The engravings in this volume include portraits of “Bias[s]ou,” Toussaint L'Ouverture, Christobal, and Dessalines. Three of the plates offer significant hand coloring and one, hand-colored highlighting. The plates were engraved by Manuel López López after his own drawings.

Provenance:  Bookplate of Mexican collector Alberto María Carreña; later rubber-stamp of José Ambrosi Carraro.

An important Afro-Mexicanum, illustrated book, and anti-French publication in the years leading up to the French invasion of the Spanish peninsula.

•  Medina, Mexico, 9860.   Publisher's acid-stained tan sheep; round spine with triple gilt fillets used to form spine “compartments,” each compartment with a gilt floral device in the center. A very, very nice and special copy.  (22316)

Phinney began the first press in Cooperstown in the very year this book was printed! Prior to this work, he had printed only a sermon and a few issues of a newspaper, making this the first book printed there. In 1795 Cooperstown was still essentially a frontier settlement, making this production all the more remarkable!

Clearly Phinney had ambition and the firm, with the help of the Erie Canal and the settlement of western New York, was able to see that ambition fulfilled. But at this early stage, a bit of learning was still required: Planning text to fit on the paper allocated was still troublesome for Phinney, for beginning on p. 147 he had to change to a smaller point size. (One wonders if this would have been necessary had he not devoted the entire last leaf to a self-promoting advertisement?)

The promise of “copperplate engravings” was another wrinkle not worked out, or a case of something's not going as planned, for all copies are barren of illustrative plates.

•  ESTC W27586; Evans 29414; Rosenbach, Children’s, 199; Welch, American Children’s Books, 1102.3 .   Contemporary mottled sheep, round spine, single gilt rules forming spine “compartments,” red leather title-label reading “Clarissa Harlowe.” Small piece of leather missing from rear cover at joint; rear joint starting at bottom and extending up about three inches, but binding sound. Stray occasional stains but overall a very, very good copy of a scarce, early American children's book that is also an early-for-what-it-is imprint.  (24337)

This is the first edition, the manuscript having remained in the family unpublished for 100 years. There are two issues of it: This the one without the printer's device on the title-page. It is written mostly in German and printed in “Fraktur,” but with some Latin in the preface.

All called-for plates are present, including the handsome frontispiece offering medallion portraits of eight prominent German and Ottoman figures — including Ungnad and Gerlach.

Very uncommon.  In the U.S. we locate only the copy at Dumbarton Oaks (the other “reported” copy having been deaccessioned); and VD17 locates only seven copies of this issue and one of the other issue, all in Germany.

•  VD17: 23:232887D.   Recent full rich, dark brown morocco by Grace Bindings (signed in the lower rear turn-in): Round spine with raised bands defined by gilt rules, gilt center device in compartments; covers tooled with concentric panels, the outermost with fleurons at the corners. Title-leaf and next leaf mounted; next three leaves with repairs to foremargins; no loss of any text.  (22460)

Provenance:  Each front pastedown with armorial bookplate of William Arthur, sixth Duke of Portland.

•  NSTC 2B46491; Allibone 240; Brunet, II, 1215.   Binding as above, minor shelf wear to lower edges and corners, vol. I with front board expertly reattached and with small dent to outer edge of front cover. Joints delicate, due to size and weight of volumes, but holding. A few pages and plates with faint foxing, otherwise clean.  (24100)

This and more is is recounted here. The title-page has a small woodcut of a city under siege.

Uncommon. VD17 records what appear to be five variants of this title, all from the same press, but not this particular one. All of the variants are rare with only one or perhaps two institutions reporting ownership. None of the institutions are in the U.S.

•  Not in VD17, but a variant of or related to 23:286673Q, 12:631632B, 12:190736S, 23:264664A, and 14:006772G.   Recent calf, spine with blind rules above and below each gilt-ruled band that extend onto the covers, forming a V terminating in a trefoil; spine otherwise entirely plain, without label. Covers ruled in blind in period style. Paper browned but not brittle; very good.  (24119)

Signer of the Declaration Francis Hopkinson was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of accepting payments from litigants, accepting bribes for appointments, and dealing in false certificates, all as an admiralty judge, in 1780, but acquitted by the Senate; Comptroller General John Nicholson was charged in 1792 with trafficking in illegal stock certificates and tampering with state finances, and also acquitted by the Senate. With a list of subscribers, many prominent.

Click the images for enlargements.

Hogan, the editor/compiler here, makes the point that the account of the Nicholson trial is much more complete than that of Hopkinson's because he was personally present throughout to take it down in shorthand.

•  Evans 27132; Sabin 32418.   Period-style quarter calf with marbled paper–covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and gilt-ruled raised bands; binding by Starr Bookworks, with its small label. Title-page with institutional rubber-stamp dated 1879. Pages age-toned, with spots of light waterstaining to some upper margins and occasional offsetting.  (24324)

Gerard's observations cover botany, linguistics, culture, and commerce, as well as geography. The area of his travels is depicted by an oversized, folding map of his own design.

•  NSTC 2G5453; Howgego, II, G7.   Contemporary brown cloth, spine with gilt-stamped title; rebacked and 95% of original spine reapplied, with the publisher's name at the foot of the spine chipped. Front pastedown and back of map each with institutional rubber-stamp (no other markings), front free endpaper with inked ownership inscription dated [18]49. Hinges (inside) reinforced. Last preface page with small inked annotation. Pages slightly age-toned; map with light offsetting and one short tear starting along fold, not touching image.  (24291)

The engraved portrait of Queen Elizabeth was done by C. van Queboren.

•  Willems 227; Copinger 759.   Period-style calf framed and panelled in gilt fillets embellished with blind rolls and gilt-stamped corner fleurons, spine with gilt-stamped title, gilt-decorated raised bands, and blind-tooled patterned bands in compartments; binding signed G.B. (Grace Bindings) in blind at inner area of rear cover, lower turn-in. Pages age-toned. Title-page with inked numeral in upper outer corner; pages with scattered instances of early inked underlining and bracketing. Approximately 50 leaves with light to faint waterstaining in outer portions, extending into text; one leaf with tear from upper margin, extending through first paragraph.  (18995)

•  Evans 27743; Howes S-999; Sabin 91742; Trumbull, Connecticut, 1425.   Period-style quarter calf with marbled paper–covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped leather title and author labels and blind-tooled floral decorations in compartments. Previous owner's signature on the title-page. Rubber-stamps of the Mercantile Library, and inked marks and underlining inside, with scattered marginalia. Frontispiece portrait lacking, with eight plates (three of which are fold-out) present; each of the three folding plates with a split along one fold. Occasional marginal tears and small chips to corners; waterstaining and foxing, yet paper strong and reading easy.  (3996)

Binding:  Contemporary red straight-grain morocco, covers framed in gilt rolls and fillets, board edges with gilt roll of hashmark pattern. Spine gilt extra, turn-ins with Greek key gilt roll. All edges gilt. Housed in a black cloth slipcase with printed paper label.

•  NSTC L1859. Griffiths, Book of Common Prayer, 1814/3 (giving incorrect pagination, but correct collation by signature).   Binding as above, gilt dimmed in some places, front cover with faintly incised circular markings; edges, extremities, and joints rubbed. Some age-toning, occasional smudges. Final two leaves darkened, with short edge tears.  (24017)

This isthe first music book printed typographically in America: All previous music books had been engraved.

Provenance:  Front free endpaper with inked ownership inscription reading “Warren Burr's Booke 1786.”

Uncommon: Only seven U.S. institutions report holdings of this first edition.

At top of the title-page: “Laus Deo!”

•  Evans 19752; Amer. Sacred Music 533; Sabin 95414c (under “Also”); ESTC W15184.   Contemporary limp sheep, covers framed in blind double fillets; ownership stamps effaced on both covers, spine and edges rubbed, foot of spine with paper shelving label. Front pastedown partially removed, with bookplate remnants beneath; back free endpaper lacking and front one with inscription as above; title-page with institutional rubber-stamp in lower margin; back pastedown rubber-stamped. Pages age-toned and foxed. Sewing loosening, text block pulling away from spine, leaves starting to separate. Occasional tiny, unobtrusive early inked “rec'd.” marks, witha very few measures of music corrected or added to in an early hand.  (24016)

Uncommon.  ESTC locates only five U.S. copies.

•  ESTC S117981; STC (2nd ed.) 23472.   Recent full calf in the 17th-century English style, spine and covers gilt extra. Title-page and one other page with perforation-stamps; first text page with stamped numerals in lower margin. First few pages with early pencilled underlining and marks of emphasis; later pages with a few instances of early inked underlining and marginalia. Upper margins shaved throughout, affecting uppermost edge of title letters, many running titles, and page numbers; clean, with only intermittent light foxing.  (19587)

•  NSTC 2M21803; Cohn, Bibliographical Catalogue of the Works Illustrated by George Cruikshank, 527.   Clamshell case as above, spine with gilt-stamped publication information. Wrappers age-toned, especially so on pt. I, and with small stains on pts. I and VI; spine and edges of pt. I rubbed. Pages and plates clean.  (23942)

Provenance:  A signature “Fr. Antonio Lobato de Sto. Thomas” appears at the bottom of the last page and is almost certainly that of the the friar himself, which would mean that this is his autograph manuscript of the sermons.

•  Contemporary very stiff vellum. Binding gnawed by a rodent with loss. Written on a good quality European paper, with some soiling and an occasional stain. No faults are serious and overall this is a remarkably good survival for an 18th-century Philippines manuscript. Now housed in a blue cloth clamshell box.  (23668)

Preceding the text is a folding map of the Nile River Valley and a one-page publisher's advertisement. Introductory matter consists of a preface, a dedication (to “S.A.R. Madame, Duchesse de Berry”), and a notice warning the traveler interested inmummies to beware of fakes. On pp. 321–71: “Rapports faits par les diverses académies et sociétés savantes de France, sur les ouvrages et collections rapportés de l'Égypte et de la Nubie. Par M. Rifaud.”

Paged separately, following the text, are extensive lists ofwords in the local dialects including “Vocabulaire des dialectes vulgaires de la Hautes-Egypt,” “Vocabulaire de la Nigritie de Fachetrou,” and some basic Arabic vocabulary. The final six pages consists of a list of place-names: “Noms et nombre des iles de la seconde cataracte du Nil.” A search of OCLC produces only one copy with these 60 pages on language, located at the University of Pennsylvania.   Eight other copies located via OCLC seem to have been issued without them.

•  Recent marbled paper-covered boards. Small abrasions at top edge of several preface pages; shallow tear in upper margin of pp. 47/48 (second sequence), touching but not costing a couple of letters; sliver of loss to blank area of outer margin of pp. 267/268. Generally clean, with only the odd spot; small ink jotting on front free endpaper. Map in very good condition, free of spots and tears. Four-digit inked numeral at base of recto of f. [3]. Very good and attractively rebound.  (23908)

The two texts begin at opposite ends of the pamphlet and read towards the middle — which see, at right!

Click the images for enlargements.

•  Sewn; sewing loosening a bit. Paper of the spine starting to split. Lightly soiled.  (5000)

The work was later reprinted in Venice.

•  Medina, Mexico, 3999; DeBacker-Sommervogel, IV, 1603-04.   Contemporary limp vellum without the ties. Edges of binding damaged by rodent(s) with loss; sometime repair to small hole at top border of title-page, with limited instances of waterstaining there and to some top margins. A good copy.  (23970)

The format suggests this was printed for mailing to hospitals, medical societies, doctors, and newspapers. Whether it was printed in Florida is a bit problematic. There were presses in Florida, even one in St. Augustine in 1829, but the publication has no printer's slug anywhere. The typography is very good, perhaps indicating printing in Philadelphia, New York, or Boston, but that remains for a type historian to determine.

Apparently very scarce: NO other copies traced through the standard sources including OCLC and the OPACs of the State Library of Florida, the University of Florida Library, and Florida State University Library.

An interesting American medical publication, an interesting early American tourist item, and definitely a good piece of Floridiana.

•  Not in Servies, Bibliography of Florida; but see I,1430 for a version that appeared in a newspaper. Not in Shoemaker.   Old folds suggesting this was once folded to fit in a pocket. Waterstaining. Two small tears repaired with archival tissue.  (23078)

•  ESTC T86771; Allibone 263.   Period-style calf framed and panelled in blind rolls with blind-tooled corner fleurons, spine with gilt-stamped leather title and author labels, gilt-dotted raised bands, and gilt-stamped decorations in compartments (signed in blind on lower rear turn-in by Grace Bindings). Pagination jumps from 267 to 272, text complete. Title-page with early inked annotation on the authorship of Christianity as Old as the Creation, and with institutional rubber-stamp in lower margin; closed lower edges rubber-stamped. First and last few leaves lightly spotted.  (23782)

•  Parsons 322; Shaw & Shoemaker 15373.   Period-style quarter tan cloth with light blue paper–covered sides, spine with printed paper label. Title-page, first preface page, and one other institutionally rubber-stamped. Pages age-toned, with occasional minor staining.  (23905)