It will finish our knowledge of the earth. Nothing but an airship can do it, and I want it to be one of ours which gets the plum" (Garnett, p. 663). Ghani 302; Howgego III, p. 31. David Garnett, The Selected Letters of T.E. Lawrence, 1938. Octavo. Original green cloth, spines lettered in gilt and with three-line gilt rules at head and tail extending across the covers in blind, top edge green. Frontispiece and 31 other plates, 2 coloured folding maps and a plan. With marginal pencillings on p. xxiii, not by Garnett. Slightly rubbed with minor fraying to head of spine, cloth bright, scattered foxing; a very good copy.
  • $1,907
  • $1,907
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The Iliad.

The Iliad.

NONESUCH PRESS: HOMER. First Nonesuch edition, number 1,165 of 1,450 copies only, here retaining the elusive publisher's inlaid slip "On First Looking into Pope's Homer" by Francis Maynell, in which he provides instruction on how to open the book so that the pages lie perfectly flat, and how to separate the uncut pages using a paper knife. The Nonesuch Homers were among the finest productions of the Press and remain a shining example of the marriage of fine printing and commercial viability. The designs "represented a collaboration that included some of the best book designers of this era: the Dutchman Jan van Krimpen, who created the open capitals at the head of each book and set the Greek type; Rudolf Koch, a German designer who engraved some of the ornaments; and Koch's assistant Berthold Wolpe, who drew the figure of the Greek warrior for the title pages" (Eskilon, p. 154). The edition prints the Greek text parallel to the English translation of Alexander Pope, originally published in six parts between 1715 and 1720. Dreyfus 72. Stephen J. Eskilon, Graphic Design: A New History, 2019. Tall octavo. Original orange niger, raised bands within blind rules, twin gilt fillet at head and foot of spine, second compartment lettered in gilt, double gilt frame on covers, turn-ins ruled in gilt, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, others uncut. Housed in the publisher's marbled slipcase. Title page and chapter headings printed in red and black with hoplite and classical vignettes. Spine lightly darkened, inner hinges strengthened with cloth, contents fresh. A very good copy in the slightly rubbed slipcase with occasional wear.
  • $1,589
  • $1,589
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Expansive collection of letters written during two tours of East Asia.

Expansive collection of letters written during two tours of East Asia.

IONIDES, Helen Euphrosyne; Mildred Martineau; Agathoniki Sabina Craies. An eminently quotable letterpress collection of transcribed letters home chronicling two grand tours of East Asia by three adventurous Edwardian women including Helen Euphrosyne "Lallie" Ionides (1871-1967), a scion of the culturally cosmopolitan Ionides dynasty. This expansive and frequently candid archive, supported with many photographs and sketches, offers a refreshing perspective on women's experiences of the golden age of travel. We have traced no other extant copies of this material. Helen Ionides (hereafter "HEI") was a highly educated upper class art lover and the daughter of the art collector Constantine Alexander Ionides (1833-1900). This collection is drawn from her personal papers, with several of the volumes variously signed by or inscribed to her. The first three volumes concern a trip undertaken in 1908 by HEI in the company of Mildred Martineau (1869-1958, hereafter "MM"), an active member of the NUWSS and a friend of HEI's sister Zoe. Two years later, HEI returns to East Asia with Agathoniki Sabina 'Sissie' Craies (1885-1947), the daughter of her sister Euterpe, and the remaining five volumes all relate to this adventure. On their travels, all three women wrote prolifically, and at some point they arranged for their letters, as well as some diary entries, to be transcribed and printed. The personal nature of much of the content points to a small circulation for close friends and family only. The present volumes were originally bound in different styles of roan or cloth, and we have had them rebound uniformly while maintaining their original composition. The eight volumes, amounting to some 1,700 pages of text, are broken down as follows: I: HEI's writings from the 1908 trip, dating from 25 January to 25 June. With her ownership signature on the final leaf. II: Duplicate of volume I, with slightly variant illustrations and additional annotations. III: MM's writings from the 1908 trip, dating from 24 January to 22 June. Signed by MM on the final page of text and inscribed on the final leaf, "To Lallie Ionides from M.M." IV: HEI's writings from the 1910 trip, dating from 28 February to 5 October. V-VIII: Sissie Craies's writings from the 1910 trip, dating from 28 February to 11 October. Inscribed on the final leaf of volume V, "To Auntie, a record of our golden time together, from her loving niece, Sissie". For the 1908 trip, HEI and MM depart England in late January in the company of Stephen Manuel, Zoe's husband. As MM records, "I left home for the Great Campaign January 23rd 1908. I shall never forget the shock when I received a letter from Lallie, just before Christmas. It had always been my dream to go to Japan. my own people never got up to see me off" (III, p. i). It does not take long for HEI's letters to reveal this archive's trademark honesty: "there is one stupid arrangement here [onboard], you cannot have what you like for dinner and then leave, you have to wait around through each course until the dish you want is served round" (I, 25 January). Passing through the Suez canal, HEI derived much enjoyment out of teasing MM "unmercifully" (29 January) for her friendship with one Captain Tyrrell, and weathered the onset of an ocean storm with a hearty half a bottle of champagne. In early February, they say goodbye to Stephen at Aden, but not before he thoroughly ribs MM for her ardent support of the women's suffrage movement. That month, their tour begins in earnest as they dock in Ceylon. Given her high social status, both of HEI's trips include a regular diet of dinners and society events. Dinner with Brigadier General Lawrence, General Officer Commanding, Ceylon, proves perhaps more thrilling than an engagement with one Mrs Horsfall who is "just that type of faded old lady, I think she is a little scandalized that Milly and I are not travelling with a party!!" (I, 11 February). Colombo's shopping scene fails to impress HEI - "there is nothing to buy here that is worth having, it is mostly imported from Japan or Birmingham" (I, 20 February) - and about her fellow passengers to China she is equally icy: "there is a big colony of dull Americans on board, and I tell Mill I am sure one lot are Mormons, for there is one man and several females. But what stumps Mill is his choice, for one is more plain and uninteresting than the other!!" (I, 2 March). For her part, MM writes extensively on the many striking sights and sounds of places a world away from her hometown of Esher: "everything the eye rests on is bathed in the colour and light of the Orient, nothing is familiar save the scent of brine and the caw of the crows" (III, late February). In early March, the two women arrive in Hong Kong and revel in its beautiful scenery, MM paying particular attention to the flora. While there, besides taking tea with the grandson of Charles Dickens and dining at Government House with Governor Sir Frederick Lugard, they rendezvous for the first time with Charles, sixth Baron Ffrench (1868-1955), the China agent for several British railway contractors, as well as his wife Mary (d. 1944). The Ffrenchs are key players in the Asian adventures of HEI and her travelling partners, providing indispensable help as "fixers" and hosts in both 1908 and 1910. The consummate art connoisseur, HEI makes sure to take MM to see the famous Chater art collection, Sir Paul Chater himself acting as guide, although she thinks him perhaps insufficiently discerning – "there is much in his collection that I should weed out" (I, 18 March). A pleasing feature of this entire collection is its attention to the lives, appearance, and mannerisms of the women and men they see on their travels. While in Hong Kong, HEI reports that "every woman I have seen up to date has worn black trousers and a short black coat, while I have seen men about in the most gorgeous brocades which I thoroughly envied" (I, 11 March). The next day, on a day trip to Macao (already a gambling mecca) the sight of women with bound feet makes
  • $34,961
  • $34,961
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The Night Before Christmas.

The Night Before Christmas.

RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); MOORE, Clement C. First Rackham edition, limited issue, number 115 of 550 copies signed by the artist; this is one of 275 copies issued for the UK, with the rest for the US. This limited edition sold out on publication. Rackham later wrote to a correspondent that "there was quite a fight over it. America went very strong for it". Latimore & Haskell, p. 66; Riall, p. 174; Hamilton, Arthur Rackham: a life with illustration, 1990, p. 142. Octavo. Original limp vellum, front cover lettered in gilt, pictorial endpapers, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Original card slipcase, printed paper label to spine, with matching limitation number in manuscript by the publisher. Title page printed in red and black. Frontispiece and 3 colour plates, black and white illustrations in the text, all by Rackham. Bookplate to front pastedown. Light browning to endpapers, occasional foxing and browning, minor abrasion to fore-edge of front cover; slipcase a little worn and soiled: a near-fine copy in a very good slipcase.
  • $3,496
  • $3,496
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The Holy Cities of Arabia.

The Holy Cities of Arabia.

RUTTER, Eldon. First edition, first impression, of Rutter's eloquent account of performing Hajj in the guise of a Syrian pilgrim. The author's only book is of "striking literary quality [and] enhanced by his remarkable talent for conveying a vivid and sympathetic insider's view of Islam's holy cities" (Facey, p. 1). The narraative is handsomely illustrated with images of the Kaaba in Mecca and the Green Dome in Medina. Rutter was a young Englishman who was inspired by the exploits of Burckhardt and Burton to attempt the Hajj. Following service during the First World War, he took employment in the Malay States in order to learn Arabic and continued his studies in Egypt "where he lived as a native until he felt so thoroughly at home in the language and well versed in the rites and traditions of Islam as to be confident of his ability to carry through the pilgrimage as a fully fledged Muhammadan" (Cox). Despite the death of his intended travelling companion and the outbreak of hostilities in the Hejaz, "nothing daunted" Rutter "determined to adhere to his long-cherished plans," and set out from Suez for Massawa, wisely avoiding the usual route via Jeddah. A little over a year later he was back in Egypt. In Cox's words: "Thus ended a great enterprise, carried through with consummate pluck and fixity of purpose, and now given to his countrymen in two absorbing volumes which leave nothing to be desired either in literary style or human interest". In his memoir Genius of Friendship: T.E. Lawrence, Williamson notes Lawrence's opinion of these handsomely produced volumes: "they are most modestly good: very human, and fair, and fresh. The entire absence of great-mindedness is very charming". Provenance: ink stamp on the front pastedown of one Dr. Blair, additionally with shelf marks beneath his name. This is likely Douglas Panton Blair (1883-1968), a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps who served as a specialist in tropical diseases in Persia and Mesopotamia. "Later he was sent to Egypt and Palestine, where he saw much active service, entering Jerusalem a day before Allenby" (obituary). Blair was also a member of the Conchological Society and contributed two articles to the Palestine Exploration Quarterly, the journal of the Palestine Exploration Fund. Ghani, p. 586. "Obituary Notices", British Medical Journal, 27 January 1968; Percy Cox, "An Englishman in Mecca", The Geographical Journal, vol. 73, no. 5, May 1929; William Facey & Sharon Sharpe, "Who was Eldon Rutter?", Journal of Arabian Studies, 6:2, 2016. 2 volumes, octavo. Original dark green buckram over bevelled boards, spines lettered in gilt, Arabic script on front covers (Mecca on vol. I, Medina on vol. II), top edges gilt, others uncut. Photogravure frontispiece in each volume with captioned tissue guard, 8 maps (2 double- and 6 full-page) Slightly rubbed, a few marks to front cover of vol. II, scattered foxing, plates bright. A very good set.
  • $1,208
  • $1,208
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The Ballad of Reading Gaol. By C.3.3.

The Ballad of Reading Gaol. By C.3.3.

WILDE, Oscar. First edition, retaining the understandably rare thin plain jacket. We can trace only three copies complete with their dust jackets in auction records: at Parke-Bernet in 1941, and at Sotheby's in 1975 and 2004. This is one of 800 copies printed on handmade paper; an additional 30 copies were printed on japon. Wilde published this work under the pseudonym "C.3.3." after his cell in Reading Gaol, the third cell on the third landing of Gallery C. The first edition sold out rapidly, and a second edition was printed within weeks. Mason 371. Octavo. Original white quarter cloth, spine lettered in gilt, yellow cloth sides, top edge cut, others uncut. With original unprinted dust jacket. Housed in a custom brown quarter morocco chemise with paper-covered sides and interior patterned in orange and green. Text printed on rectos only. Binding and contents fresh; fragile jacket with chips to spine and fold ends, large section of foot neatly repaired without loss, couple of short closed tears and marks: a fine copy in the very well-preserved jacket.
  • $12,395
  • $12,395
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Information booklet for theatre audiences.

Information booklet for theatre audiences.

JAPANESE AVIATION. An intriguing and lively piece of Second World War domestic propaganda sponsored by the Tokyo Takarazuka Theatre, an all-female dance company founded in 1934. The rear cover and inside wrappers advertise a November 1940 production on pilots and aeroplanes which was staged to celebrate the 2,600th anniversary of the accession of the first emperor. This booklet was issued to introduce audiences to Japan's airforce. It also seemingly served as a promotional "taster" for the magazine Aviation Asahi. The magazine was launched in late 1940 to promote interest in aviation among boys; here, the front cover is identical to that of Aviation Asahi's debut issue, and the periodical's publisher is listed on the imprint page. Small duodecimo (88 x 64 mm), ff. 12. Original illustrated wrappers, wire-stitched as issued, front cover lettered in blue and red. Map of East Asian air routes (hand coloured, perhaps as issued) across centrefold, illustrations throughout text. Lower corner of front wrapper creased, a fine copy.
  • $286
  • $286
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The Birth of a New China. Selected and Annotated by George V. E. Wang.

The Birth of a New China. Selected and Annotated by George V. E. Wang.

LIN, Yutang. First edition thus, first printing, rare, of this long essay first published as an additional chapter in the 1939 revised edition of Lin's My Country and My People. With the Japanese invasion having severed many supply lines from the West, the present little-known standalone printing offered Chinese residents valuable access to the author's patriotic prose. Like his intimates Lu Xun and Hu Shi, Lin Yutang (1895-1976) ranks as one of China's most influential 20th-century intellectuals, leaving "a huge body of works that cut across many disciplines of the humanities" (Li, p. 400). The essay reflects the author's impressive way with words: "In such a war of prolonged resistance, I can foresee what will happen. Japan is like a new motor car with a splendid engine, trying to cross the Gobi, and the contest is one between the engine and the sand. The likelihood - to me, the certainty - is that the Japanese machine will continue to labor along, and make headway so long as it labors along, but eventually it will be stalled for sheer lack of fuel, and American and British trucks will be called to pull it back to the point where it began its foolhardy journey, a sorry affair with smeared mudguards and a broken shaft and an engine without grease" (p. 13). Each section of the essay is followed by a Chinese-English vocabulary guide "to help those young Chinese who are anxious to read what has been written by the famous author" (introduction). We have traced eight institutional copies, including seven in the United States (Harvard, Columbia, University of Wisconsin Madison, Claremont, Purdue, Berea, and Pittsburgh), and one at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Dian Li, "Lin Yutang", in Antonio S. Cua, ed., Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy, 2013, pp. 400-2. Small octavo. Original stiff card wrappers, front cover lettered in red in English and Chinese within red frame. Contents printed in blue. Faint recent pencil annotations on front cover. Wrappers creased from handling, old stains, contents clean, light toning, final 2 leaves a little loose at head but still sturdy. A well-preserved copy of this fragile publication.
  • $1,907
  • $1,907
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The Hero.

The Hero.

MAUGHAM, W. Somerset. First edition, first impression, of this early novel generally acknowledged to be Maugham's scarcest. The Hero is the first of Maugham's books to have on its covers the characteristic Moorish symbol protecting against the evil eye. Some copies (first state) had the front cover with the symbol printed upside down, while others, such as the present copy, had it correctly oriented (second state). Loren & Frances Rothschild Collection V, 20; Stott A4a. Octavo. Original red cloth, titles to spine and upper board gilt. Spine darkened, otherwise a very sharp copy, a little light spotting to edges and endpapers; very good indeed.
  • $3,178
  • $3,178
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The Highway of the three Kings. Arabia - from South to North.

The Highway of the three Kings. Arabia – from South to North.

TOY, Barbara. First edition, first impression. In this fascinating narrative, Toy outlines her journey tracing the incense route from Bir Ali to Damascus. She made the trip in her trusted Land Rover Pollyanna and by joining a pilgrimage caravan. Copies are uncommon in the dust jacket. Barbara Alex Toy (1908-2001) was an Australian-British travel writer and playwright famed for her dramatization of Agatha Christie's The Murder at the Vicarage - the first Miss Marple stage play. In 1950, she made a bet in London which launched an extensive travel career: "Miss Toy bought Pollyanna second-hand in London immediately after some friends had bet her she couldn't go to Baghdad, as she intended, because of thigh travel and currency restrictions. She accepted and won the bet by driving to Baghdad" (Australian Women's Weekly, p. 29). In The Highway of the three Kings, she travels from Aden through Yemen and Saudi Arabia, a particularly dangerous feat in view of the emergency in Aden and the Yemeni War. After a string of car troubles, she joins a lorry of pilgrims bound for Mecca. The lorry is held up by the desert sands and strays through a minefield, fortunately without calamity. Getting her Land Rover back, she then confronts the prohibition of woman drivers in Saudi Arabia, deciding to bypass Mecca and following the Hijaz Railway. She notes that the railway "has been out of commission since it was wrecked by Lawrence and the Arabs during the First World War. There is a strange mystique about railways and the various schemes put forth for their construction across the most remote and unlikely regions of the earth" (p. 134). Toy also travelled extensively in Libya, Kuwait, Sudan, and Algeria. She became one of the first women to explore Saudi Arabia in 1953, and in 1990, at the age of 81, Toy set off on her second world tour. She successfully completed a circumnavigation, and later made a trip across the Alps, retracing the steps of the journey made by Hannibal and his elephants. "A 'toy' on wheels", Australian Women's Weekly, 15 May 1957. Octavo. Original light blue buckram, spine lettered in white. With pictorial dust jacket. With 8 plates, and double-page map of Arabia. A few light marks to cloth; price-clipped jacket, bubbling of the laminate, edges rubbed: a near-fine copy in very good jacket.
  • $636
  • $636
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Privilegieboek van den Jongen Handboge (Privilege-book of the Young Handbow) of Antwerp (Guild of St. Sebastian); in Dutch

Privilegieboek van den Jongen Handboge (Privilege-book of the Young Handbow) of Antwerp (Guild of St. Sebastian); in Dutch, illustrated manuscript on parchment

BOOK DESCRIPTION: EXQUISITELY WRITTEN AND DECORATED MANUSCRIPT FOR AN EARLY ARCHERY GUILD. In Dutch, illustrated manuscript on parchment, Belgium, Antwerp, c. 1575 with 17th-century additions. Dimensions 273-275 x 187 mm., complete, frame-ruled in faint rust-brown ink (justification 215-218×135-137 mm.), written below top line by three scribes, the main scribe writing an elegant gothic script with some cursive elements (semi-hybrida) in 22-32 lines, the second scribe annotating the first in a less formal semi-hybrida currens, the third scribe working in a gothic script (semi-hybrida) in 15-25 lines. BINDING: Bound in 1783 in black leather over beveled boards, elaborately tooled in gold, gilt-tooled spine. TEXT: A collection of statutes, ordinances, privileges, and other documents for an early archery guild in Antwerp. One of only a small number of extant militia guild privilege-books, this is the sole known example from the Jongen Handboge ('Young Handbow'). ILLUSTRATION: The very skillful decoration in this volume is one of its outstanding features, with 29 large ornate decorated initials in black ink and two smaller initials; most are highly flourished cadel initials, with finely drawn figures including birds and animals integrated into the elaborate patterns of interlaced pen-strokes, FOUR DRAWINGS (two full-page, one half-page, one small) and FULL-PAGE DIAGRAM evince a high degree of technical skill with precise outlines and sensitive three-dimensional modelling, creating an effect reminiscent of fine engraving. PROVENANCE: Main text copied in Dutch, in Antwerp, in 1575 by Hans Verrast for the Jongen Handboge ("Young Handbow"). The main hand and illustrations are consistent with this date. Additions through c.1648 situate the manuscript in possession of the guild until at least the latter year; date of the guild's dissolution is uncertain; acquired by the van Havre family of Antwerp in the Dutch Era in the Dutch Era ("den Hollandschen tijd") ? i.e., 1814-1830; with several brief inscriptions and other marks, including: " . 1823" and "Gurtram ," along with two pasted-in heraldic bookplates, one bearing the legend "Ex Libris / A.v.Billet"; CONDITION: some rippling and mild edge-gap at ff. 22 and 29, light scuffing of binding, but otherwise in very fine condition. Full description and images available. (TM 1104)
  • $45,000
  • $45,000
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Carthusian Ordinarium for the Mass and Office

Carthusian Ordinarium for the Mass and Office, in Latin, decorated manuscript on paper

MANUSCRIPT FOR CARTHUSIAN MONKS ON HOW TO OBSERVE THE LITURGY. In Latin, decorated manuscript on paper, Southern France (M ounes-les-Montrieux), November 15, 1544.Dimensions 145 x 90 mm. 96 folios on paper, watermark: a cross on a mount (unidentified), complete, written in a gothic cursive bookhand in a single column on 25 lines, red rubrics and initials. BINDING: modern half binding in cream-colored parchment over pasteboards, marbled papers on covers, pastedowns and flyleaves, five raised bands on spine, in excellent condition. TEXT: A handbook for the Carthusian liturgy for new priests. This is a manuscript about the Mass and Divine Office, setting forth the rules that governed the complex liturgical life of a Carthusian monastery. The information it contains is thus very different than the contents of much more common liturgical manuscripts like Missals or Breviaries. How widely this text was disseminated within the Carthusian Order remains a question for further research. PROVENANCE: copied at the charterhouse of Montrieux (in Latin, mons rivus), in Southern France, located in the commune of M ounes-les-Montrieux, north of Tolon, and about an hour away from Marseille, and securely dated 1544 in the scribal colophon at the end of part one; bookplate of Ludovic Froissart (d. 1977); modern booksellers's marks on the verso of the front flyleaf. CONDITION: slight water damage on the first leaves, some stains, and signs of use, otherwise in very good condition. Full description, images, and video available (TM 1181).
  • $11,000
  • $11,000
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Scriptum super libros sententiarum Petri Lombardi

Scriptum super libros sententiarum Petri Lombardi, Liber I (Commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard, Book one); in Latin, decorated manuscript on paper

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT OF A THEOLOGICAL COMMENTARY BY THOMAS AQUINAS. In Latin, decorated manuscript on paper, Central Italy, c. 1450-1500. Dimensions 225 x 237 mm., 134 folios, copied by two scribes in small gothic book hands, red and blue initials throughout. BINDING: reversed calf over pasteboards (eighteenth-century?). TEXT: St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), a Dominican friar and Doctor of the Church, composed his commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard while teaching in Paris in the 1250s. It was his first major work on theology, in which he presented ideas that were to be elaborated in the Summa contra Gentiles and Summa Theologica , the latter destined to become the standard textbook of Catholic theology for centuries to come. When Aquinas was teaching, the Sentences had been the standard theology textbook since its compilation in the twelfth century. Our manuscript includes only book one, and many manuscripts of this text in fact include only a single book (or books). Only one other copy of Book I is found in a North American collection. PROVENANCE:Copied probably in the Marche region of Italy in the second half of the 15th century, when it was acquired by the Dominican convent of Santa Lucia in Fabrian (note on f. 134, partially erased and partially missing the ends of lines where the original page was torn away); European Private Collection. CONDITION: lacking two leaves at front, last leaf partially defective with some loss of text, mild dampstaining to margins and a few text pages (f. 1 and ff. 114-134), some fraying at edges and corners. Full description and images available. (TM 1136)
  • $32,000
  • $32,000
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Book of Hours (use of Rome); in Latin and French

Book of Hours (use of Rome); in Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on parchment

ILLUMINATED PRAYER BOOK MADE FOR A WOMAN AND DECORATED BY AN IMPORTANT FOLLOWER OF JEAN COLOMBE. In Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on parchment, France, Bourges, c. 1490-1500. Dimensions 135 x 90 mm., 166 folios, lacking 2 leaves, written in dark brown ink in a cursive gothic bookhand on 15 lines, 1- and 2- line initials, in-filled with gold leaves and flower throughout, 4 FULL-PAGE MINIATURES with architectural frames or frames embellished with jewels and pearls, inscribed with the incipit of the prayer in gold. BINDING: 18th-century brown sheepskin over pasteboard, spine with four raised bands. ILLUSTRATION: The four full-page miniatures are by the Master of Jean de Ferrières, a rare artist who enjoyed success at the Bourbon court in Moulins, and whose career certainly deserves further study. Enshrined within golden frames that simulate the metalwork of devotional altarpieces, these miniatures demonstrate an intimate understanding and singular interpretation of Jean Colombe's prolific production. PROVENENACE:Stylistic evidence indicates that the present manuscript was illuminated in Bourges, probably in the 1490s. The textual features of the manuscript confirm this location, and the fact that this was made for a woman (female form of the Obsecro te). An inscription was added on f. 163v in the early sixteenth century shortly after the completion of the Book of Hours: "Vostre tresobeissant et meilleur filz a jamais: Du Breul" [Your most obedient and best son forever: Du Breul]. This inscription was likely added by the son of the original owner of the manuscript, as a token of love and respect for his mother. He signs his name as Du Breul, which must have been his father's name as well. CONDITION: slight dampstaining to some opening pages, but with no damage to the text, faces of the miniature on f. 1 quite worn, slight stains on the frame of the miniature on f. 103, corners of binding worn, otherwise in good condition. Full description and images available. (BOH 193)
  • $60,000
  • $60,000
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Book of Hours (use of Rouen); in Latin and French

Book of Hours (use of Rouen); in Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on parchment

FIFTEENTH-CENTURY ILLUMINATED PRAYER BOOK FROM FRANCE. In Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on parchment, illuminated by the circle of the Master of the Rouen Echevinage (Jean Coquet?), France, Rouen, c. 1470-1480. Dimensions 176 x 128 mm., 141 folios, complete, illuminated initials and line-?llers throughout, larger initials accompanied by partial borders, 8 LARGE MINIATURES WITH FULL BORDERS. BINDING: early 20th century brown paneled morocco, spine gilt (slightly rubbed). ILLUSTRATION: This beautiful Book of Hours is a fine example of Rouen illumination, decorated within the circle of the Master of the Rouen Echevinage, the leading artist in the city in the second half of the fifteenth century. The eight miniatures of the manuscript are surrounded with rich floral borders, with generous sprouts of gold, blue acanthus and stupendously lifelike depiction of birds. PROVENANCE: The style of illumination indicates that the manuscript was produced in Rouen. The calendar includes every local feast for Rouen; sixteenth-century inscription added to lower margins on ff. 1, 12v, 94v, and 141v: "Paenissiez RR de Marac."; belonged to George Becher Blomfield (1801-1885), of Mollington Hall, canon of Chester Cathedral, with his armorial bookplate; Bonhams, March 28, 2006, lot 96. CONDITION: lower corners of ff. 1 and 140 repaired, the ?rst miniature a little smudged and darkened, especially to faces, verso of ?nal leaf with traces of adhesion from an earlier binding not a?ecting text. Full description and images available. (BOH 204)
  • $100,000
  • $100,000
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Latin Bible

Latin Bible, part (Pauline and Catholic Epistles, Acts, Apocalypse); NICHOLAS OF LYRA, Postillae (Commentaries on the Pauline and Catholic Epistles, Acts, Apocalypse); in Latin, decorated manuscript on paper

Nicholas of Lyra MANUSCRIPT COMBINING A LATIN NEW TESTAMENT AND COMMENTARIES BY NICHOLAS OF LYRA. In Latin, decorated manuscript on paper, Northeastern Netherlands or Northwestern Germany, c. 1450-1475. Dimensions 275 x 198 mm., 383 folios, apparently complete, written in a formal cursive gothic bookhand without loops in two columns of 38 lines, red initials, nine- to fifteen-line blue or parted red and blue initials, added running titles, which continue to part two of the volume; ff. 146-end, copied in a very neat controlled hybrida script, red initials 3- to-10 line (occasionally blue), a few with pen decoration,10-line red initial, six 10-line parted red and blue initials. BINDING: seventeenth century(?) plain vellum over pasteboard with yap edges. TEXT: This sizeable volume combines a copy of the New Testament, lacking only the Gospels, with the Commentaries by Nicholas of Lyra on the same books of the New Testament. Although possibly of independent origin, these two sections are contemporary and were united very soon after they were copied. This is the only manuscript we know of that combines the two within one volume, but it is easy to see how readers benefited greatly by having these complementary texts together. PROVENANCE: Evidence of the script, decoration, and watermarks suggests the first part of the manuscript, with the biblical text, was copied in Northwestern Germany, c. 1450-1475; evidence of the watermarks and script suggest the second half of the manuscript with Nicholas of Lyra's postillae likely copied in the Northeastern Netherlands or in Northwestern Germany, c. 1460-1470; belonged to Johann Heinrich Joseph Niesert (1766-1841); later owners, Isaac H. Hall and S. B. Pratt. CONDITION: In very good overall condition, f. 1 slit at the bottom inner margin, frayed in the outer margin, ff. 145v-146 paper noticeably darkened, f. 383 frayed at the gutter, few worm holes, rare stains from damp top margin in the second half, last few pages a bit fragile in the inner margin, vellum at the front now detached from the pasteboard and curling up, front and back covers rather dirty and scuffed. Full description and images available. (TM 1089)
  • $70,000
  • $70,000
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Viridarium Gregorianum sive Biblia Gregoriana

Viridarium Gregorianum sive Biblia Gregoriana, New Testament (A Garden or Bible of Gregory); in Latin, decorated manuscript on parchment

JACOBUS FOLQUERIUS (JACQUES FOUQUIER) FOURTEENTH-CENTURY MANUSCRIPT OF A RARE NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY COPIED BY A NAMED SCRIBE. In Latin, decorated manuscript on parchment, Southwest Flanders or Hainaut (Tournai?), c. 1350. Dimensions 240 x 170 mm., 120 folios, complete, catchwords in red and brown ink, quire signatures, written by a single scribe in a university bookhand, scrolling cadels at top lines sometimes in human and animal forms, numerous red and blue/black penwork initials of five to seven lines. BINDING: Nineteenth-century marbled boards and doublures, parchment covering corners and spine, spine title in red and black with filigreed decoration in red. TEXT: A New Testament commentary, Jacobus Folquerius's Viridarium Gregoriana , mined from many of Gregory the Great's works, drawing occasionally on Alulfus of Tournai's Gregorialis . The text is known in only three other manuscripts; this copy was, until now, apparently unknown, and is certainly the only of its kind on the market. PROVENANCE: Based on the script, this manuscript was copied c. 1350 by a scribe trained in Southwest Flanders or Hainaut (Tournai?). The parchment's texture and penwork initials are also consistent with this region. The scribe, moreover, names himself on the final folio: "Hic liber est scriptus ludofus sit benedictus." Ludolfus is otherwise unknown. The Germanic name Ludolfus, coupled with the manuscript's northwestern physical features, is consistent with production in this region; an auction record indicates this manuscript was previously in a Bordeaux private collection, although the blue pencil note in English suggests an interruption in French ownership. CONDITION: some small spots and parchment discoloration occasionally clouding text, several original holes in parchment once stitched, rodent damage to bottom inner corner of last two quires, minor cockling of leaves due to tight binding, some chipping on binding cover, edges, and hinges, staining on front flyleaves and some ink transfer to flyleaves adjacent to book block, overall in good condition. Full description and images available. (TM 1054)
  • $85,000
  • $85,000
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La Fiorita d?Italia; in Italian

La Fiorita d?Italia; in Italian, decorated manuscript on parchment

Guido da Pisa BOOK DESCRIPTION: FIFTEENTH-CENTURY COPY OF GUIDO DA PISA'S HISTORY OF ROME, IN ITALIAN. In Italian, decorated manuscript on parchment, Italy, Tuscany, Florence(?), c. 1440-1460. Dimensions 260 x 182 mm., 83 folios, lacking nine leaves, horizontal catchwords, written in brown ink by two different scribes in Italian cursive mercantesca script in single column on 38 lines, penwork initials. BINDING: ORIGINAL dark brown calf over wooden boards blind-tooled with fillets, twisted rope and x-form motifs, fitted purple buckram case c. 1900. TEXT: Guido da Pisa is best-known for his commentary on Dante, and Dante is cited often in this work, a history of Rome composed within the format of a universal chronicle. This text is now remarkably rare; in fact this is the first copy to appear on the open market in over 140 years, and one of only a few copies on parchment. PROVENANCE: script and decoration suggest that the manuscript was written in Tuscany in the middle of the fifteenth century. The binding, decoration, the quality of the script and the choice of parchment support suggest it was made for a patron of some wealth and influence; several inscriptions from unidentified early modern owners; Gerali di Pontremoli (in Tuscany), inscription on front pastedown, records the acquisition of the book from his family on November 20, 1889. CONDITION: small stains, slight water damage outer margins ff. 65-68, clasps and catches missing, losses of leather especially at foot of boards and spine (the latter with modern conservation), worm holes, otherwise in very good condition. Full description and images available. (TM 1053)
  • $52,000
  • $52,000
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Woven Book of Hours; in Latin and French

Woven Book of Hours; in Latin and French, illustrated book woven in silk

R. P. J. Hervier, designer; J. A. Henry, fabricator, for A. Roux BOOK DESCRIPTION: BOOK OF PRAYERS WOVEN IN SILK ON A JACQUARD LOOM. In Latin and French, illustrated book woven in silk, R. P. J. Hervier, designer; J. A. Henry, fabricator, for A. Roux, France, Lyon, c. 1886-1887. Dimensions 174 x 144 mm., 58 silk pages, complete, text in one or two columns, one half-page and three full-page illustrations, various styles of decorative borders and initials on every page, woven entirely in silver-gray and black silk. BINDING: Bound in white morocco by Lesort of Paris, elaborately gilt with interlaced initials "HM" front and back, cream-colored silk doublures, gilt edges and fold-ins, five raised bands, spine stamped "heures" and "lesort," original blue calf presentation box lined in white silk. ILLUSTRATION: Every page of this book is surrounded by border decorations of a wide variety. The half- and full-page illustrations are designed after paintings by Fra Angelico, Fra Bartolomeo and Raphael, and other Renaissance masters. PROVENANCE: Woven in Lyon by the firm of J. A. Henry, c. 1886-1887. The front doublure is gilt stamped with initials and date May 1900, but there is no indication that the silk pages were woven at this relatively late date. The silver-grey hue of the silk more likely indicates that this example was woven in the late 1880s and was untouched until it was bound and customized later; monogram "HM" gilt stamped on covers; pencil inscription on unnumbered silk page: Marie José Seiler, Chexbres [Switzerland]. CONDITION: In very good condition. Full description and images available. (BOH 166)
  • $55,000
  • $55,000
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The Great Crash 1929

The Great Crash 1929

GALBRAITH, John Kenneth (1908-2006) First British Edition of this classic account of the perhaps greatest speculative boom in history, setting the stage for the Great Depression. Demy 8vo (212 x 134mm): 186pp, with frontispiece reproduced from The New Yorker Magazine. Publisher's blue cloth, spine stamped in gilt. Neat manuscript ex-libris in red ink to fly leaf of Clive Gimson, house master of Bradfield College, dated November, 1955. An excellent example, tightly bound (top edge dust-soiled) and clean throughout. Yet another example of the value to be found in the graphically superior designs of most UK editions of American authors's works. Originally published the same year, in Boston. The 1929 stock market crash was precipitated by rampant speculation. This, one of Galbraith's first bestsellers, coincided with the 25th anniversary of the crash, when the crash and the Great Depression that followed were still raw memories, and stock prices were only then recovering to pre-crash levels. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, with dust jackets carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).
  • $365
  • $365
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Geography III [One Art]

Geography III [One Art]

BISHOP, Elizabeth (1911-1979); Louis Untermeyer (his copy) First Printing of the final collection to be published in Bishop's lifetime, including the exquisite villanelle "One Art," with an important association. Louis Untermeyer's copy, his book plate to front paste-down. Slim demy 8vo (214 x 152mm): [12],50pp. Publisher's coarsely woven brown cloth, tan end papers, title-page vignette; tan illustrated dust jacket by Cynthia Krupat printed in black and priced $7.95. A superlative example with fine association, tightly bound and virtually pristine (glue stains to front end sheets where news clippings were removed). MacMahon A13. Untermeyer was one of Elizabeth Bishop's earliest champions, notably as a member of the 1956 Pulitzer Prize committee that awarded that year's award for poetry to Bishop's Poems: North & South: A Cold Spring, of which Untermeyer wrote: "Certainly no book of the last year has such finesse, fantasy, strong but not over-stressed personality and sympathetic responses. A whimsical craftsman who is, at the same time, a seriously accomplished creator, Elizabeth Bishop is well worthy to be chosen as this year's prize winning poet." N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, with dust jackets carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).
  • $535
  • $535
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Phantom Flowers. A Treatise on the Art of Producing Skeleton Leaves

Phantom Flowers. A Treatise on the Art of Producing Skeleton Leaves

ANON. [TILTON, J. E., publisher] First Edition under this title (see below) of this early work on a fashionable Victorian pastime. 8vo (191 x 119mm): 96pp, with six tissue-guarded plates, head pieces, and historiated initials. Original dark green ribbed and beveled cloth, covers paneled in blind, gilt vignettes to spine and front cover, chocolate brown end papers, illustrated title page. Gift inscription to Mary D. Ballou (perhaps the Rhode Island suffrage pioneer), dated 1865 and her manuscript ex-libris in elegant script, with "Providence," to front fly leaf. Slight scuff to cover vignette,else tightly bound and virtually pristine (tissue guards lightly foxed but plates generally bright), with interesting provenance. First published in Philadelphia, in 1863, by Edward Parrish, under the title Phantom Bouquet : Skeletonizing Leaves and Seed Vessels. Producing skeleton leaves involved removing chlorophyll from leaves to create intricate designs in imitation of those left by insects and larvae. The designs were used as borders on photographic portraits and for other decorative purposes. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).
  • $335
  • $335
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The history of Selby

The history of Selby, ancient and modern : containing the most remarkable transactions, ecclesiastical, civil, and military, from the earliest accounts to the present period : interspersed with portions of general history, connected with the subject

MOUNTAIN, James First (and only) Edition of this account of the market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, the only published work of James Mountain, of whom little is known. 12mo (186 x 107mm): [4],x,162; 40,[22]pp, with folding frontispiece plan of Selby and folding plate (North West View of the Church of St. Germains Selby). Uncut in original publisher's two-tone paper-covered boards, oval printed paper lettering-piece to upper board. Engraved armorial book plate with motto "Honori Justitiae Virtuti" to front paste-down. Spine and covers rubbed and marked, pages occasionally spotted (plates unaffected), but a superb wide-margined copy, securely bound in original boards and generally clean throughout. Uncommon in commerce and in institutions outside of the British Isles, with ESTC recording copies at only four locations in North America (Harvard, Huntington, Honnold, and NYPL). Upcott III XCLVIII (pp. 1406-07). ESTC T36452. In two parts: The history of Selby, ancient and modern, and The history of Cawood, its castle and church (with separate title page, pagination, and register, and including a list of the archbishops who have resided at Cawood). Also includes "The Selby Directory for the year 1800," "A list of the Principal Inhabitants residing at Cawood," and list of subscribers, and "A poem on the ruins of Pontefract Castle," a romantic memorial to the famed Royalist stronghold raised to the ground during the English Civil War; Richard II is thought to have died there. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).
  • $865
  • $865
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[Original Cloth] The Poems. Edited by Derwent and Sara Coleridge

[Original Cloth] The Poems. Edited by Derwent and Sara Coleridge

COLERIDGE, S. T. (Samuel Taylor, 1772-1834) A superb example of this new edition, the first edited by Coleridge's second son and daughter. Foolscap 8vo (172 x 104mm): [8],xxvii,[1],388pp, with engraved portrait frontispiece after W. Holl, half title, and preliminary advertisements dated January 1852. Original dark blue pebbled cloth (also issued in claret cloth), elaborately blocked in blind, spine lettered in gilt, pale yellow end papers. Tightly bound and virtually pristine (slight water stain to lower blank corner of frontispiece). Wise III: 6. Lowndes 1: 493. Collects all of Coleridge 's most significant works, including "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," "Cristabel," and the poems of youth. "The Day-Dream," "The Foster-Mother's Tale, "A Hymn," and other pieces were first included in this edition. Frequently reprinted until superseded by the edition of 1863. "This volume was prepared for the press by my lamented sister, Mrs. H. N. Coleridge, and will have an additional interest to many readers as the last monument of her highly-gifted mind. At her earnest request, my name appears with hers on the title-page, but the assistance rendered by me has been, in fact, little more than mechanical." (Derwent Coleridge). After the death of his sister in 1852, Derwent Coleridge carried on her editorship of their father's works. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).
  • $265
  • $265
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The Time of Your Life.

The Time of Your Life.

Saroyan, William. NY, Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1939, first edition, first printing, dust jacket. Hardcover. "The new play" by Saroyan, at the time it was the only play to win both the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, source for the 1948 film, preface by Saroyan who also adds "Miscellaneous Essays About The World, The Theater, Reality, War, Writing, Moving Pictures, Myself, And Other Important Subjects," invoice from bookseller Maurice Neville folded and laid in loosely at the end, he sold this copy in 1983 for $175. Fine in a bright, clean, very good plus jacket that is price clipped.
  • $368
  • $368
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