Farnham, Luther
A Glance at Private Libraries
M&S Press, Weston, MA: 1991
- $1,093
Octavo. 98pp. One of 350 copies. This copy specially bound by Jean de Gonet in revorim covers with exposed red bands and red titling to leather spine. The text is a reprint of the Boston edition of 1855, here with introduction and annotated index contributed by Roger E. Stoddard, at the time the Curator of Rare Books at Harvard College. Inscribed by him at the front flyleaf. Stoddard's index provides key citational value, providing quick historical reference. Fine. Laid in is a previous owner's memo note on the attractiveness of de Gonet bindings, with Harvard header.
More from Bromer Booksellers, Inc.
To Open
Davidson, Laura Small octavo. (6)pp., frenchfold. One of 41 copies, signed by the artist. This artist's book by Davidson uses handprinted linocuts and collages to interpret a travelogue, showing keyholes, houses, and round swirls on top of maps. Printed in three colors, the five pages of illustrations are followed by a page of text, which recites a short Hindu tale, printed in black. Bound in wooden boards, which are shaped like a house and painted black, with a leather spine. On the front cover is mounted a metal key, the words "to open" printed in pencil above the key. Fine.- $633
- $633
William and Eliza, or, The Visit
48mo. 16pp. Three engravings and a title device provide visual cues to the titular characters' intrepid journey to their uncle's in Hackensack. Bound in orange printed wrappers with publisher's advertising to lower cover. Exterior generally rubbed with some soiling, interior typically clean, quite sturdy and very good. Previous owner's inscription to verso of upper wrapper.- $863
- $863
God’s Gift to Children: A Folktale of the Mensa Bet-Abrehe People
(8)ff. A linocut of Africa follows the text, a folktale from northern Ethiopia, which explains children come to rule over their parents. Printed by Amos Paul Kennedy with handset Lydian type; and installment in the Press' Ancestors Series. Bound in imported fabric from an unspecified African country. Fine. (2 15/16 by 2 1/2; 73x68mm).- $288
- $288
The Traveling Merriment Troupe!
Hutchins, Edward (48)pp. Signed by the artist. Illustrations in orange complement the text, in black, of a tale of acrobatic, artistic, and otherwise entertaining animals; an abstraction, as cited at the colophon, of Isaiah 11:6-9, which is also printed on a fold-out sheet tipped-in to rear. Fine in green paper wrappers and comb binding. (2 3/8 by 2 5/8 in.; 60x70mm).- $201
- $201
The Story of Writing
Merriott, William and William Thayer 76pp. No limitation indicated, although this volume is number 127. Printed and bound by William Merriott and William Thayer as their senior project at Greenfield High, under the direction of their teacher, Anthony T. Stavaski. Concludes with the well-trodden anxiety over the state of handwriting in an age of mechanical reproduction. Fine in black cloth. (2 by 1 5/8 in.; 50x40 mm).- $288
- $288
Going, Going.Gone!
Price, Richard Square small quarto. 7 unbound triptych sheets. One of thirty copies, signed by Price and King. Price's verses appear alongside King's illustrations, which have been deeply embossed into the papers, mostly in blind but with choice additions of color. Each triptych articulates the case for animals presently threatened by or having already succumbed to the catastrophes of climate change: the armadillo, the emperor butterfly, the chimpanzee, the dodo, the elephant, the fox, and the goose. That the alphabetical bestiary format remains unfinished implies the continuing urgency of the matter. Sheets housed loose in embossed paper wrappers, held in chemise and slipcase. Fine.- $2,300
- $2,300
Brooklyn Bridge: A Love Song
Glaister, Donald Quarto. (28)pp. One of 60 copies, this being number one. The long history of the Brooklyn Bridge as artistic muse here finds a deeply material instantiation at the hand of Glaister, who in his introductory poem extols the ways it "spans," "moves," "defines," and "endures." Certainly the book itself exemplifies these qualities, undeniable in the space of its spreads and the heft of its aluminum pages. To these Glaister has added five double-spread paintings of the Bridge, which taken together realize a certain prismatic perspective of its structure and a simultaneous view of it in and out of time. Between the paintings are abstract studies composed of sanded aluminum, acrylic paint, wire, aluminum tape, laminated polyester film, and sand. Altogether, then, Glaister poses the Bridge as visual and lyric object, as iconic as it is sublime. Bound in a quarter leather binding of Nigerian goatskin with sanded aluminum sides. Housed in felt-lined aluminum box with label. Fine. Laid in are the prospectus, an invitation to a contemporaneous talk given by Glaister, and the envelopes respective to each.- $9,200
- $9,200
Ruth and Naomi; or, The Affectionate Daught-in-Law
(Corner, Julia) 24mo. 27, (1)pp. Frontispiece woodcut plus eight further full-page illustrations, all hand-colored. Issued without a title page. Authorship indicated by publisher's advertisment at rear cover, where this and other titles are "Priced Sixpence Each, Edited by Miss Corner." Bound in plain printed wrappers, with upper cover illustration colored. Some exterior soiling, few chips, single unobtrusive tear to fore-edge of upper cover, else very good.- $518
- $518
The Fables of Aesop
Aesop (35)ff. Liberally and lightheartedly illustrated throughout in black & white. Bound in red cloth with a turtle stamped in gold on the front cover. Includes scarce original red cardboard slipcase. A fine copy, slipcase only slightly rubbed. (2 by 1 5/8 in.; 51x42 mm).- $288
- $288
Miniature Almanack for the Year of Our Lord 1834
(32)pp. A pocket-sized almanac with great aphoristic value; maxims accompany the tabulations of the months, there is a note providing "Knowledge of Law for Families," on the legal relation between a husband and wife, and the final leaves relay some sayings from Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack. The keen observer will notice the similarity between the title page of this volume and that of Franklin's actual publication from the previous century. Also with currency matrices, dates of court sessions for various New England locations, and an odd two-line addition providing Napoleon's birth and death dates. Somewhat rubbed and sunned in marbled paper wrappers, very good.- $230
- $230
Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect
Burns, Robert 240pp. Reduced facsimile of the first edition, which had been printed in Kilmarnock by John Wilson in 1786. Bound in wrappers, and held in a quite monumental covered in red morocco and gilt-tooled and -titled, with matching chemise. Mild soiling, else fine. (Garbett, p. 27; Spielmann 69). (1 3/16 by 7/8; 30x20mm).- $518
- $518
Tribal Alphabet
McCarthy, Mary Octavo. (30)ff. One of twenty-six copies, signed and numbered by the artist. An abecedarian study of traditional masks from indigenous African peoples, from the Adauma of Gabon to the Zande of Zaire. A prefatory page organizes the tribes by modern countries, and at the rear is a reference list. Images reproduced by scanning orignal collages. Text handwritten and reproduced by silkscreen. Bound in full black cloth over boards and ornamented in acrylic and ink. Fine. Artist's advertising postcard, inscribed, laid in.- $863
- $863
The Broken Promise: or, The Cottage on the Heath
32mo. 23pp. Full-page frontispiece engraving showing a churchyard, and nine further engravings throughout engage this tale of mortality and morality and the perils of growing up. Bound in blue printed wrappers with publishers advertisement to lower cover. Some foxing, scant exterior rubbing, else near fine. Previous owner's inscription to title page.- $863
- $863
Woodwork Patterns
Turpin, M. Oblong octavo. (12)ff. Each leaf provides a different design, with instructions for removing the stencils - then to be used as guides for the emergent carpenter - and for assembly. The kit includes an arm chair, a soldier, a table, a squirrel-shaped door stop, a Nosey Nellie ring game, a movable elephant, frog- and rabbit-shaped napkin rings, a spool-holder, a picture frame, a paddle wheel boat, dog book ends, and a camel. Whitman Publishing also issued a kit for masks of movie stars (Keaton, Chaplin, et al.) in 1931, suggesting a similar date for the present product. Staple-bound in decorated wrappers showing mild toning, else near fine.- $288
- $288
Do Sit Down!
Hutchins, Edward One of thirty copies, signed by the artist. Fourteen double-page spreads, accordion-fold, urging the reader to calm their worried mind. Provides a chair for the purpose, to which the book is affixed. Fine. Held in acrylic box. (1 15/16 by 1 15/16 in.; 49x49mm).- $345
- $345
The Wonderful History of Blue Beard
(Perreault, Charles) 32mo. 12pp. Frontispiece woodcut showing a rather gothic take on Blue Beard defending himself from animate skeletons. One of several editions issued by Marks, this rather scarce, with no apparent holdings recorded in OCLC. Bound in tan printed wrappers with publisher's advertisements at lower. Some exterior soiling and motes of chipping, else very good.- $403
- $403
The Child’s Picture Book
48mo. 16pp. Begins with an alphabet, and proceeds throughout by orienting the reader to an engraving by way of a few lines of text. Among the more unusual images are those of a fennec fox, a leaf of a Catalpa tree, and a hoopoe; the anteater proved too elusive, and has been substituted for a scene of men carrying grapevines. Title page includes "Part V" at head. Bound in yellow wrappers, faintly soiled, else near fine.- $144
- $144
The Poetry of Sir Walter Scott
Scott, Sir Walter Six 64mo volumes. The titles included in this set are: Lord of the Isles, Lay of the Last Minstrel, Rokeby and the Field of Waterloo, The Lady of the Lake, Marmion, and Minor Poems. Each with an engraved frontispiece depicting a Scottish landmark. All identically bound in full blue cloth with a black-stamped design of highland arms to upper and with titling and outline of Scott's Monument in gilt at spine. Together in the original wooden box, lacquered with a red and green plaid pattern, and with a double, hinged lid. Light rubbing to the extremities of books and box, mild fragility to few hinges, else a near fine and attractively presented near-miniature set. (3 3/8 by 2 1/2; 87x64 mm).- $1,438
- $1,438
Uncovering White Privilege: A Primer
Laser, Rachel Octavo. 45pp. One of three A. P. copies, produced in addition to the limited edition of fifty. Signed by Laser, who contributed the text, and by Camden M. Richards, who designed and produced the project. Equal parts scholarly essay and experiment in graphic and material design, the book aims to situate the reader within the vocabulary of racial privilege, to guide them toward an understanding of their own position ("White Privilege: If You Can't See It, You've Got It"), and to urge a confrontation with it on terms both interpersonal and systemic. To these ends, it employs a creative array of typefaces, printing techniques, and scanned linocut illustrations by McAleer-Keeler. Bound in flexible covers, saddle-stitched and held with an elastic ribbon, to which is affixed a custom pencil, "perfect for making copious notes about how you will utilizze your privilege to create change." Fine.- $748
- $748
Grateful Tributes; or, Recollections of Infancy
Elliot, Mary Belson 48mo. 32pp. + frontispiece and seven interleaved plates. The lyrical tributes are dedicated to members of the speaker's family (father, mother, brother, sister, uncle, and aunt) to support the prefatory statement that "the tie of Kindred is the cement of Nature." Each plate with header and caption at foot, and a note at the title page indicates the increased price to the buyer to subsidize their addition. Bound in yellow wrappers with engravings to both covers, these somewhat soiled and with trace creasing else a near fine copy. Bookplate and notations of Marjorie Moon. (Moon, 98 [this copy]).- $1,438
- $1,438
