This volume is in the large ambitious quarto format of the journal's first years, not the octavo format of the later, “New Series”

Provenance:  Front free endpaper with early inked presentation inscription to New Salem Academy from the Honorable Ethan Allen Greenwood (1779–1856), the Massachusetts lawyer who established the New England Museum.

•  Sabin 64182.   Contemporary quarter sheep and light blue paper–covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and gilt-stamped date; rubbed and stained overall, spine leather with cracks and chips, spine head with remnants of small paper label, refurbished: spine caps readhered, front cover reattached, edges reinforced, leather consolidated. Front free endpaper with inscription as above. A later hand has laid in a number of leaves of annotations and commentary on various pieces herein, along with some account of the lacking portions; occasional pencilled annotations in text as well. One leaf with inner margin neatly reinforced; some tears repaired and loose leaves secured. Pages occasionally creased; varying degrees of browning and foxing. Outer edges trimmed closely, occasionally with loss of final letters. Upper portion of one leaf torn away, with loss of weekly header and about three paragraphs of text; one leaf chipped along fold, with loss of several letters; lower outer portion of one leaf torn away, with loss of roughly two paragraphs. Nos. 13, 14, 32, and 34 each lacking final leaf; no. 33 lacking. Pp. 395/96 bound in out of order. Several pieces of dried plant matter laid in at various points. This volume of the Port Folio is as meaty and full of just plain interesting stuff as they all were, despite its lacking bits; and, it represents the journal's beginnings.  (29227)

Atmore acknowledges, in the preface, his indebtedness to William Penn for some of the phrases and advice found here.

•  Shaw & Shoemaker 47024. Not in Rosenbach, Early American Children's Books; out of scope of Welch, Bibliography of American Children's Books Printed Prior to 1821.   Publisher's grey-blue paper wrappers printed with duplicate of title-page on front cover (within a border) and with advertisement for Cunningham's juvenile books on back cover; front wrapper with small edge nick, back wrapper with rubbed spot over part of stitching, spine chipped. Pages age-toned with mild to moderate foxing.  (31353)

This volume also includes an interesting editorial, “Solid Pudding,” in which the author claims that modern girls are both better educated and as domestically skilled if not more so than their ancestors — they're better company for it, to boot!

Readers looking for entertainment should note that many of the tales present here are portions of serialized novels begun in previous numbers or slated to end in later ones.

•  Publisher's textured green cloth, front cover with blind-stamped frame and decorative gilt-stamped title, spine with gilt-stamped title; spine darkened with head chipped, edges and extremities rubbed, sides showing spots of minor discoloration, binding slightly shaken. Front free endpaper rubber-stamped “Mrs. Stanley.” Light foxing; a few leaves with upper margins chipped; outer edge of folding plate slightly ragged.A marvelous representation of women's reading of the day, with attractive color plates.  (32034)

•  DeBacker-Sommervogel, II, 45.   Contemporary vellum, spine with early hand-inked title; vellum with small spots of staining and rear pastedown gone, binding overall clean and tight. Frontispiece with shallow chip to lower edge not into plate area; pages slightly age-toned with some very faint spotting in the second part, otherwise clean.  (29267)

•  ESTC T1702. Recent marbled paper–covered boards, front cover with printed paper label. Half-title lacking. Title-page and two others stamped by a now-defunct institution; leaves with reinforced tears at inner margins.

And, of course, the volume covers much about the administration of the order, the admission of novices, the pursuit and expression of spiritual life, etc.

The work begins with the title-page printed in black and red in roman with some italic. The text is in roman also, with sidenotes in some sections, and with a sprinkling of interesting woodcut tailpieces.

A dense and interesting work.

•  Medina, Mexico, 1687; Sabin 76023.   Recased in original (?) vellum with four leather ties (two new). Title-leaf mounted; damage to lower third with loss of paper and print including imprint; approbation leaves torn in same portion, repaired with loss of a few words; first leaf of the “Parecer” torn and repaired with no loss. Some worming of both types: pinhole and meander, the latter repaired with archival tissue. Otherwise, occasional light waterstaining only; a solid, serviceable copy.  (25559)

The subject of this work is the rivalry between Spain and France for political and religious supremacy in the Catholic realm of Europe, but the author also discusses national traits, as he sees them, such as manner of dressing, walking, eating, and talking.

•  Palau 97802.   Recent boards covered with marbled paper; leather spine label gilt with title. Some lower margins irregular due to natural paper flaws. All edges speckled red. A very good copy.  (25812)

•  Brunet, II, 1656/57; Landwehr 476.   Later quarter mottled calf with marbled paper–covered sides, front cover with gilt-stamped green leather label, spine with gilt-stamped rules and compartment decorations; edges rubbed, corners bumped, spine and front joint scuffed with none of this disfiguring. Front free endpaper with neatly inked abbreviated ownership inscription dated 1845 and pencilled annotation. Pages age-toned with scattered spotting and staining; waterstaining variously along a good many leaves' inner portions, sometimes with waterstaining to lower and outer portions also. Folio 60 lacking. One leaf with stray inked lines in lower portion, touching one letter, with one line extending into image. Several leaves with repairs, most generally not touching text or image; one with remaining signs of tear extending into text without loss; one with tear extending into image, upper portion repaired, small area of loss within image; one with repair to tear just touching one letter. Final two leaves creased and stained, with more significant repairs, one tape repair covering upper left portion of image. Despite wear and accidents, impressive and attractive.  (32639)

•  Shaw & Shoemaker 31549; Felcone, New Jersey Books 1801-1860, 732.   Stitched into plain brown paper wrappers as issued. Foxing and browning as usual.  (31407)

• ESTC W28659; Evans 28775; Sabin 28933. 19th-century quarter sheep in imitation of morocco, rubbed and worn; covers pressure-stamped by a now-defunct institution, spine with paper shelving label. Half-title lacking, title-page and a number of others stamped, back free endpaper with pocket. Pages clean save for stamps. (9536)

Chapters include conversations between daughter Mary and her father on the utmost importance of prayer, sacraments, and charity; the “reciprocal duties of masters and servants”; the “necessity of subordination”; and “caution to female domestics against dancing-meetings,” among many, many other topics large and small.

The text is handsomely printed double-column in roman and italic, withtwo finely engraved frontispieces signed by E. Edwards and J. Hall, one at the beginning of each volume: the first of a father and daughter sitting beneath a tree; the second of Hanway seated on a rock, contemplating a book and skull beneath the motto “Never Despair” — the author's own, which he adopted after a particularly grueling merchant voyage for the Russia Company in 1743. Each volume also has its own title-page, the Manual of Devotion, Consisting of Prayers, Psalms, Hymns, and Lessons that appears between the two having its own as well.

•  ESTC T93949; Goldsmiths-Kress 11624. On Hanway, see: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online.   Contemporary speckled calf, boards framed in a gilt Greek key pattern, gilt board edges and turn-ins, marbled endpapers; recently rebacked, spine gilt extra preserving original gilt-tooled green morocco label and adding a new red one gilt with author and title. Boards stained and scratched in a few places, corners bumped, chipping leather glued down; marbled endpapers repaired with photocopy segments of the original design. Ex-library: stamps on bottom edge, front endpaper, and rear pastedown (only). Mild to moderate foxing on a handful of leaves in each volume, and one small circular stain affecting eight or so pages in first, while pages mostly clean and bright; short closed tear to bottom margin of one leaf in second volume.Nice.  (31089)

This is the original edition andnot a modern reprint.

•  Bitting 273; Brown, Culinary Americana, 2914.   Publisher's textured paper wrappers, front wrapper with printed title; extremities rubbed. Pages slightly age-toned, otherwise clean.A delightfully aspirational read.  (29727)

The text is printed in roman and italic, with side- and shouldernotes; it is decorated with elegant woodcut initials against a floriated background, one factotum, a handful of head- and tailpieces, and a couple of small vignettes. The woodcut printer's device on the title-page has the monogram “AT” beneath a dolphin & anchor combination with the motto festina tarde, reminiscent of the Aldine device.

This edition is not in NUC Pre-1956, and WorldCat locates just one copy in the U.S. (with a variant imprint, “A Cologny”).

Evidence of readership: A short biography of Lipsius in French has been written on the fly-leaves in early ink.

•  Early vellum over flexible boards, somewhat stained and rubbed; evidence of four ties, and ink title to spine. Cropped close with very minor loss to a couple of running headlines and side- or shouldernotes; a few corner-tips torn away and a few stains only; instances variously of slightest perceptible worming and outer margin of pp. 585–98 holed by an insect affecting the sidenotes on those leaves, with lesser evidence of the same gnawing to rear pastedown and back cover.  (29885)

WorldCat locating only three U.S. institutional holdings

Binding:  Publisher's green cloth, front cover decorated with black-stamped oak branch motif, gilt-stamped title, and gilt-stamped vignette of a rescuer saving a drowning boy, spine gilt- and black-stamped, back cover blind-stamped.

•  NSTC 0497352.   Binding as above; spine slightly darkened, edges and extremities lightly rubbed, paper cracking at front hinge (inside). Front free endpaper with early pencilled ownership inscription. A very few scattered small spots of foxing, pages otherwise clean. Educational and pretty.  (30648)

Benjamin Franklin was among those who acknowledged the book's great influence on his life.

Preliminary pages include the testimonials or “Recommendations” (pp. iii–iv) and a “Preface” (pp. [xiii]–xxv). At the end are “On fulfilling engagements and paying debts. From a sermon by the late President Edwards,” “On the religious education of children. (From the Christian observer),” “On sanctifying the Sabbath-Day. By Sir Matthew Hale. (From the same),” and the table of contents.

•  Holmes, Cotton Mather, 112-E2; Shaw & Shoemaker 35227.   Publisher's sheep with a neat gilt red leathr label; binding dry, front joint (outside) starting. Ex–social club library: small 19th-century paper label at top of spine, 19th-century bookplate, call number on endpaper, no other markings.  (29293)

A newspaper clipping of a portrait of Hannah More taken from an engraving after the painting by H. W. Pickersgill, lies loose inside first volume.

•  Contemporary half red sheep in imitation of morocco over marbled cloth-covered boards, spines with gilt-accented raised bands, gilt lettering on spines. All edges marbled. Leather rubbed and scraped with some chips on spine, joints, and edges; pp. 421–34 of vol. VI have some shallow tears and chips from being bumped, fore-edge of one leaf folded back, without affecting text. Front joint of vol. VII starting from top edge. Some foxing throughout. Clean and complete.  (21439)

Single-click the image where the hand appears on
mouse-over, for an enlargement.

Though Nares is quite capable of picking nits with a level of scrupulousness to match that of the most pedantic of scholars, he is also prone to flights of fancy such as pondering—after noting that a married woman’s moveable goods are unquestionably the property of her husband— “whether the female tongue is to be reckoned among the moveables . . . I believe it is pretty generally held to continue ‘in potestate Mulieris,’ even after marriage, and I know nothing to prevent it” (p. 148). This is followed up with references to Ovid, the Wife of Bath, and the much-storied Flitch of Bacon!

•  Contemporary half calf with marbled paper sides, spines with gilt-stamped helm decorations and gilt-stamped leather title and volume labels (the volume labels recently supplied, in sympathetic style). Board edges showing light to moderate wear, with leather cracking at joints and crackled over the spines generally. Top edges gilt. Front pastedowns with bookplates now partially torn away; title-page of vol. II with an early inked ownership inscription in the upper margin. Delightful reading, as well as an overall attractive set.

Click the images for enlargements.

The frontispiece portrait of Nelson was engraved by George Vertue after a painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller. The volume also includes all publisher's advertisements as well as the rather uncommon Poem in Memory of Robert Nelson Esquire.

This was produced to be a handsome work, printed in large type on good paper with wide margins — the better to appeal to a “quality” audience?

•  ESTC T85360; Goldsmiths’-Kress 5249. Poem: ESTC T25431; Foxon P538.   Contemporary speckled calf, framed and panelled in blind with blind-tooled corner fleurons; rebacked with speckled calf, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label, raised bands, and blind-tooled foliate compartment decorations. Original leather abraded, front cover with small chip to outer edge and area of faint discoloration from a now-absent label; title-page institutionally rubber-stamped (no other markings). Some signatures browned and foxed, most pages clean.  (25999)

Binding: Publisher's brown cloth, covers framed in blind, front cover with gilt-stamped urn of flowers, back cover with same design in blind. All edges gilt.

•  Faxon 655.   Bound as above, corners bumped/rubbed and base of rear joint and spine a little rubbed; gilt bright. Endpapers with early pencilled inscriptions, frontispiece with adhesion of a sliver of paper from title-page along inner margin, title-page with brown spot in lower margin offset onto lower edge of frontispiece. Sewing loosening with some early and final leaves starting to separate, title-page all but separated. Pages generally clean, with a few scattered spots; one upper margin with pencilled inscription mostly erased. A read and cherished copy, still sweetly sentimental and interesting to look at.  (30368)

•  American Imprints 21026; Howes R522; Sabin 74264.   Period-style quarter tan cloth and light blue paper–covered sides, spine with printed paper label. Pages age-toned, with minor spotting; a good, clean copy.  (27208)

•  Sabin 74265; Howes R523; Allibone 1893.   Publisher's brown cloth, blind-stamped, spine with gilt-stamped title and blind-stamped decorations; rubbed with cloth split at joints and front cover with spot of discoloration. Ex–social club library: 19th-century bookplate on front pastedown, old inked call number on endpapers and flyleaf (which has small old adhesions of paper to verso); no other markings. Very light to moderate waterstaining to upper inner portions of central third of the volume.  Yes, in its way, this belongs in this catalogue! (26480)

•  Shoemaker 6710. Publisher's sheep. Abrasions to covers and spine, with pieces of leather flaked off; joints abraded. Foxing. Tear to rear free endpaper. Bookplate on front pastedown. (1078)

illustrated with eight steel-engraved plates

Written by a New Hampshire-born poet and educator and published by subscription, this work was originally printed in 1883 as Our Home; Or the Key to a Nobler Life; it appears here in significantly expanded form with contributions from several ministers and one physician. The wide-ranging volume includes the advice to always send your little child to bed happy (“give the dear child a warm good-night kiss as it goes to its pillow,” p. 67), and to spare the rod and develop the child's conscience and sense of honor instead. It also covers the necessity of education and equality of professional opportunity for girls and women, and offers recommendations to smile often in the home, permit only good reading materials, pursue music, provide guidance in maintaining correspondences and friendships, model Christian values and religious observance, encourage fresh air and exercise, avoid alcohol and tobacco, etc.

Binding: Publisher's dark green cloth, front cover with “silver”-stamped decorative frame and red- and “silver”-stamped “Our Home” heart design in center; spine with decorative red and “silver” title. All edges bright red.

•  “Silver” stamping and extremities showing slight rubbing, front cover with a few small, unobtrusive spots of staining. Front hinge (inside) tender from the weight of this hefty work, but holding. Pages clean; a few leaves with small nick to upper edge. A pleasing example of a tenderly appealing portrayal of domestic joys.  (30304)

provincial English manners

Although the present example of his work features slightly less hunting material than some of Surtees's other novels, that is still to say that it offersa great many scenes of horse and hound. First published in 1858 in 13 monthly parts, it appears here “printed for subscribers from the plates of the Original Edition issued by Bradbury, Agnew & Co.”

The volume is illustrated with14 hand-colored and 18 steel-engraved plates by famed caricaturist John Leech. Virtually every plate that does not feature at least one horse does display at least one pretty dress; the coloring is skillfully and pleasingly done.

Binding:  Publisher's crimson cloth, front cover and spine stamped with wooing and hunting vignettes and hound decorations in black and gilt.

•  NCBEL, III, 967. On Surtees, see: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online.   Binding as above, spine much sunned but covers bright and fresh, corners with minor shelfwear, back lower outer corner lightened. Signatures unopened. Lower outer fore-edge once wet, waterstaining visible almost exclusively on closed edges only and with title-page (only) showing lightly tinted tide mark in that corner. Despite its minor issues a tremendously charming volume.  (30438)

This has a very pretty engraved title-page, acting as frontispiece; between the arched words “Bridal Greetings,” above and below, is a bridal bouquet of emblematic flowers, signed F.E. Jones.

Binding:  Publisher's textured red cloth, covers framed in blind, front cover with gilt-stamped rose vignette, spine gilt extra. All edges gilt.

•  Not in Faxon.   Binding as above, cocked, extremities lightly rubbed, front cover with tiny dark spatter; joints each with small instance of insect damage. Front free endpaper with pencilled annotation. Moderate foxing throughout.  (30370)