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MAPA ANTIGUO DE CRETA Y CORFÚ. CANDIA ET LA CITA DE CORPHU.

MAPA ANTIGUO DE CRETA Y CORFÚ. CANDIA ET LA CITA DE CORPHU.

BRAUN, Georges / HOGENBERG, Frans Materia: Grabado del siglo XVII de una vista de pájaro de las islas de Candia (Creta) y Corfú. Autores: Georg Braun y Frans Hogenberg. Año: 1580. Dimensiones aprox.: 410 x 535 mm [papel], 370 x 490 mm [huella]. Técnica: Grabado calcográfico en cobre. Impresión oscura en papel grueso y fuerte, de gran calidad y tonos caros. Coloreado a mano con acuarela en la época. Reverso: Texto en latín. Conservación: Buen estado. Color antiguo, pliegue de imprenta en el ángulo superior derecho con separación de la zona impresa. Pequeño desperfecto en la parte central del grabado de Candia". Ligeras manchas: mancha de óxido más oscura en la esquina superior derecha de Candia, otra en el puerto de Corfú, y en la parte inferior derecha del lado del mar. Descripción: Dos vistas grabadas en cobre de las ciudades venecianas de Creta y Corfú del segundo volumen de "Civitas Orbis Terrarum" de Braun &, Hogenberg. La vista superior muestra a Creta o Iraklion conocido como "Candia" durante la ocupación veneciana. Es una vista desde el mar con el castillo y las murallas de la ciudad, un barco de pesca y una galera en primer plano. La vista inferior del Fuerte Viejo y la ciudad de Corfú dibuja una ciudadela coronada por castillos "viejos" y "nuevos" y separada de la ciudad por un foso, muchas galeras venecianas en el puerto y el mar circundante, varias áreas identificadas incluyendo San Rocho y "El Bazaro" ahora conocido como la Spianada Civitates Orbis Terrarum: conocido también como el "Braun &, Hogenberg", se trata de un atlas de ciudades en seis volúmenes y está considerado el mejor libro de vistas y planos de ciudades jamás publicado. Se compone de 363 grabados, muchos de ellos ricamente bellamente coloreados, y fue una de las obras más vendidas del último cuarto del siglo XVI. Georg Braun escribió el texto que acompaña a los planos y vistas en el verso. Un gran número de las placas se grabaron según los dibujos originales de Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1600), un artista profesional. El primer volumen se publicó en latín en 1572, el sexto y último en 1617. Georg Braun (1541-1622) nació en Colonia, donde realizó sus estudios hasta ingresar en la Orden de los Jesuitas como novicio. En 1561 obtuvo su título de bachiller y en 1562 su Magister Artium. Aunque dejó la Orden de los Jesuitas, estudió teología, obteniendo una licenciatura. Por su parte, Frans Hogenberg (1535-1590) fue un pintor, grabador y cartógrafo flamenco y alemán. Nació en la ciudad belga de Malinas y a finales de 1560, trabajó en Theatrum Orbis Terrarum de Abraham Ortelius. En 1568 fue expulsado de Amberes por el duque de Alba y viajó a Londres, donde permaneció unos años antes de emigrar a Colonia. Allí se embarcó inmediatamente en sus dos obras más importantes: los Civitates, publicados a partir de 1572 y los Geschichtsblätter, que aparecieron en varias series desde 1569 hasta aproximadamente 1587. Murió como un hombre rico en Colonia en 1590. Referencias: Koeman IV, 1901, Fauser 2298 u. 6507."
  • $653
Glacier Point Hotel.

Glacier Point Hotel.

(YOSEMITE) First edition. Twelvemo. 4 x 5 1/4 inches. 12 pp. with a photograph on every page but the last three (which bear rates and directions as well as the publisher's slug). Double page map of the routes to the Hotel in the center. Stapled self-wrappers. Very good condition. Strangely this is quite scarce with OCLC only recording one copy (Bancroft)."It was 1871 when James McCauley obtained permission from the Yosemite Board of Commissioners to build and operate a toll trail to and from Yosemite Valley at the base of Sentinel Rock and climb over 3,000 feet to Glacier Point. With the new convenient access, innkeeper Charles Peregoy built ?The Mountain House? at the overlook in 1873. Hikers ascending McCauley?s Four Mile Trail to reach Glacier Point could now rest for the night at the small hotel with its stunning views. Campfires were often built to entertain the guests at the overlook and ashes were pushed over the edge. From Camp Curry in the valley below the falling ashes looked like a waterfall of fire. This would start a Yosemite tradition: the Firefall.?There may have never been a better balcony view than the one from the Glacier Point Hotel,? which was completed in 1917. ?The Glacier Point Hotel, which is itself entitled to the distinction of being classed as one of the features of the region. Affording accommodations for some two hundred guests, and embodying, as it does, all the comforts and conveniences of the most modern city hotel with its own delightfully informal and rustic atmosphere, it stands unique among the hotels for which our western country is justly famous. Visitors stopping overnight at Glacier Point will be lulled to sleep by the drowsy murmur of Vernal and Nevada Falls pouring into Merced Canyon far below, and throughout the day will be treated to a series of scenic spectacles that can hardly be duplicated anywhere else on earth? (Wilson, 1922).In the winter of 1968?1969 the Glacier Point Hotel was damaged by heavy snow pack and was closed for business that summer. The Firefall was cancelled permanently. A few employees lived in the old Mountain House (then the oldest building in the park), selling snacks to Glacier Point daytime visitors.On July 10, 1969 an electrical fire began in the lower floor of the unattended Glacier Point Hotel. The pile of red fir bark left from the Firefall next to the hotel added fuel to the fire. Structure fire response was 28 miles away by mountain road. The fire completely destroyed the hotel, Mountain House, and many trees" (National Park Service).
  • $450
Moi Libre aussi

Moi Libre aussi

Boizot, Louis Simon; Darcis, Louis First edition. Hand-colored engraving. In contemporary or near contemporary frame. Engraved by Louis Darcis, after Boizot (Boizot del.t : Darcis Sculp.t). Showing a black man with a red Phrygian liberty cap, in a circular medallion, with the motto or title engraved beneath twice in different typefaces. Diameter: ca. 75 mm. Important public propaganda image commemorating the abolition of slavery in France in 1794. The abolition of slavery in Saint Domingue in 1793, a major achievement of the slave revolt, the Haitian Revolution, the activity of the abolitionist societies in France, and just as importantly the ideas of the French Enlightenment and the revolutionary ethos of Liberté, égalité, fraternité convinced the French National Convention to issue a decree in 1794, the so-called Law of 4 February 1794, which abolished slavery and the slave trade in all French colonies, and gave the formerly enslaved equal rights. Commemorating the occasion, promoting the idea of general emancipation, and proclaiming equality in public propaganda, various images featuring men and women of African descent, with different printed slogans referring to freedom and equality started to circulate. A pair of these images, depicting a freed woman and a man titled Moi libre aussi (I, Too, Am Free), was created by Louis Simon Boizot (1743-1809). Boizot's designs were probably intended to decorate porcelain box lids, as the artist was the director of the Sèvres porcelain manufactory at the time, and also created sculptures with the same title for the company. The freed black man, the engraving presented here, wears a red Phrygian liberty cap of emancipated enslaved people, a symbol still featured in the centerpiece of the Haitian flag, and the title Moi libre aussi appears twice beneath his image. Scarce. Except for the present one no other records on RBH.We could trace institutional copies only in France (BnF - 4 copies, in two versions with a slightly different arrangement of the text; Le musée Carnavalet), the UK (British Museum), and the United States (JCB). One of the BnF-copies (a variant) was exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, as part of the exhibition Fictions of Emancipation: Carpeaux Recast (March 10, 2022-March 5, 2023). . Paper tanned, trimmed, the engraving mounted on paper to fill the arch-shaped frame. Wormholes to the frame. Otherwise in fine condition. Hand-colored engraving. In contemporary or near contemporary frame. Engraved by Louis Darcis, after Boizot (Boizot del.t : Darcis Sculp.t). Showing a black man with a red Phrygian liberty cap, in a circular medallion, with the motto or title engraved beneath twice in different typefaces
  • $14,363
  • $14,363
Paoletti impronte. [8 Volumes] [A collection of over 820 Plaster Medallions

Paoletti impronte. [8 Volumes] [A collection of over 820 Plaster Medallions, Presented in Eight Vellum-Bound Double-Sided Faux Book-Boxes.]

[Paoletti Manufacture] 8 volumes. 823 white plaster cast medallions each bordered with gilt paper, manuscript numbers added in ink, generally between 1.5 and 5 cm in diameter (some larger). Arranged and mounted in recessed double-sided faux book-boxes, lined with red paper. Manuscript list of contents (not entirely corresponding to the content) in brown ink to front and rear pastedowns of each volume. In original, matching, full vellum binding, gilt spines with 2 labels lettered "Paoletti" and "Impronte opere antiche" or "Impronte opere moderne" with the volume number. Box size: ca. 34 × 22 cm. An 8-volume collection of 19th-century plaster impressions of intaglios and other engraved gems, and miniature copies of ancient and later sculptures and monuments in matching original bindings, manufactured by the Paoletti firm. A fine collection of mid-19th century plaster medallions (intaglios, cameos) known in Italian as 'impronte', manufactured by the Paoletti family, Bartolomeo Paoletti (1757-1834) and his son, Pietro (1801-1847) in Rome. These souvenirs became highly popular among aristocratic and fashionable travelers on the Grand Tour during the early part of the 19th century, especially from England. Such distinguished figures as Goethe, Catherine the Great (Belozerskaya 2013, p. 201-3), Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Lord Elgin were among the clients of the Paoletti firm. Like a miniature museum of the history of art, these carefully arranged and mounted plaster impressions show mythological or classical scenes, portraits of Greek and Roman gods, emperors, warriors, philosophers, and poets, masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance, and portraits of famous artists and writers. Many of the intaglios are life-size copies of ancient gems, cameos, coins and medals others are miniature representations of classic or later sculptures and portraits. Four of our volumes cover antique themes and the other four are dedicated to "modern art". The antique section comprises a volume titled Impronte in Stucco cavate dalle Gemme Antiche and contains 116 portraits of Greek and Latin poets and philosophers, antique military leaders, and rulers. Each of the remaining three volumes is titled Istoria-Miteologica they comprise medallions (119+135+109) of mythological and classical scenes and portraits. The first volume of Impronte opere moderne has a mixed content of Opere del Secolo XVI, chiamato 500 (13), Opere Moderne Di Antonio Picler [Anton Pichler] (7), Opere di Giuseppe Picler [Johann-Joseph (Giuseppe) Pichler] (12), Opere di [Nathaniel] Marchant (49). The next two volumes, are titled Opere di varj Autori and contain examples of miscellany "modern art" (127+96), and the last one, titled Incisioni appartenenti a S A. il S.e Pr'pe Poniathowski is a selection of 40 pieces of the Poniatowski gems. Literature: Belozerskaya M. 2013. Medusa's Gaze: The Extraordinary Journey of the Tazza Farnese. New York: Oxford University Press.; Lucia Pirzio B. S. 2013. La collezione Paoletti. Stampi in vetro per impronte di intagli e cammei II. Roma: Gangemi. A few medallions detached from backing, three with visible traces of crack, and one broken. Some of the bindings are partly dusted, some labels are rubbed with losses to the extremities. Front panel of Vol. 16 discolored, spine somewhat rubbed labels worn. Overall in fine condition. Generally a very well-preserved collection. 8 volumes. 823 white plaster cast medallions each bordered with gilt paper, manuscript numbers added in ink, generally between 1.5 and 5 cm in diameter (some larger). Arranged and mounted in recessed double-sided faux book-boxes, lined with red paper. Manuscript list of contents (not entirely corresponding to the content) in brown ink to front and rear pastedowns of each volume. In original, matching, full vellum binding, gilt spines with 2 labels lettered "Paoletti" and "Impronte opere antiche" or "Impronte opere moderne" with the volume number
  • $23,939
  • $23,939
Vystavka proizvidenii K. S. Malevicha. (Exhibition of the Works of K.S. Malevich)

Vystavka proizvidenii K. S. Malevicha. (Exhibition of the Works of K.S. Malevich)

A. Fedorov-Davydov, text Malevich's Tragic 1929 Retrospective Exhibition Catalogue. Octavo 17.3x12.8 cm., original paper wrappers, 10(2) pp. With a b/w reproduction of "Na senokose." 1000 copies only. Glavit no. A-51089. This booklet, published in conjunction with an exhibition of Malevich's works at the Tret'iakov Gallery, includes a biography of the artist. The author, Aleksei Fedorov-Davydov (1900–1969), at the time the head of the Department of modern Russian art at the Tret'iakov, was a prominent art historian. Malevich produced forty new works for this show. He had left behind the bulk of his mature works in Europe when he returned to Russia in 1927. In this new series of work the artist attempted to redefine himself, given that he had abandoned painting by 1922. In light of the current prevailing conditions he seemed to be reinventing himself in producing new works and antedating them back into the first decade of the century which would produce an historical narrative more suited to the homo sovieticus than can be discerned from the verified works on hand we have and details of his biography. No photographs exist of this exhibition. A fully illustrated catalogue was promised but never materialized, and this is the sole documentation for the event. Some of the work was exhibited in Ukraine in 1930, where the authorities closed down the show and confiscated the items, a dark portent. Within two years of this exhibition at the Tret'iakov Gallery the Stalinist regime had rejected bourgeois abstract art, and Malevich was banned from creating anything of the sort. The paintings from this exhibition were stored in the Russian Museum and not available for view until almost 1980. Fedorov-Davydov's text seems to reflect the tension between Malevich's prominence and the pending rejection of his aesthetic, as he stresses exhibit's importance to up-and-coming artists. "On the one hand," he writes, "this era reached its climax with the whole system engendered by the isolation of bourgeois culture of art from life; on the other, it constructed the germs of those new forms of art that are now growing in front of our eyes". BL 375. Getty 481. MoMA 828. OCLC locates six copies worldwide at the Tate, Frick, MoMA, UNC-Chapel Hill. .Reference: Kokkori, Maria, "Exhibiting Malevich under Stalin," in Utopian Reality: Reconstructing Culture in Revolutionary Russia and Beyond, ed. Christina Lodder, Maria Kokkori, and Maria Mileeva (S.l.: Brill, 2013): 138. A very good+ copy.
  • $2,500
  • $2,500
The Nile in Darkness. [Conquest and Exploration 1504-1862; A Flawed Unity 1863-1899.]

The Nile in Darkness. [Conquest and Exploration 1504-1862; A Flawed Unity 1863-1899.]

UDAL, John O. First edition, first impression, signed and inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper of vol. 1: "To Christopher and to Alistair from the author in grateful memory of John Carlisle Nanson Donald, Sudan Political Service 1930-55, a generous and trusted friend". This history of the Sudan was written by a former officer in the Sudan Political Service. Reviewing the second volume, Professor Peter Woodward noted that "The great merit of Udal's contribution is that he combines all [previous studies], giving generous recognition to other studies while combining them with much new material of his own in one comprehensive work" (Woodward, p. 162). A purchase invoice from the publisher is loosely inserted. Vol. 2 was issued without the map affixed to the rear endpaper: the map, along with an apologetic note from the publisher, are loosely inserted. Peter Woodward, "The Nile in Darkness: A flawed unity 1863-1899, by John O Udal.", African Affairs, vol. 106, no. 422, 2007. 2 volumes, octavo. Original brown cloth, spine lettered and with publisher's device in gilt. With dust jackets. Both volumes: With maps, photographic illustrations, and tables in the text, folding map to rear pastedown (Vol. 2: folding map loosely inserted) Lower spine end and rear cover of vol. 1 bumped, lower front cover of vol. 2 bumped, several spots of foxing to edges of vol. 1, one spot of damp staining to outer edge of vol. 2; jacket of vol. 1 price-clipped and with moderate rubbing and foxing, jacket of vol. 2 not price-clipped and mildly rubbed: a very good copy in like jackets.
  • $377
Instructions and Regulations for the use of Yeomanry and Volunteer Corps of Cavalry. Part I.

Instructions and Regulations for the use of Yeomanry and Volunteer Corps of Cavalry. Part I.

HERRIES, Charles. First edition, rare, an online institutional search locating the British Library copy only; the second part was published in 1805. From the library of Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale (1771-1851), with his bookplate on the front pastedown. Ernest Augustus, the Black Sheep, as Queen Victoria's father once called him, was always bent on a military career and served with the cavalry, fighting with courage in Flanders and the Netherlands against the French; "his face was scarred for life and his left eye, always poor deteriorated [and as a result] His sharp wit became cruelly sardonic and malicious. He was made lieutenant-general in the British army in 1799 [he] regarded himself as a professional soldier, but after 1796 he never again held command in the field, despite his wish to serve in the Peninsular campaign" (ODNB). His fizzing portrait by George Dawe (showing him resplendent in hussar uniform, the Order of the Garter pinned to his dolman) is at the National Portrait Gallery. The author, Charles Herries, was descended from a long line of Dumfriesshire lairds. As a merchant based in London he played a leading role in the British volunteer movement, becoming colonel of the light horse volunteers, "a select and prestigious London defence force" (ODNB). He also published General Regulations and an Explanation of the Principal Words of Command (1796) and General Regulations and Instructions for the Light-Horse Volunteers of London and Westminster (1797). Octavo (176 x 110 mm). Contemporary red straight-grain morocco, smooth spine gilt-lettered direct and divided by paired gilt fillets, gilt single fillet border to sides, Stormont pattern marbled endpapers, gilt edges. Folding letterpress table at end ("Posts of Officers"). Spine sunned, extremities a little rubbed. A very good copy.
  • $314
The Sherbro and its Hinterland.

The Sherbro and its Hinterland.

ALLDRIDGE, Thomas Joshua. First edition, first impression, of one of the first works to introduce western audiences to traditional Sierra Leonese culture, complete with the two folding maps. The Sherbro and its Hinterland developed from the expeditions of Thomas Joshua Alldridge (1847-1916), who travelled extensively in Sierra Leone as a travelling commissioner for the British colonial administration in the late 1880s and early 1890s. Alldridge spent much of his professional life in Sierra Leone, and eventually served as its first District Commissioner from 1894-1905. In this work, written during that period, he outlines a political, economic and cultural analysis of the traditional cultures he encountered in the Sierra Leonese interior. Alldridge took a camera with him, and this work reproduces his extensive photographs of indigenous dress, ceremonies and practices: a fact much remarked on in contemporary reviews (e.g. that of the Royal Geographical Society). "Alldridge has had a profound influence on the understanding and appreciation of Sierra Leone's traditional culture in the wider world. As one of the first Europeans to travel into the interior of south-eastern Sierra Leone, he is credited with having gained privileged insight into Mende culture, in particular, before it was – to use his own expression – 'transformed' by European intervention" (Hart, p. 155). This work is thus significant not only for its role in introducing western audiences to traditional Sierra Leonese cultures, but equally for preserving evidence of those cultures before European colonial intervention. The verso of the half-title preserves the bookplate of Guy Fortescue Burrell de Gruchy (1867-1940), a Jersey-born banker and legal official. William Hart, "T. J. Alldridge's Sierra Leone collections", Journal of the History of Collections, vol. 35, no. 1, 2023. Octavo. Original blue vertical-ribbed cloth, spine lettered and ruled in gilt, covers ruled in blind and with two-figure illustration to front in gilt. Pictorial frontispiece with tissue guard and 77 other photographic illustrations on 59 plates, folding map, folding coloured map in rear pocket. Light bumping, rubbing, and wear to extremities, several spots of soiling, light toning and sporadic moderate foxing, wormhole to upper margin of initial leaves, a couple of leaves unopened: a very good, firm copy.
  • $691
Revolt in the Desert.

Revolt in the Desert.

LAWRENCE, T. E. First edition, first impression, limited issue, number 36 of 315 copies in quarto with colour plates which were printed in monochrome in the standard octavo issue. This hugely successful abridgement of Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1926) was vital in defraying the soaring production costs of Lawrence's masterpiece and in establishing the fortunes of the Cape publishing house. It was Bernard Shaw who suggested to Lawrence that he fundraise for the £13,000 debt incurred from producing the limited "Cranwell" edition of Seven Pillars by writing an abridged version for a wider readership. Intent on not making an "excessive" profit from the idea, Lawrence ordered that no more copies be printed once his costs had been cleared. As a result, the fifth impression was the last, by which time 90,000 copies were in circulation, with many more still in demand. The public next encountered Lawrence's narrative in 1935, with the release of the first trade edition of the complete Seven Pillars. "Lawrence felt that in Seven Pillars he had failed to create a work of the 'titanic' class: his aim in the abridgement was more modest and therefore more attainable. There was magnificent material in Seven Pillars for an uncomplicated adventure story, and Lawrence was determined to succeed" (Wilson, p. 768). O'Brien A101. Jeremy Wilson, Lawrence of Arabia: The Authorised Biography of T. E. Lawrence, 1989. Quarto. Original brown quarter pigskin, spine lettered it gilt, light brown buckram boards, top edge gilt, others untrimmed. Colour portrait frontispiece, 10 colour plates, 8 monochrome plates, folding map at rear; title printed in red and black. Spine ends recently refurbished with traces of older adhesive repair still present, endpapers lightly toned. A very good copy.
  • $2,826
  • $2,826
Colonization of South Australia.

Colonization of South Australia.

TORRENS, Robert. First edition. Robert Torrens (1780-1864), an Irish-born political economist, Member of Parliament, and newspaper publisher, played a prominent role in the colonization of South Australia. He here proposes colonization to solve the problem of overpopulation and enrich the mother country. "Torrens had a significant influence on the theory and practice of colonization. Along with most of the later classical economists he rejected the Smithian view that colonies were of no economic benefit to the colonial power. Much of the later classical case for colonies was based on the view that colonies would provide profitable investment outlets to offset a declining rate of profit at home. Torrens used this argument in some of his later writings but his main argument was that colonies were an ideal solution to the Malthusian overpopulation problem. In this view he was undoubtedly influenced by his interpretation of the causes of Irish poverty - a country incidentally where Torrens was born and in general its problems had a profound effect on his thinking. He [also] advocated systematic colonization with the price of land set sufficiently high that large units of capital would have to be amassed before the immigrant labourers became independent farmers" (The New Palgrave IV, 660). "This somewhat lengthy book, whose title and general appearance would suggest somethign written purely ad hoc for the purpose of forwarding the policies of the Colonization Commission for South Australia, must in fact rank as one its author's major contributions to general economics. Its occasion indeed was the desirability of defending at length the projects of the Commissioners. But in the course of the apologia there occur important expositions of the Ricardian theory of distribution, the theory of Comparative Costs, the general theory of colonization and a form of over-production theory in some respects anticipating modern stagnation theories." (Robbins). De Vivo 50; Goldsmiths' 29034; Ferguson 2056; Kress C.4051; Robbins, Robert Torrens and the Evolution of Classical Economics, 36; Sraffa 5920. Octavo (222 x 140 mm). Original blue boards, grey paper spine, printed paper spine label, untrimmed. Housed in a custom made half morocco and cloth clamshell box. Folding colour frontispiece map, 16-page publisher's catalogue bound at front. Small circular stamp of Webster Collection to rear free endpaper, engraved armorial bookplate of Sir William Molesworth to front pastedown. Front joint split but cords holding firm, spine ends chipped, grey paper and printed label chipped in places, rear board with vertical crease, still sound. Folding map a little crinkled in the gutter, slightly offset onto title
  • $4,082
  • $4,082
BOOK OF HIMSELFE' - an Essex Country Clergyman's Unpublished Autobiography of Hypochondria and Illness

BOOK OF HIMSELFE’ – an Essex Country Clergyman’s Unpublished Autobiography of Hypochondria and Illness

Samuel Jackson An 18th century country clergyman's narrative of hypochondria, illness and death: Jackson's life-writing being continued and completed decades after his death by his sons. Small quarto (17x20cm) bound in full contemporary sheepskin, rebacked; new endpapers and a few paper repairs. In addition to the manuscript book there are several inserts including draft family memorials etc. Paper stock has horizontal chainlines; 'GR' with armorial above for watermark. The manuscript is written from both ends, [pp] 44 (Jackson senior's text written on rectos only) and his son Samuel's transcription of his poem, 'The Paralytick' followed by about a dozen blanks and [pp] 26 from the other end of the manuscript, mostly in the hand of John Jackson, son of Samuel, beginning with an enumeration and analysis of the Bills of Mortality in his Essex parish of Stisted. Samuel Jackson, senior (1708-1792) began this manuscript autobiography in 1758 from fear of his own imminent demise, calling it an 'Account of himself & Family by the Rev.d Sam.l Jackson Rector of Stisted in Essex'. Jackson states that he was writing for his children, as 'my precarious State of Health, give me very natural & convincing reasons to apprehend yt I shall not live to see them of Age and Understanding to regard & remember anything' - in fact the manuscript reveals that Jackson lived to the age of 84, though he did indeed spend his final decades largely paralysed. In fact Jackson senior's last direct contribution to the manuscript, only 9 years later, was to dictate a mournful poem on his reduced state to his son: 'The Paralytick' which includes the reflection: 'My wife and children pensive stand/ To see my doleful State;/ My faithful Servants near at Hand/ My dissolution wait.' At the end of which his son noted: 'My Papa dictated these in Dec.r 1767 - Samuel Jackson'. In a long postscript to this written by John Jackson in the 1790s, the younger son recalls his father's decades-long decline when he made regular use of 'his Garden-chair, & of his Chariot, in which he constantly took his Airing tho' for the last 20 or near 25 Years, his whole Frame was so totally relaxed, that he cd scarcely move Hand or Foot without Help, cd neither feed himself or turn himself in his Bed.' Jackson senior seems to have been haunted by the possibility of his own mortality and his vulnerability to illness. In 1757 he describes dodging the horrors of smallpox when he sat with a 'sick Neighbour, not know-g what her Illness was: but ye Small-pox was then broke out upon her. And my Stay in ye Room was very Short, yet so human Judgm.t I must have been in great Danger of catch.g that fatal Distemper; possibly ye Danger might be ye greater from ye unhappy Fears w.ch I am too apt to have to it. But it is now more an Fortnight ago & I find no Symptoms of ye infection ' His first wife was less lucky, despite the fact that 'We lived together in ye most perfect Harmony and affection above 6 years My Wife seemd Several times under ye Approach of Death, before that Illness w.ch provd to be her last. She has no Child born alive, but Suffered 5 Miscarriages'. His son Samuel (later transcriber of his father's verse) had another close shave: 'And on Saturday June 21. 1760. My dear Child Sam, was rode over in my own yard. And it was a large clumsy horse on ye Gallop, and his Foot caught betwixt ye Childs Arm & Body. So as to drag him several Paces, & put him in ye utmost Danger of being kill'd I was in ye Garden very near, & heard his Crys, and ran to take him from ye Man yt pickt him up. His nose bled profusely; and ye Anguish & Distress in his Countenance when he lookt upon me affected me with deepest Woe.' (p26) Jackson senior began the manuscript with an account of his Whitchurch forebears and arrival in indolent mid-century Oxford, 'raw in ye Latin Tongue and much more' and benefitting very little at Brasenose College from the tuition 'of one Mr Pigot, a very good-natured learned indolent Man who took very little Pains to improve his Pupils.' Despite this Jackson took his degree and was elected to 'One of those Fellowships wch are founded in Brasenose College for ye Benefit of Cheshire Men' and tutored in rural Oxfordshire at Garsington where he fell in love with Molly Wickham, He was ordained in June 1734 by John Potter, Bishop of Oxford (a friend of his mother in law 'as their Houses at Cuddesden & Garsington were but abt a mile distant') only to quit his curacy at Farthingstone, Northants as 'I was then under some Anxiety and Concern how to Station myself.' subsequently rescued by (now) Archbishop Potter 'with such Expedition yt I was inducted into ye Ch.h of Stisted in ye County of Essex October 7. 1742 within little more yn a Fortnight after ye Death of Mr Wagener my Predecessor.' Jackson was married in Lambeth Chapel with Potter, now Archbishop of Canterbyry 'ye ABp [Archbishop of Canterbury], his Grace himself condescend.g to act as Fa[the]r to ye Bride.' A second marriage followed the death of his first wife when 'After 2 years of Widowhood ye Irksomness of Solitude' led him to Jane Blencowe at Marston, whom he married in October 1752 at St Anne's Westminster - 'my first Marriage was after a very long Courtship; my Second after a Short one' which marriage produced Samuel in 1753 and John in 1757. It was John who returned to his father's manuscript in August 1793 when 'I have amused myself in continuing the Account, which my dear Father has given in this Book of himself', describing his father's decline and inserting short biographies of the servants who helped his father as well as describing the impact of the long illness on his mother who 'being happily of a tranquil domestic Disposition, was able to bear the Confinement & Anxiety which a strict attention to my Father under his severe afflictions render'd unavoidable, with comfortable Requiescence'. Please contact Christian White Rare Books Ltd for more information or images of this item
  • $3,140
  • $3,140
Wodwo.

Wodwo.

HUGHES, Ted First edition; 8vo; original boards and dust jacket. Inscribed by the author to Henry Williamson, three days before publication, 'To Henry / always with thanks / "We that are young / Shall never see so much nor live so long" / Only an owl knows the worth of an owl / from Ted / 15th May 1967'. 'He was three things to me', wrote Hughes in his memorial address for Williamson, 'First one, then two, and finally, late in his life, three.' It began with 'Tarka the Otter'. 'I was about eleven years old when I found it, and for the next year I read little else. I count it one of the great pieces of good fortune in my life. It entered into me and gave shape and words to my world, as no book ever has done since. I recognised even then, I suppose, that it is something of a holy book, a soul-book, written with the life blood of an unusual poet. What spellbound me, as I read, was a sensation I have never felt so acutely in any other book. I can only call it the feeling of actuality. The icy feeling of the moment of reality. On every page of 'Tarka' was some phrase, some event, some glimpse, that made the hair move on my head with that feeling. In the confrontation of creature and creature, of creature and object, of creature and fate - he made me feel the pathos of actuality in the natural world. 'Tarka' put my life under an enchantment that lasted for years, and that gradually crystallised into an ambition to write for myself, and to fasten that strange feeling, that eerie sense of the moment of reality, in my own sentences.' 'The second Henry I encountered later in a book entitled 'Patriot's Progress.' A novel closely drawn from Williamson's own experiences of the First World War, Hughes admired the quality of its writing, regarding it as 'one of the very best records of trench warfare'. The final Henry was the man himself, whom Hughes got to know when he was a little over thirty, and Williamson was in his sixties. 'Still spellbound by his magical book, albeit quite unconsciously, I had found myself living where I still live, on Tarka's river, the Taw, in the middle of Devon, and pretty soon I made contact with Henry.' For several years they met quite often. Despite 'terrible arguments about his politics', Hughes admired the untamed essence of Williamson's character. 'The tremendous energy that had driven him through all those long books was still there, at any moment of the day, a torrent of surprises. His demon had a black side, which gave him his bad hours, but that was the powerhouse of his writing, it connected him to the dark world of the elements. It was what pulsed through the best of his writing, and it was genuinely him, and it was beautiful. And for that, I, for one, loved him'. Hughes' full-page inscription is expressive of indebtedness and warm respect. The middle section quotes the final lines of 'King Lear' and is followed by Hughes' reference to a bird for whom Williamson felt a close affinity, often signing his name with an accompanying drawing of an owl, a pictorial device that he also employed on the binding or final page of his published books A very good copy with light offsetting to free end papers, in a very good dust jacket, which is slightly dust soiled on the rear panel, and with two short tears at head of spine.
  • $2,512
  • $2,512
Signed and dated Power of Attorney in his capacity as Trustee of the Estate of the late Cecil John Rhodes

Signed and dated Power of Attorney in his capacity as Trustee of the Estate of the late Cecil John Rhodes

KIPLING, Rudyard Signed and dated Power of Attorney in his capacity as Trustees of the late Cecil John Rhodes estate, relating to farms in Melsetter, part of Chimanimani District, in modern Zimbabwe. Also signed by fellow trustees Viscount Milner, Rt. Hon. Baron Lovat and Sir Otto Beit, dated 6th October 1919. Together a notaries letter certifying the signatures. Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) and Cecil John Rhodes (1853 1902) were great friends, Kipling wrote a poem dedicated to Rhodes that was read at his funeral and Leander Starr Jameson, the subject of Kipling's "If", was introduced to Kipling by Rhodes. Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, (1854 1925) was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played a role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and early 1920s. From December 1916 to November 1918, he was one of the most important members of Prime Minister David Lloyd George's War Cabinet. Major-General Simon Joseph Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat (1871 1933), was a leading Roman Catholic aristocrat, landowner, forester, soldier, politician and the 23rd Chief of Clan Fraser. Sir Otto John Beit, 1st Baronet, (1865 1930) was born in Hamburg, Germany, He came to England in 1888, where he joined the stockbroking firm of Wernher, Beit & Co. In 1890 he left for South Africa to gain experience in the diamond industry. He remained for six years and played an active role in the development of Rand Gold Mines. He became a naturalised British citizen in 1896. He fell under the spell of Cecil Rhodes's imperialist vision and was his house-guest at the time of the Jameson Raid. On his return to London, he followed for a few years the career of stockbroker and continued with his interest in the mining industry. Otto was the younger brother of Alfred Beit (1853 1906) a gold and diamond magnate in South Africa, and a major donor and profiteer of infrastructure development on the African continent. He was the "silent partner" who structured the capital flight from post-Boer War South Africa to Rhodesia, and the Rhodes Scholarship, named after his employee, Cecil Rhodes. He took part in the planning and financing of the Jameson Raid. By 1910, the hardline imperialism that Kipling developed alongside his friendship with the colonial plunderer Cecil Rhodes meant that "his reputation was damaged, and would remain damaged". (The Economist). Two pages signed letter torn to top right corner and both documents with punch holes for filing.
  • $1,570
  • $1,570
Ted Hughes: Waiting for T. S. Eliot

Ted Hughes: Waiting for T. S. Eliot

GILL, Lorraine Two original signed drawings by Lorraine Gill; 105 by 150mm, ink on paper. Both drawn on the evening of 29th November 1995 at St George's Church, Gloucester Road, London where Ted Hughes recited some of his favourite T. S. Eliot's poems. Additionally signed by Raymond Keene chess grandmaster and former British Chess Champion, Sir Brian Tovey KCMG who was director of GCHQ and his wife Mary Tovey. Also present at the event but were Tony Buzan (best-selling author and inventor of mind maps) and T. S. Eliot's widow, Valerie. Tony Buzan, Ray Keene, Brian Tovey and Lorraine Gill were friends with Ted Hughes, meeting at the Lavender Bar on Lavender Hill, London and at Tony's home in Henley. Those five were part of the training for the Liechtenstien Global Academies in 1994-1997 where Tony lectured on brain power and creativity, Ray lectured on mind sports, Brian on strategic thinking, Lorraine on art and perspective, and Ted, on poetry, but also Shakespeare and creativity. Lorraine Gill grew up in the Australian Bush influenced by the extremes of nature and the starkness of the environment and its vividly distinctive colours. She came to Europe in 1966 winning a Scholarship to City and Guilds of London culminating in a Scholarship to Florence, Italy. Her first One Woman show followed in 1972 in London. Her work has been written about extensively by John Berger who has followed her progress for forty years. She has also been featured in BBC films both on Cezanne and on her own life and work; she has also featured in books on remarkable women; 'Interview with the Muse' and the 'Wise Virgin'. Fine paper, a little browned.
  • $565
The 1922: The Story of the Conservative Backbenchers' Parliamentary Committee

The 1922: The Story of the Conservative Backbenchers’ Parliamentary Committee

GOODHART, Philip, with Ursula Branston First edition; 8vo; original boards and dust jacket. Signed by the author and 15 other members of the 1922 Committee on 5th December 1974. Signatures of Edward du Cann, Charles Morrison, Geoffrey Finsberg, John Biffen, Paul Bryan, Peter Morrison, Mark Carlisle, Nigel Fisher, David Walder, Bernard Braine, Godman Irvine, Airey Neave and three others. Additionally inscribed on the publication page " To Bernard - with gratitude for your guidance in exciting tomes - Gerry M." Bernard is likely to be Bernard Weatherill, later speaker of the House. Philip Goodhart (1925-2014) served a record 19 years as a secretary of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, and wrote its history. His study provided insight but was too discreet to be a definitive assessment of that highly influential body.on title page.(Independent Obituary). Following Edward Heath's defeat in the October 1974 election he resolved to remain Conservative leader, and at first it appeared that by calling on the loyalty of his front-bench colleagues he might prevail. In the weeks following the election defeat, Heath came under tremendous pressure to concede a review of the rules with the 1922 Committee and agreed to establish a commission to propose changes and to seek re-election. There was no clear challenger to Heath but Margaret Thatcher joined the leadership contest aided by Airey Neave's campaigning among backbench MPs she emerged as the only serious challenger. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket with bookplate to front pastedown.
  • $1,067
  • $1,067