
SETS . . .
As
old-time auctioneers called it, “'X'-many FOR ONE MONEY”!
A-C D-M N-Z
485
Stunning Views
of England,
Scotland,
& Wales
EACH
IMAGE Hand-Captioned
(A
Classic Sort of Set). Storer, James
Sargant. Antiquarian and topographical cabinet, containing a series
of elegant views of the most interesting objects of curiosity in Great Britain.
London: W. Clarke, J. Carpenter, & H.D. Symonds, 1807–11. 8vo. 10 vols.
I: [approx. 112] pp.; 56 plts. II: pp.; 49 plts. III: [approx. 110] pp.; 55 plts.
IV: [approx. 92] pp.; 46 plts. V: [approx. 86] pp.; 43 plts. VI: [approx. 106]
pp.; 53 plts. VII: [approx. 98] pp.; 49 plts. VIII: [approx. 86] pp.; 43 plts.
IX: [approx. 110] pp.; 55 plts. X: [approx. 72], [16 (index)] pp.; 36 plts. (15
plts. lacking of 500).
$2250.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Deluxe printing of the first edition, here in an impressive large-paper set illustrated with 485 copper-engraved plates. The engraved images designed for the duodecimo regular edition are here, in this octavo printing, mounted within printed borders with
hand-inked calligraphic captions. Those images depict such scenic high spots as Dunstaple Priory in Bedfordshire, Roman remains in Brecknockshire, the “great oak” at Silton, a Crusader monument in Winchester Cathedral, Tintern Abbey (of course), and many, many churches and castles; they were engraved by J. Greig, W. Angus, W. & G. Cooke, and J. Storer after drawings by various hands.
Each plate is accompanied by a letterpress description, generally about two pages long.
Binding: Contemporary green morocco, darkened to black; covers framed in gilt with gilt-stamped corner fleurons, spines with gilt-stamped title, board edges with gilt-stamped roll. All edges gilt.
NSTC S4069; Brunet, I, 319, Graesse 503. Bound as above with insignificant shelf wear only, now refurbished and a bit of scuffing; 15 plates lacking of 500. Most plates clean, some foxed (a few heavily); some pages with light offsetting from plates. One page with pencilled annotation detailing an 1823 update in a site's ownership.
A luxurious, in fact in its way spectacular, production. (22855)
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres. Choix des mémoires de l’Academie Royale des inscriptions et belles-lettres. Londres: T. Becket & P. Elmsly, 1777. 4to (27 cm, 10.6"). 3 vols. I: [2], iii, [1], lx, 656 pp. (pagination skips 17–32, text uninterrupted). II: [2], iii, [1], ccviii, 495, [1 (blank)] pp. III: [2], iii, lxviii, [1], 696 pp.; 1 fold. plt., 2 plts.
$1250.00

Sole edition thus: Three-volume set of selected pieces from the Histoire et mémoires de l’Académie, a massive collection of French-language commentary and criticism on Greek and Latin classics. The printing of the Histoire et mémoires commenced in 1717 and ran through 1809, with the total number of volumes coming to 51; the present compilation offers especially noteworthy treatises from the beginning of the series through 1763.
Click the image to the left
for an enlargement.
The third volume includes two plates and one oversized, folding plate reproducing two inscriptions and a frieze, engraved by E. Malpas.
Uncommon outside of Great Britain.
ESTC T113913; Brunet, I, 26; Lowndes, I, 5. Contemporary treed calf, spines gilt extra, with gilt-stamped leather title and volume labels; leather worn at edges and moderately rubbed with joints cracking. Front pastedowns with private bookplates and signs that a plate was removed on front free endpaper (one vol. endpaper holed); impressions of old pencilled shelf numbers on title-pages (and one lightly inked old date). First two leaves of vol. III with upper margins stained and final leaf browned; some pages with a few spots of faint foxing, most clean and crisp. (13107)

He Tries to
Cover It ALL!
Amelot de la Houssaye, Abraham-Nicolas, sieur. Memoires
historiques, politiques, critiques, et literraires. Par Amelot de la Houssaie. Ouvrage imprimé sur le propre manuscrit de l'auteur. Amsterdam: Michel Charles Le Cene, 1731. 12mo. 2 vols. I: 561 pp. II: 462 pp., [11 (adv.)] ff.
[SOLD]
First edition. Anecdotes of the French court under Louis XIV. Title-page handsomely printed in red and black.
Provenance: From the collection of 19th-century scholar Dr. Johann August Neander (1789–1850), a convert from Judaism who became a leading scholar of Christian church history.
Brunet 18324. Contemporary calf, spine with raised bands, gilt-stamped compartment decorations at top/bottom, and later black leather gilt-stamped labels; covers blind-tooled in concentric compartments. Rubbed with bits of leather lost at extremities; offsetting from leather along margins of endpapers and title-pages. Marbled endpapers, free ones missing in both volumes; front pastedowns each with library bookplate and both title-page versos with call number in pencil. Initial pages of vol. II toned. A good solid set. (21186)

Medical Highlights, Secrets, & Tricks of the Trade
Anonymous. Professional anecdotes, or ana of medical literature, in three volumes. London: John Knight & Henry Lacey, 1825. 12mo (16.3 cm, 6.4"). 3 vols. I: Engr. t.-p., x, 296 pp.; 1 facs., 4 plts. II: Engr. t.-p., 288 pp.; 1 facs., 4 plts. III: Engr. t.-p., ix, [1], 288 pp.; 1 facs., 4 plts.
$295.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Sole edition: Opening with a history of British medicine and brief commentary on other global medical traditions, this anonymously compiled work features accounts of physical and medical anomalies, notable cures or failures thereof, lives of famous medical practitioners, and descriptions of medicine's most dramatic (or most curious) moments. The assembled anecdotes are intended to communicate to medical students “that knowledge of the history and biography of their profession, which would inspire them with that enthusiastic feeling, in regard to all that has been great and glorious in its connection and progress” (I, v).
The set is illustrated with a total of
twelve steel-engraved portraits and three oversized, folding facsimiles of prominent physicians' letters and signatures. The binder has disregarded the printer's directions for the arrangement of the plates, and grouped them all at the fronts of the volumes.
NSTC 2A12623. Contemporary speckled calf, spines with gilt-stamped leather title-labels; bindings mildly rubbed overall and moreso in spines' top compartments where old labels were removed(?), spines darkened and showing small cracks in leather with some joints just starting, small square of old tape at corner of back cover on vol. I. Ex–social club library: each volume with 19th-century bookplate, call number on endpaper, pressure-stamp on title-page, no other markings. Vol. I with hinges (inside) starting. Occasional mild spotting or smudging, short edge tears (not extending into text) and occasional corners or lower margins partially torn away throughout. Vol. III: lower inner margins of frontispiece and engraved title-page reinforced with strip of cloth tape. An uncommon and fascinating set. (29411)
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Jane Austen's Works — A Handsome,
Limited Edition
Illustrated by the Brock Brothers
Austen, Jane. The novels and letters of Jane Austen. New York & Philadelphia: Frank S. Holby, 1906. 8vo. 12 (of 12) vols. I: Frontis., [6], vii–lix, [6], 255 pp.; 5 plts. II: Frontis., [8], 302 pp.; 6 plts. III: Frontis., [4], v–vii, 3–283 pp.; 5 plts. IV: Frontis., [8], [3]–299 pp.; 5 plts. V: Frontis., [4], v–vii, [5], 338 pp.; 5 plts. VI: Frontis., [8], 347 pp.; 5 plts. VII: Frontis., [6], vii–viii, [4]–339 pp.; 5 plts. VIII: Frontis., [8], 359 pp.; 5 plts. IX: Frontis., [4], v–viii, [4]–338 pp.; 5 plts. X: Frontis., [4], vii–viii, [4]–362 pp.; 5 plts. XI: [10], 3–392 pp.; 3 plts. XII: Frontis., [8], 3–393 pp.; 3 plts. (1 fold.).
$3575.00
Click any interior image for enlargement.
PRB&M offers a small prize to anyone who can, without looking anything up,
identify all the scenes shown . . .
The complete set in 12 volumes of the Chawton edition, limited to 1,250 numbered and registered copies — this is copy no. 1,029. An elegant, limited reissue of the same publisher's 10-volume Old Manor House edition, published the same year, this like that was edited by R. Brimley Johnson and introduced by William Lyon Phelps, the Lampson Professor of English Literature at Yale and an early champion of Austen's works. The introduction is itself a good read and gives insight into the life and character of the author, as well as a critical appraisal of the “qualities that place the novels of Jane Austen so far above all her contemporaries except Scott.”
The first 10 volumes consist of the novels — Sense and Sensibility (vols. I & II), Pride and Prejudice (vols. III & IV), Mansfield Park (vols. V & VI), Emma (vols. VII & VIII), Northanger Abbey (vol. IX), Persuasion (vol. X). Volumes XI and XII contain the minor works and letters. A bibliography of Austen's writings is included in vol. I.
Illustrated with
69 plates, including a wonderful series of color drawings to accompany the text, done by the brothers Charles Edmond and Henry Matthew Brock, this is
additionally embellished with portraits of the author, pictures of her residences in Bath and Winchester, a view of her burial place inside Winchester Cathedral, a facsimile autograph letter, and a facsimile title-page of the first edition of Sense and Sensibility. Each plate is accompanied by a protective tissue guard, printed with a descriptive caption in red ink. Title-pages are printed in red and black, and each has its own unique engraved vignette.
The delights in this production abound. On the whole, very satisfying!
Publisher's brown cloth, spines with brown paper label; several labels with ssmall brown spots, cracks, and edge chips, not too conspicuous and not affecting printing. Two leaves (pp. 343–346 of vol. X) detached from binding; long tear down center of pp. 283/284 (vol. IV), without loss of text; except for two leaves with some offsetting from laid-in scrap of paper, interiors clean. Outer and lower edges deckle, with a few signatures opened unevenly and some unopened. A very good set. (24537)
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The Andrade Set in
Quarter Red Morocco
Barcía, Andrés González de. Ensayo cronologico, para la historia general de la Florida. Madrid: Imprenta de los Hijos de Doña Catalina Piñuela, 1829. 12mo. 2 vols. I: [2] ff., 508 pp., fold. table. II: [2] ff., 512 pp.
$1675.00
Click the page-images for enlargements.
Written under his nom de plume of Gabriel de Cardenas Z
Cano, the Ensayo cronologico, para la historia general de la Florida
of Andrés González de Barcía has enjoyed constant readership
since its initial publication in the early 18th century, when it was composed
as a companion to González de Barcía's magisterial edition of
Inca Garcilasso de la Vega's La Florida. The Ensayo is a history
of not just Florida but virtually all of America north of Mexico from 1512 to
1722 and details the activities of the Spanish, French, and English, covering
not just wars but offering much on the indigenous populations, New
World diseases, and so on.
The present edition forms volumes 8 and 9 of the series Historia de la
conquista del Nuevo Mundo.
Provenance: Bookplate of
the great 19th-century Mexican collector J. M. Andrade on the front pastedown
of each volume.
This edition not in Sabin. 19th-century quarter red morocco
with red textured cloth sides. Spine with raised bands and very good gilt
tooling including center devices in spine compartments. Interiors clean. A
very good set. (25271)
[Barham, Richard Harris, a.k.a.] Ingoldsby, Thomas. The Ingoldsby legends or mirth and marvels. London: Richard Bentley (pr. by Samuel Bentley), 1840–47. 8vo (20.5 cm, 8.1"). 3 vols. I: Engr. t.-p., v, [3], 338, [2] pp.; 6 plts. II: Engr. t.-p., vii, [3], 288 pp.; 7 plts. III: Engr. t.-p., vi, [2], 364 pp.; 6 plts.
$950.00
All three series of these entertaining tales, here in the first editions following the extremely scarce author’s edition of 12 copies. The Legends made their original appearances in Bentley’s Miscellany, as a favor to Bentley, a former schoolmate of Barham’s; Bentley here collects the pieces in book form with a life of the author (illustrated by an appealing engraved portrait done by R.J. Lane). The stories and poems are illustrated with
18 plates engraved by George Cruikshank, John Leech, and John Tenniel.
Bindings: Contemporary signed bindings by E.P. Dutton & Co., of red morocco with covers framed in gilt triple fillets; spines with raised bands, gilt-stamped titles, and compartments framed in gilt double fillets. Board edges gilt-ruled, gilt inner dentelles. Upper page edges gilt.
Original cloth covers and spines bound in at the back.
Sadleir 156b, e, & f; NCBEL, III, 365. Bindings as above, spines and upper board edges darkened with a bit of rubbing; free endpapers with offsetting from turn-ins. One volume with lower part of cover stained and the lower inner margin of the title-page and plates (not the text leaves!) waterstained. One plate evenly age-toned. (12844)
Barrow, William. An essay on education; in which are particularly considered the merits and the defects of the discipline and instruction in our academies ... the second edition, corrected and enlarged. London: Pr. for F. & C. Rivington by Bye & Law, 1804. 12mo (17.2 cm, 6.75"). 2 vols. I: xxiv, 342, [2 (1 adv.)]
pp. II: iv, 412 pp.
$500.00
Click the interior image for an enlargement.
Barrow, later Archdeacon of Nottingham, originally composed this essay while at Queen’s College, Oxford; it was enlarged for its first publication in 1802 and then again for this second edition. Questions of corporal punishment, religious instruction, early education, the desirability of teaching the classics, and the merits of public schools as opposed to domestic education are addressed; the two new chapters added to this edition consider
dramatic performances in schools (ill-advised and likely to lead to undesirable results, according to the author) and the state of English universities.
NSTC B758. Contemporary half calf with marbled paper–covered sides, spines with later gilt-stamped leather labels; spines slightly darkened, corners and spine extremities rubbed. Pencilled bracketing and marks of emphasis; some light to moderate foxing. (20026)

“IRELAND
PICTORIAL”
Bartlett, William Henry, & Markinfield Addey.
Ireland pictorial descriptive and historical. New York: Patterson & Neilson, © 1881. Folio. 2
vols. I: Add. engr. t.-p., vii, [1], 232 pp.; 1 map, 58 plts. II: Add. engr. t.-p., v, [1], 232 pp.; 59
plts.
[SOLD]
Click the images for enlargements.
“Comprising
one hundred and twenty engravings on steel of
[Ireland's] picturesque scenery, remarkable antiquities, and present aspects,
from original drawings by W.H. Bartlett and a complete account of its cities,
towns, mountains, waters, ancient monuments, and modern structures by Markinfield
Addey.” This is the first edition thus; the first portion (only) was previously
printed in 1850.
Provenance:
Front pastedowns with bookplate of Proinnsías Ó Bríain
(collector Francis Massey O'Brien, a bibliophile and bookseller in Portland,
Maine), front free endpapers with his inscriptions and those of J. Henry De
Costa, front fly-leaf of vol. II with additional inscription and pencilled
annotation on O'Brien's knowledge of the set's provenance.
Binding: Publisher's textured
green cloth, covers framed in blind, front covers with gilt-stamped title
and harp and armor vignette, spines with gilt-stamped title. All edges gilt.
Bindings as above, joints and extremities with spots of mild to
moderate rubbing. Added engraved title-page with pencilled ownership inscription dated 1882 in
upper portion. Scattered small smudges and spots of foxing, occasional mild offsetting. Vol. I
with offsetting to two pages from laid-in item; vol. II with pages gently age-toned.
(30080)

Milton's
Favorite
Latin
Translation of the Bible
Bible. Latin. Tremellius–Junius. 1617. Testamenti Veteris Biblia sacra, sive, Libri canonici priscae Iudaeorum ecclesiae a Deo traditi. Genevae: Sumptibus Matthaei Berjon, 1617. Folio (39.5 cm; 13.5"). I: [6] ff.; 177, [1] pp.; [3], 292, [1] ff. II: [2] ff., 448 pp., [8] ff.; 74 ff.
$700.00
Click the images for enlargements.
A later, folio format edition of the Tremellius–Junius translation of the Bible into Latin, being a reprint of the 1603 “fourth edition.” Despite its Latinity this is not a Vulgate, rather it is a Protestant Bible: Immanuel Tremellius (1510–80) converted to Catholicism from Judaism via Cardinal Pole but a year later left the Church of Rome for Protestantism. He served in various universities, including Cambridge, as a professor of Hebrew or of Old Testament, settling finally at Sedan. His collaborator in the translation of the O.T. was his son-in-law Francicus Junius (1545–1602) and the latter also supplied the translation of the Apocrypha, while Tremellius translated the N.T. from the Syriac, which is presented here in parallel with Beze's Latin translation from the Greek of the N.T.
The O.T. is in five parts here, the first and last having their own registers and pagination; each testament's title-page bears a large, nicely executed version of the printer's device (stolen from the Estienne family). The text is dotted with woodcut initials and accented with head- and tailpieces; the main body of the text is printed in double-column format surrounded by notes.
Darlow & Moule 6192 (note). 19th-century acid-stained calf, raised bands, each volume with one red and one dark blue spine label, Apocrypha bound in after N.T. at end of vol. II; some scuffing or light abrasions. Extensive 19th-century commentary in ink on pastedowns and some fly-leaves; one manuscript note (and a pasted-in old bookseller’s description) on cut down and mounted title-page of vol. I; a very few other notes (“not in Syriac”). Ex-library with bookplates but no stamps; first volume's first foliation with slender worming into text from lower margin on ff. 16–29; age-toning, foxing, and some medium-sized brown stainings generally. A solid and acceptable copy of a less than common edition of this important translation that was Milton's favorite Latin version of the Bible. (30347)
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Sole Edition — Excellent Baptist Provenance
Bible. O.T. Greek.
Septuagint. 1725. Millius. [four lines in Greek, romanized as] He palaia diatheke kata tus hebdomekonta. Vetus Testamentum ex versione septuaginta interpretum, secundum exemplar Vaticanum Romae editum, denuo recognitum. Amstelodami: Sumptibus Societatis, 1725. 8vo (16 cm, 6.3"). 2 vols. I: [140], 24, 720, 717–876, 889–903, [1] pp. II: [2], 320, 421–928 pp. (pagination erratic, text uninterrupted).
$800.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Sole edition of David Mill's Septuagint (not to be confused with John Mill's of 1707), the Greek Old Testament text following the Sixtine edition, with title-pages printed in red and black and text in double columns. This same edition was also issued with a Utrecht title-page, with no other changes. Darlow and Moule note that the work includes a list of variants, as well as a small facsimile of text from the Codex Boernerianus.
Provenance: Front fly-leaf with inked inscription: “These volumes were the property of the Rev. Francis Wayland, D.D., President of Brown University. They are presented to the Bucknell Library [of Crozer Theological Seminary] by Henry G. Weston. June 14, 1900.” The Rev. Weston was the first president of Crozer.
Darlow & Moule 4736. Recent quarter calf and marbled paper–covered sides, spines with gilt-stamped green leather title and volume labels and gilt-stamped compartment decorations. Title-pages, several others, and lower (closed) page edges institutionally rubber-stamped; title-pages with Wayland's pencilled inscription in upper margin; first text pages each with inked numeral in lower margin. Mild foxing and occasional small stains; last half of vol. II with waterstaining, significant to the eye but not impairing reading; one leaf with short tear from outer margin, touching text without loss. One inked annotation in Greek, a few other small pencilled annotations. Pagination erratic, text complete and uninterrupted.
A sound, pleasant, evocative set. (27246)
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The Leipzig Polyglot
Bible. Polyglot. 1747. Reineccius. Biblia Sacra quadrilinguia Veteris [ac Novi] Testamenti Hebraici ... accurante M. Christiano Reineccio. Lipsiae: Sumtibus Haeredum Lanckisianorum, 1747–51. Folio (37.4 cm, 14.75"). 3 vols. I: [20], 1604 pp. II: [36], 607, [1] pp. III: Add. engr. t.-p., [22], 968 pp.
$8000.00
Click the interior images for enlargements.
Uncommon first complete edition, with extensive notes and much supplementary matter. This well-known and generally acclaimed polyglot Bible was edited by Christian Reineccius, a Lutheran scholar; Dibdin calls the work “very excellent and commodious.” The Old Testament is present in German, Greek (ancient and modern), Hebrew and Latin; the Apocrypha in Greek, Latin, and German only; and the New Testament (which has a separate title-page) in Greek, Syriac, Latin, and German. The New Testament was originally published in 1713; Darlow and Moule says it was “reissued with a new title and preface in 1747; and the two volumes containing the O.T. and
Apocrypha followed in 1750 and 1751.”
Each volume is decorated with two engraved headpieces (with the exception of vol. II, which has only one), several tailpieces, and decorative capitals. Vols. I and II have title-pages printed in red and black, while vol. III has an additional engraved title-page signed by Leipzig engraver Johann Gottfried
Kriigner, known for his editions of works by Bach.
Darlow & Moule 1451; Dibdin, I, 36–37. Recent quarter morocco and marbled paper–covered sides, leather edges with gilt roll; spines with gilt-stamped title and volume, gilt-ruled raised bands, and gilt-stamped compartment decorations. Title- and final pages each with one institutional pressure- and one rubber-stamp, a few other pages rubber-stamped; lower (closed) book edges rubber-stamped. Title-page of vol. I with unobtrusive small repair; last page of vol. III at one time tattered, now with creases, tiny holes, and small repair. Offsetting and foxing throughout, necessary to note and not sparing title-pages — but not nasty. A sound and satisfactory set. (24891)

It's the Notes that Are the Real Treat Here
Bible. N.T. English. Wakefield. 1795. A translation of the New Testament ... the second edition, with improvements. London: Pr. by A. Hamilton for George Kearsley, 1795. 2 vols. 8vo (21.3 cm, 8.4"). I: [4], viii, 410, [2] pp. II: [4], 472 pp.
$600.00
Click the interior images for enlargements.
Wakefield first published a volume of “those parts only of the New Testament which are wrongly translated in our common version” before having this complete Testament printed in 1791; this is the second edition, revised and corrected, of the entire translation. A theological and political controversialist, Wakefield adopted Unitarian principles, although the Cambridge History of the Bible says his New Testament is “in no sense sectarian.”
Each volume closes with extensive Notes; the last leaf of vol. I offers a list of other works by this author for sale from the same publisher; and the last page of the second volume has an affixed errata slip. The notes are quite direct and personal, with Wakefield remarking, e.g., on what effect or variety of accuracy he is trying to achieve; what the knot of difficulty at a particular point actually is, for the translator; and whose “excellent” reading he is following (and how the chosen version from the Coptic differs from the Syriac or AEthiopic). He expresses surprise that an “obvious construction” has “escaped the critics” so “remarkabl[y]” long as it has, and in another case confesses that he is “quite at a loss” as to how one clause is supposed to connect with another — definitely, he's a scholar who yet
lives in his pages.
Provenance: Armorial bookplates of Justinian Minoch laid in.
ESTC T93093; Darlow & Moule 933 (see note); Herbert 1362. On Wakefield, see: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online. Recent quarter black morocco and stone pattern marbled paper–covered sides, leather edges tooled in blind; spines with gilt-stamped title, volume number, place/date, and compartment decorations. Bookplates laid in as above. Half-titles and title-pages with handsome old institutional pressure-stamp; each first text page with inked numeral. Intermittent light foxing, pages otherwise clean. An engaging pair of books in all respects. (25784)
Bible. English. 1835. Authorized (i.e., King James Version). The cottage Bible.... Hartford: D.F. Robinson & H.F. Sumner, 1835. 4to (27.1 cm, 10.75"). 2 vols. I: Frontis, 736 pp.; 8 plts. (incl. frontis.). II: Frontis., [1] f., pp. 737–1440 (pp. 1049–56 lacking & pp. 1057–64 repeated); 7 plts. (incl. frontis.)
$450.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Reprint from stereotype plates of the 1833/34 edition. The Cottage Bible was prepared by Thomas Williams with extensive notes and re-editing by William Patton, and was probably so called as intended for use by families or other circles in the home setting—the term "Cottage Bible Study" being still used today in reference to small-group Bible discussion in private houses. The text is supplemented by “the references and marginal readings of the Polyglott Bible, together with original notes, and selections from Bagster’s Comprehensive Bible” and “a valuable chronological index” in addition to being “embellished with maps and engravings.” The latter consist of a total of
15 steel-engraved plates (including five of maps) signed by J. Mitan, W. Allston, M. Osborne, James Smillie, J.B. Longacre, F. Kearney, J.A. Adams, and W. Keenan.
Provenance: Late-20th-century booklabel of Michael Zinman on front pastedown.
Not in Herbert, Hills, or O’Callaghan, but see Herbert 1802, Hills 818, and O’Callaghan 221–22. Contemporary sheep, spines with black and tan labels, all edges marbled green; leather scratched and abraded but volumes sound and attractive. Pp. 1049–56 lacking and pp. 1057–64 repeated. Pages generally clean and even bright; endpapers and many plate leaves however with foxing and age-toning, mostly light but sometimes darker (and off-setting from the plate leaves to adjoining pages).
Overall sound and serviceable and nice. (5476)
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A Jesuit Pioneer in
India & Japan
Bouhours, Dominique. La vie de Saint François Xavier, de la Compagnie de Jésus, apostre des Indes et du Japon. Nouvelle édition. Paris: Chez Guillot, 1787. 12mo (16 cm, 6.5"). 2 (of 2) vols. I: 24, 442, [2] pp. (lacks frontis.) II: [4], 418, [1] pp.
$900.00

Later edition of this French Jesuit's biography of Saint Francis Xavier, in two volumes; first pu blished in Paris, in 1682, it is here complete in six books, with a “Table des Matières” at end of second volume. Per Sommervogel, it is the “edition du P. Brolier, qui a mis on tête la lettre de Condé au P. Talon sur cette Vie et l'a fait suivre d'observations.”
Click the interior image for an enlargement.
The New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia notes that Dominique Bouhours (1632–1702) was best known to English readers as the author of this much-reprinted work and an earlier life of Ignatius of Loyola; for a long time these were “the most widely circulated biographies” of the two saints. Bouhours also achieved prominence for his anti-Jansenist writings.
The pair of volumes were nicely printed, with some nicely engraved head- and tailpieces. The text offers sidenotes.
Rare. A search of OCLC records only two copies, of which this is one, now deaccessioned.
De Backer-Sommervogel, I, 1904–1905; Cordier, Bibliotheca Japonica, 146. Recent full calf, covers framed and panelled with single gilt fillets and with gilt-stamped corner fleurons; spines gilt extra, with gilt-ruled raised bands, gilt-stamped leather title and volume labels, gilt publication date at foot, and elaborately gilt-tooled floral decorations in compartments; marbled endpapers. Tear in outer margin of pp. 269/270, just barely touching sidenotes; very occasional foxing; offsetting from leather of previous binding affecting first and last leaves at margins, including title-pages. Ex-library, with faint penciled notations on verso of title-page and at base of following page in each volume. Vol. I lacks the frontispiece portrait. Faults noted, still a good copy and in an attractive binding. (24526)
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A Not-So-Brief History of
Time
Brady, John. Clavis calendaria; or, a compendious analysis of the calendar: Illustrated with ecclesiastical, historical, and classical anecdotes ... second edition. London: Pr. for the author & sold by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown, et al., 1812–13. 8vo (21.6 cm, 8.5"). 2 vols. I: xxxvi, 387, [1] pp.; 1 plt. II: [2], 395, [1] pp.
$325.00
Second edition of this popular survey of the history of time and calendars from the ancient world onwards, following the first edition of 1812. Brady here describes the rituals and lore associated with the regulation of time, in all its divisions and subdivisions; much material from the lives of the saints is present. Allibone quotes the London Quarterly Review's assertion that “Especially to students in divinity and law, [the work] will be an invaluable acquisition; and we hesitate not to declare that, in proportion as its merits become known to the public, it will find its way to the libraries of every gentleman and scholar in the kingdom.” Contemporary opinion seems to have borne that prediction out, as the subscribers list here (carried over from the first edition) is substantial and the work went through several editions in the first few years after its initial publication.
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Vol. I is illustrated with one wood-engraved plate depicting a Saxon almanac, and seven in-text engravings depicting Odin, Frigga, Thor, and the other deities with days named in their honor.
Provenance: Signature on title-pages of George Buckton, vol. I dated 1812 and vol. II dated 1813.
Allibone 237 (listing 1813 & 1814 eds. only); NSTC B4120. Contemporary treed calf, rebacked preserving original spines with gilt-stamped titles, gilt-ruled and -dotted compartment bands, and gilt-stamped compartment decorations; original spine leather chipped, cracked, and darkened as by fire. Covers with corners and edges unobtrusively rubbed; portions nearest spines showing evidence of heat exposure; hinges (inside) reinforced. Front pastedowns each with institutional bookplate, vol. I front pastedown with bookseller's ticket and affixed early cataloguing slip, vol. I back pastedown and vol. II front pastedown with inked library inscription. Title-pages with inked ownership inscriptions as above. Offsetting from plate and to endpapers from binding, pages otherwise clean though with all edges (i.e., of closed book) darkened.
A particularly handsome exemplar of popular scholarship of the day. (25436)
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“Large Scale” in Several Respects . . .
62 Engravings & Bedford Bound
Brayley, Edward Wedlake. The history and antiquities of the abbey church of St. Peter, Westminster: Including notices and biographical memoirs of the abbots and deans of that foundation. London: J.P. Neale for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown, 1818–23. Folio (37.9 cm, 14.9"). 2 vols. I: [18], 227, [19], 72, [10] pp.; 13 plts. II: [2], 304, [40] pp.; 49 plts.
$3000.00
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First edition, illustrated with a total of 62 engraved plates. Allibone describes Brayley “a laborious and accurate topographer”; he compiled and edited a wide range of works with titles featuring assorted Beauties, Picturesques, Histories, Antiquities, etc. The present work provides a history of Westminster Abbey and some of its associated luminaries, along with extensive descriptions of its architecture, sculptures, and paintings. The illustrator who portrayed many of the above, John Preston Neale, was an architectural draftsman and landscape painter “best remembered for his views of the nation's country houses, churches, and public buildings,” according to the Oxford DNB.
Binding: By Francis Bedford, signed, in dark brown morocco done between 1851 and 1880, covers framed and panelled in ornate gilt rolls with gilt-stamped corner fleurons and midpoint decoration. Spines gilt extra with gilt-stamped leather title and volume labels. Board edges gilt-tooled with triple fillets, turn-ins with gilt-tooled rolls and corner fleurons. All edges gilt. Stamped “F. Bedford” on lower front turn-in.
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)
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Bremer, Fredrika. The homes of the New World; impressions of America. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1853. 12mo (20.2 cm, 7.9"). 2 vols. I: xii, 651, [1 (blank)] pp. II: 654,2 (adv.) pp.
$350.00

First American edition. Howitt, an English Quaker, published a number of volumes of poetry; here she translates novelist Bremer’s epistolary“impressions of America” — Die Heimath in der Neuen Welt, being a “detailed and amiable record of an extensive tour,” as Howes describes it — from the original Swedish into English. Names are named, places are limned, the wrongs of slavery are a recurring motif.
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for an enlargement.
The first London edition appeared in three volumes, but the present edition in two, as stated on the title-page.
Howes B-745. Publisher’s charcoal blind-stamped cloth, spines with gilt-stamped title; cloth showing mild wear overall, with spine gilt attractively oxidized. Front free endpapers with pencilled owner’s inscription dated 1869. Pages slightly age-toned, with scattered small spots of staining. Quite a nice set. (15871)

Works of the
Brontë Sisters
Brontë,
Anne; Charlotte; & Emily. The Shakespeare
Head Brontë. Oxford: Basil Blackwell & Houghton Mifflin Co. (pr. at
the Shakespeare Head Press), 1931. 11 vols. 8vo (24 cm, 9.45"). I [Charlotte]:
Frontis., x, [2], 312 pp.; 2 plts. II: Frontis., [6], 284 pp.; 2 plts. III:
Frontis., [8], 351 pp.; 2 plts. IV: Frontis., [6], 362 pp.; 2 plts. V: Frontis.,
[8], 319, [1] pp.; 2 plts. VI: Frontis., [6], 313, [1] pp.; 2 plts. VII: Frontis.,
[10], 283, [1] pp.; 1 plt. I [Anne]: Frontis., [8], 220 pp.; 2 plts. II: Frontis.,
xi, [1], 282 pp.; 2 plts. III: Frontis., [6], 278 pp.; 1 plt. I [Emily]: Frontis.,
xii, 385, [1], 9, [1] pp.; 1 plt.
$1500.00
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Large-paper issue of this 11-volume set of the works of all three Brontë sisters, illustrated by Jack Hewer with a total of 30 architectural and landscape views. The novels are complete here, including Agnes Grey, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Shirley, Villette, and The Professor. (There were several additional volumes of miscellaneous writings, letters, and biography published in this “Shakespeare Head” series, which was not complete until 1938; they are not part of this set.)
The lovely illustrations are of real places fictionally transfigured in the novels . . .
Of the 1000 copies printed of this, 500 were printed on large paper and reserved for issue in America. The present example (numbered 452) is of the large paper size and in green cloth; it is not clear to us by what rule copies were bound in this green cloth and which in the orange reported elsewhere.
NCBEL, III, 865. Original green cloth, spines with printed paper labels, lacking the dust wrappers (which are scarce and almost never seen); labels darkened, a few starting to peel up at corners. Pages untrimmed, with some signatures unopened. A beautiful, clean example of this set. (24629)
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The State of
19th-Century Metaphysics
Brown, Thomas. Lectures on the philosophy of the human mind. Andover: Mark Newman (pr. by Flagg & Gould), 1822. 8vo (22.3 cm, 8.8"). 3 vols. I: 536 pp. II: 528 pp. III: 574, [2] pp.
$600.00
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First U.S. edition: Discussion of the characteristics and essence of thought, and the relation of thought and philosophy to natural history, the sciences, and morality. Brown (1778–1820) was a Scottish philosopher, poet, and professor at the University of Edinburgh; this, his most significant work, went through 20 editions in the years following its initial Edinburgh publication in 1820.
Shoemaker 8196; NSTC 2B53063. Period-style quarter light grey cloth and light blue paper–covered sides, spines with printed paper labels. One leaf with short tear from outer edge, not touching text. Pages age-toned with a scant handful of scattered small spots, otherwise
remarkably clean. (30339)
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A
Fine Set
Browning,
Robert. Poetical Works. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin
& Co., 1906. 8vo (19.5 cm, 7.7"). 6 vols. in three. I: Frontis., [ii], xxx,
[2], 26, 436 pp. II: xviii [i.e., 16], 426 pp. III: Frontis., [ii], x, 496 pp.
IV: xvi [i.e. 14], 472 pp. V: Frontis., [ii], xii, 416 pp. VI: xvi [i.e. 14],
492 pp.
$225.00
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Annotated edition of Browning's poetry featuring a revised version of Pauline as the first item in vol. I, followed by the earlier text of that poem (1833, revised 1865) for comparison. The frontispiece to each volume is a portrait of the poet at advancing stages of his life.
Each volume is introduced by George Willis Cooke, author of the Guide Book to the Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning, and concluded with his notes. Indices of first lines and titles are included at the end of the final volume.
Binding: Turquoise half-morocco over blue and gold marbled boards with matching marbled endpapers; spines with raised bands, compartments with gilt-tooled author and title labels or modest and attractive gilt tooling. All top edges gilt, blue silk place markers.
Bound as above; spines sunned to a handsome olive, boards lightly scuffed and a bit worn along the joints. One section of some 16 leaves in vol. II (as per spine) with a lower corner bumped/crumpled; one group of upper corners in vol. III with a small worm-piercing at outer edge. Ungilt page edges with light age-toning, spotting, and the occasional small nick; mostly, unopened. Nice to hold and behold. (30001)
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A SET of This Anglican Classic in
Red Morocco
Burnet, Gilbert. The history of the reformation of the Church of England. London: W. Baynes & Son (pr. by Charles Wood), 1825. 6 vols. 12mo (15 cm, 5.9"). I: Frontis., add. engr. t.-p., xxxvi, 474 pp. II: Add. engr. t.-p., [4], 456 pp. III: Frontis., add. engr. t.-p., xliv, 536 pp. IV: Add. engr. t.-p., [4], 494 pp. V: Frontis., add. engr. t.-p., lxiii, [1], 399, [1] pp. VI: Add. engr. t.-p., [4], 457, [3] pp.
$600.00
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Attractive early 19th-century edition of the Bishop of Salisbury's widely acclaimed history, based by Burnet as closely as possible on original records and papers. First printed in 1679 through 1714, this work was for many years considered the definitive source on its subject, though Burnet's aggressively Protestant and pro-parliamentary bias was questioned by some readers.
Each volume features a steel-engraved additional title-page, and the odd-numbered volumes open with steel-engraved portraits of the author, Henry VIII, and Archbishop Cranmer.
Bindings: Contemporary crimson straight-grain morocco, covers framed in gilt double fillets surrounding one gilt and one blind-tooled roll. Spines with gilt-stamped titles, three wide bands of gilt-stamping, and raised bands with triple gilt-stamped fillets. All edges gilt.
NSTC 2B60409. Bindings as above, spines and board edges slightly darkened, corners and edges showing minor wear, spine leather with small surface cracks, two spines with extremities refurbished, one volume with front joint carefully repaired. Front pastedowns each with institutional presentation bookplate, front fly-leaves each with early inked ownership inscription. Vol. V with front fly-leaf and frontispiece separated; vol. VI with outer edges of three early leaves tattered and some lower corners dog-eared. Pages very slightly age-toned, otherwise clean.
A lovable set. (25537)

Ancient
& Modern
MUSIC
England
& Elsewhere
Busby, Thomas. A general history of music, from the earliest times to the present; comprising the lives of eminent composers and musical writers. The whole accompanied with notes and observations, critical and illustrative. London: G. & W.B. Whittaker, and Simpkin & Marshall, 1819. 8vo (21.5 cm, 8.5"). 2 vols. I: xii, 552 pp. (69/70 lacking). II: iv, 523, [1] pp.
$200.00
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First edition, with a number of printed music samples and complete pieces included; the work closes with a look at English musical theatre at the turn of the 19th century. The author was an organist, composer, and musical scholar and critic who also published a Universal Musical Dictionary. The Edinburgh Review accused him of having largely taken the present work from the histories of Burney and Hawkins, to which the DNB replied, “Although the charge of plagiarism was well founded, and Busby had undoubtedly been less than candid about the relationship of his own text to those of Burney and Hawkins, the criticism missed the essential point about the History: its value was as
a popularizing work which brought the writings of Burney and Hawkins in simplified form within the reach of many without access to the originals.”
NSTC 2B62088. On Busby, see: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online. Contemporary speckled sheep, spines with gilt-stamped leather title-label; moderately rubbed overall and moreso at spines; one leaf, pp. 69/70 (in section on music in war) missing in vol I. Ex–social club library: each volume with paper shelving label on spine, 19th-century bookplate, pressure-stamp on title-page, no other markings. Pages creased with occasional light spots. Scattered early pencilled annotations and corrections, including (in a few cases) to music. (28341)
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FIRST to
Timbuktu & Back
Caillié, René Auguste. Journal d'un voyage a Temboctou et
a Jenné, dans l'Afrique Centrale, précédé d'observations faites chez les Maures Braknas, les Nalous et d'autres peuples; pendant les années 1824, 1825, 1826, 1827, 1828. Paris: L'Imprimerie Royale, 1830. 8vo (21.1 cm, 8.25"). 3 vols. I: Frontis., [4], xii, 472, [4] pp. II: [4], 426 pp. III: [4], 404, [2] pp. (lacking 5 plates and map).
$1500.00
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First edition. Caillié, a French explorer and adventurer inspired by a boyhood love of Robinson Crusoe, spent eight months in Senegal posing as a convert to Islam and learning Arabic; he was also the first modern European traveller to make a successful voyage to Timbuktu and back — Maj. Gordon Lang preceded him to the city, but was murdered during his travel home. Caillié was
awarded the Société de Géographie de Paris prize of 10,000 francs for his completed trip, despite his description of his travels through Senegal, Mali, and the Sahara's having been met with some skepticism in his native France; the travelogue was better received in England, and very popular in translation there.
Vol. I opens with a steel-engraved portrait of the author.
Howgego, II, C2. Period-style quarter tan cloth and light blue paper–covered sides, spines with printed paper labels. Five plates and one map lacking (frontispiece present); two leaves each with tear along inner margin, not touching text; foxed throughout but without embrittlement.
(24387)
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The Year in
Four Vols. & Beautiful Bindings
Catholic Church. Liturgy & ritual. Breviaries. Breviarium romanum ex decreto sacrosancti Concilii tridentini restitutum S. Pii V. pontificis maximi iussu editum, Clementis VIII. ac Urbani VIII. auctoritate recognitum, cum officiis sanctorum novissimis usque ad SS. D.N. Pium VI, pro recitantium commoditate diligenter dispositis. [Romae]: A. Galler , 1781. 8vo (18 cm, 7.1"). 4 vols. I: [20], 632, cclxxxviii, 19, [1] pp.; illus. II: [18], 646, ccliv, 21, [1] pp.; 1 plt. III: [54], 566, cclxxvi, 26 pp.; 1 plt. IV: [20], 608, cclxx, 15, [1] pp.; illus.
$2750.00
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Beautifully printed and handsomely bound set of the Roman Breviary. The text is printed in double-column format, in black and red, with a vignette on each title-page and an engraving
in each volume.
Binding: Contemporary's black goat sides with simple roll gilt border and gilt corner devices, spines gilt extra. The top panel of each volume indicates contents with abbreviation: P. V. (“Pars Vernalis”), P. AE. (“Pars Aestivalis”), etc. Block-printed decorated endpapers; all edges gilt. Silk place markers.
Not in Weale & Bohatta. Bindings as above, edges and extremities rubbed, spine leather with tiny cracks, one spine head chipped, one joint starting. Ex-library with bookplates, rubber-stamp on lower edges of pages of the closed volumes. One volume with text block separating from spine and sewing loosening; this with the most leather rubbed away and the darkest instances of the usually-light waterstaining and spots of foxing seen occasionally throughout. Endpapers bear early inked ownership inscriptions and annotations.
An elegant quartet. (12406)
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Chalmers,
Alexander. The British essayists: With prefaces, historical
and biographical, by A Chalmers. Boston: Little, Brown, & Co., 1856–57.
12mo (18 cm, 7"). 38 vols. (1, 2, 5, 6, 13, 14, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, &
32 with frontis.)
$2200.00
Click the image above for an enlargement.
First American edition thus, reprinting the 1823 London edition of this extensive collection compiling material from the Tatler, Guardian, Spectator, Adventurer, Rambler, World, Connoisseur, Idler, Mirror, Lounger, Observer, and Looker-On periodicals. Chalmers, a prolific journalist and editor, is now best remembered for his General Biographical Dictionary, a massive undertaking which occupied years in its original preparation and subsequent revisions; the DNB lists some of his other publications with the comment that “No man ever edited so many works as Chalmers for the booksellers of London.”
An early purchaser has recorded the cost of binding the set (60 pence per book) in a pencilled note on the front fly-leaf of vol. I: “Aug. 15th 1864 in 38 vol bound in fine 1/2 moroco [sic] per vol c/60 d.”
The essays and authors here were all once fashionable as well as interesting; they are no longer at all fashionable, but they are interesting in ways that their authors and original readers never imagined.
Bindings: Contemporary half morocco over attractive marbled paper–covered sides, each spine with gilt-stamped title, volume number, and elegant arabesque decorations. Top edges gilt.
On Chalmers, see: The Dictionary of National Biography. Bindings lightly rubbed, a few with leather showing slight cracking over spines. Frontispiece with bookplate of private collector. Pages age-toned, with edges slightly embrittled; some occurrences of staining and pencilled underlining, with the majority of pages clean. An attractive set; many hours’ worth of reading.
For anyone who savors slices'o'life, and slices'o'time, very rich fare. (14180)
“Innocent
Entertainment, Mingled
with Correct
Information & Sound
Instruction”
Chambers, Robert; & William Chambers, eds.
Chambers' repository of instructive and amusing papers. Boston: Gould & Lincoln, 1853. 16mo
(18.6 cm, 7.3"). 4 vols. I: [12 (8 adv.)], 31, [1], 32, 31, [1], 31, [1], 31, [1], 31, [1] 31, [1], 31,
[1] pp.; illus. II: [10 (6 adv.)], 31, [1], 31 (lacking pp. 3–30), [1], 31 (lacking pp. 3–30), 31, [1],
31, [1], 31, [1], 32, 31, [1] pp.; illus. III: [4], 31, [1], 31, [1], 31, [1], 31, [1], 31, [1], 31, [1], 31,
[1], 31, [1] pp.; illus. IV: [4], 31, [1], 31, [1], 31, [1], 31, [1], 31, [1], 31, [1], 31, [1], 31, [1] pp.;
illus. .
$225.00
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American edition of a British miscellany intended for a juvenile
audience: Four volumes of widely ranging educational reading, enlivened by romantic
short stories. The first volume includes articles on gold mining in Australia
and cotton manufacturing in Manchester, a tale of two Scottish servants, a biography
of Mme. de Sévigné, an analysis of Milton's Paradise Lost,
etc.; the other three volumes offer a similar array of history, natural history,
fiction, and improving reading. The articles are illustrated with small steel-
and wood-engravings, with occasional maps.
Publisher's blue textured cloth, covers blind-stamped, spines
with gilt-stamped title and compartment decorations; worn and scuffed with
spines sunned and heads each with strip of dark cloth tape extending onto
boards. Ex–social club library: Each volume with 19th-century bookplate
on front pastedown, call number on endpaper, title-page pressure-stamped.
Vol. IV lacking front free endpaper; vol. II with one leaf with inner margin
reinforced, several leaves with outer edges chipped, pp. 3–30 lacking
from two articles, and text block splitting at center — due to an old
pin's having been thrust in at the gutter! Paper age-toned and slightly brittle,
with occasional short edge tears. (26396)
Chardin, John. Voyages de Mr. le chevalier Chardin, en Perse, et autres lieux de l'Orient. Paris: André Cailleau, 1723. 8vo (16.5 cm, 6.5"). 10 vols.
I: Frontis., [10], 254 pp.; 1 fold. map. II: 334 pp.; 4 fold. plts., 5 plts. III: 285, [1 (blank)] pp.; 4 fold. plts., 3 plts. IV: 280 pp.; 2 fold. plts., 3 plts. V: 312 pp.; 4 fold. tables, 5 plts. VI: 328 pp.; 4 plts. VII: [10], 15–448 [i.e.,
446] pp. VIII: 255, [1 (blank)] pp.; 10 fold. plts., 6 plts. IX: 308 pp.; 1 double-spread fold. plt., 8 fold. plts., 19 plts. X: [22], 3–220, [82 (index)] pp.
$4000.00
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Attractive French edition of Sir John Chardin's Persian travelogue, originally published in 1686. Brunet calls the account, which covers Chardin's voyages through India, Russia, and Persia, "un des plus intéressants que l'on ait publiés" in the 18th century; the work was and continues to be a major source of information on contemporary Persian politics, government, religion, and culture.
The title-pages are printed in red and black, and the 10 volumes are illustrated with a total of 79 plates (many folding) and tables, including one map and one frontispiece.
Brunet, I, 1802. Contemporary speckled calf, spines extra gilt; edges, joints and extremities rubbed, leather in some cases cracked or starting along joints or chipped at spine extremities, two spines with compartments chipped. All edges speckled. Front pastedowns each with institutional bookplate, front free endpapers rubber-stamped and with inked ownership inscriptions dated [18]67, title-pages except for vol. I rubber-stamped, reverse of map in vol. I rubber-stamped, some vols. with first text page rubber-stamped. Additional plate (creased) laid in, seemingly excised from another work.

Pickering & Whittingham's
SEVEN BCPs
Church of England. Book of Common Prayer. [Seven editions of the Book of Common Prayer, 1549–1844 ]. London: William Pickering (pr. by Whittingham), 1844. Folio (35.8 cm, 14"). 7 vols. I: [264] ff. II: [314] ff. III: [134] ff. IV: [130] ff. V: [142] ff. VI: [140] ff. VII: [154] ff.
$6500.00
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Complete set of Pickering's handsome homages to important editions of the Book of Common Prayer, consisting of six early versions and one contemporary: Edward VI, 1549; Edward VI, 1552; Elizabeth, 1559; James I, 1604; Charles I, 1637 (for the use of the Church of Scotland, commonly called Archbishop Lauds); Charles II, 1662; and Victoria, 1844. The uniform black-letter printing was done by Charles Whittingham the younger, of the Chiswick Press, “distinguished for . . . tasteful design and excellent presswork” (Oxford DNB online).
Griffiths, Bibliography of the Book of Common Prayer, 1844/26–32; Gewirtz, But One Use, 62 (for Victoria, 1844 and discussion of others); Lowndes, 1945; Brunet, I, 1108. Publisher's quarter vellum and marbled paper–covered sides, spines with gilt-stamped leather title and volume labels, vellum variously dust-soiled and showing short cracks on some spines (rubbed through in small spots at the feet of two spines); boards and edges rubbed, a few spine labels with small chips or cracks, one volume with hinges (inside) reinforced, two volumes with
minor repairs to joints. Bookseller's small ticket on back pastedowns in two volumes; each title-page save one stamped in upper outer corner by a 19th-century collector as above. Occasional minor foxing only, as a rule, with greater spotting in one section of one volume only. Many signatures unopened. (24828)
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Clarendon's Rebellion — Three Folio Vols. from Oxford “at the Theater”
Clarendon, Edward Hyde, Earl of. The history of the rebellion and civil wars in England, begun in the year 1641. With the precedent passages, and actions, that contributed therunto, and the happy end, and conclusion thereof by the King's blessed restoration, and return upon the 29th of May, in the year 1660. Oxford: Pr. at the Theater (by Ro. Mander & Guil. Delaune), 1702–04. Folio (39.7 cm, 15.75). 3 vols. I: Frontis., [4], xxiii, [1], 557, [1] pp. II: Frontis., [14], 581, [1] pp. III: Frontis., [22], 603, [23] pp. (half-titles lacking).
$2000.00
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First edition of this crucial account of the tumultuous 1640s and 50s in England, written by an author whom Allibone lauds as “one of the most illustrious characters of English history”; Allibone also quotes the Edinburgh Review's description of the present work as “one of the noblest historical works of the English nation.”
Each volume commences with a copper-engraved frontispiece and title-page vignette, the former done by Robert White after a painting by Lely, the latter signed M[ichael] Burg[hers]. Burghers also engraved a substantial number of head- and tailpieces for the work, as well as decorative capitals.
ESTC N9847, N9850, T147811; Brunet, I, 81; Allibone 385. Contemporary speckled calf panelled in blind with plain calf, decorated with blind-tooled corner fleurons, spines with gilt-stamped leather title-labels; edges and extremities rubbed, joints cracked or starting, some acid-pitting to speckled portions, spines each with small paper shelving label. Each front pastedown with institutional bookplate over private collector's bookplate, and with early inked gift inscription. Title-pages with small institutional rubber-stamp in lower margin; half-titles lacking. Pages generally clean; occasional minor spotting mostly confined to margins. One instance of early
inked marginalia. (24574)
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Capturing an Age
One Biography at a Time
[Clarke]. The Georgian era: Memoirs of the most eminent persons, who have flourished in Great Britain, from the accession of George the First to the demise of George the Fourth. London: Vizetelly, Branston, & Co., 1832–34. 8vo (19.5 cm, 7.65"). 4 vols. I: Frontis., 582 pp.; 12 plts. II: Frontis., [2], 588 pp. III: Frontis., [2], 588 pp. IV: Frontis., 588 pp.
$450.00
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First edition: Concise yet entertainingly anecdote-laden biographies recounting the accomplishments and characters (foibles and all) of the most prominent figures of the age: nobles, churchmen, politicians, dissenters, military and naval officers, jurists, physicians, voyagers and travelers, scientists, writers, economists, architects, artists and musicians, etc. All the expectable princesses, duchesses, and countesses are present, along with a handful of women represented in other categories — the preponderance falling under the “Vocal Performers” and “Actors” headings.
The first volume is illustrated with
12 plates each offering four rows of small portraits, some intriguingly expressive; each volume opens with an engraved frontispiece portrait of a royal George.
NSTC 2C23867. Recent textured maroon cloth, spines with gilt-stamped black leather title and volume labels; title-pages institutionally pressure- (not rubber-) stamped. Scattered light spots of staining, pages generally clean; first few leaves of voI. \ II with outer margins chipped.
A hefty, substantive evocation of Georgian life and times. (30012)
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Combe,
William. The English dance
of death, from the designs of Thomas Rowlandson, with metrical illustrations,
by the author of “Doctor Syntax.” London: Pr. by J. Diggens for R.
Ackermann, 1815–16. 8vo (23.8 cm, 9.4"). 2 vols. Vol. I: Add. engr. t.-p.,
vii, [1], 295, [5 (index)] pp.; 37 col. plts. Vol. II: [2], 299, [5] pp.; 36 col.
plts.
$3000.00
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First book-form edition of a work originally issued in 24 monthly
parts from 1814 through 1816. Combe’s verse accounts of assorted noble
and ignoble deaths, most described in wryly humorous terms, are here graced
with a total of
73
hand-colored aquatint plates and an additional engraved vol. I title-page with
aquatint vignette. The plates
were designed by Rowlandson, a prominent late 18th-/early 19th-century illustrator
known for his Dr. Syntax caricatures — done for another joint production
of Rowlandson’s and Combe’s.
There are two states of this edition; in the present state p. 1 has the words
“Introductory dialogue” set in solid roman capitals, and the first
line of the poem reads “Father Time! ’tis well we are met”
rather than “Father Time! ’tis well we’re met.” The
paper in vol. I is watermarked with the dates 1813, 1814, and 1815, while
in vol. II the watermarks are 1814 and 1815.
Binding:
Signed binding by Riviere & Son: 19th-century mottled
calf, covers framed in gilt triple fillets with gilt rosettes at corners;
round spines with raised bands, the whole gilt extra with gilt-stamped leather
title and author labels; double-rule gilt fillets on board edges; gilt inner
dentelles. All edges gilt.
Abbey, Life, 263; NSTC 2C32764. Bindings as above, carefully
and neatly rebacked preserving original spines, corners and joints showing
slight wear. Vol. I with short edge nicks to upper margins of two leaves,
not touching text; last few leaves and plates of vol. II with small area of
light staining to outer margins, not touching text and not obtrusive in images.
A
beautiful set.

Anti-Romantic VERSES of
Love & Loss
Crabbe, George. Tales of the hall. Boston: Wells & Lilly, 1819. 12mo (20 cm, 7.9"). 2 vols. I: xxi, [1], 250 pp. II: ix, [1], 267, [1] pp.
$275.00
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First U.S. edition, printed in the same year as the London first, of the last volume of poems published by the Rev. Crabbe — Jane Austen's favorite living poet — in his lifetime. This is an uncut copy, in publisher's original bindings.
Bindings: Publisher's plain light blue paper–covered sides with tan shelfbacks, spines with printed paper labels; uncut.
NSTC 2C41665; NCBEL, II, 611; Shaw & Shoemaker 47741. Spine paper darkened and cracked, joints and spines of both volumes restored with long-fiber tissue; inner margins of first and last few leaves unobtrusively repaired; as noted, page edges uncut.. Vol. I with front cover waterstained and back cover inkstained(?); title-page of vol. II with pencilled ownership inscription in upper portion. Foxing variously; one pencilled correction. (30085)
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Crawfurd, John. Journal of an embassy from the governor-general of India to the courts of Siam and Cochin China; exhibiting a view of the actual state of those kingdoms ... second edition. London: Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley, 1830. 8vo (23 cm, 9"). 2 vols. I: Fold. frontis., vii, [1], 475, [1] pp.; 3 fold. plts., 8 plts., illus. II: [2], v, [1], 459, [1] pp.; 4 fold. plts., 7 plts., 1 fold. chart.
$5000.00
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mouse-over, for an enlargement.
Second edition, following the first of 1828: Description of a diplomatic voyage through Thailand, Vietnam, and the Malay Peninsula, undertaken by a Scottish surgeon who had worked for the East India Company before becoming an envoy and colonial administrator. Following his retirement from public service, Crawfurd dedicated himself to Oriental studies, and published such works as A Grammar and Dictionary of the Malay Language, A Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent Countries, and A History of the Indian Archipelago.
The present account is one of the most important descriptions of the region in the early 19th century, incorporating cultural and religious assessments as well as economic and political. The two volumes are illustrated with 8 oversized, folding plates; 1 folding chart; 15 plates (many depicting variations in regional costume for both men and women), and a number of in-text engravings.
NSTC 2C42639; Goldsmiths’-Kress 26080; not in Maggs, Bibl. Asiatica. On Crawfurd, see: Dictionary of National Biography. Publisher’s dark green cloth, blind-stamped, spines with gilt-stamped title; spines very slightly sunned and showing faint traces of now-absent paper labels, cloth lightly rubbed at corners and spine extremities. Hinges cracked (inside). Front pastedowns rubber-stamped (no other institutional markings). Title-pages with pencilled owner’s name in upper margins; contents pages with inked owner’s name dated 1865. Frontispiece, plates, and a few pages in proximity to plates lightly to moderately foxed; one plate in vol. II torn from inner margin, tear not touching image.
Absorbing reading, evocative images. (19179)
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Bite-Sized
Theatrical Morsels
in
Fancy
Dress — Signed
Bindings
Cruz, Ramón de la. Sainetes de D. Ramón de la Cruz. Barcelona: Biblioteca “Arte y Letras” E. Domenech y Ca., 1882. 8vo (20.5 cm, 8"). 2 vols. I: [4], xliii, [1], 338, [2] pp.; 16 plts. (some incl. in pagination). II: [4], 343, [5] pp.; 5 plts.
$275.00
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Resplendent
collection of
clever, satiric 18th-century theatrical vignettes, originally intended to be
performed as intermedios during longer plays. The pieces, which include
“La Comedia de Maravillas,” “El Café de Máscaras,”
“La Duda Satisfecha,” “Manolo,” and many others, appear
here illustrated with
21
plates and numerous in-text engravings by José Llovera
and A. Lizcano, most depicting lively social scenes, musicians, dancers, and
flirtatious maidens. Although the second volume contains fewer plates than the
first, it makes up for the difference with extra in-text images.
Signed Binding: Publisher's teal pebbled cloth, front covers with striking chariot and armorial scene in light blue, tan, and gilt. The “Cibeles” statue found in Madrid's Cibeles Plaza and the coat of arms (and gilt monogram) of the city of Madrid appear with de la Cruz's name stamped in gilt below; spines offer gilt-stamped title and black-stamped griffin decoration. Cover of vol. II is signed “J. Orba.” All page edges are stamped in a Greek key pattern in blue and gilt.
Provenance:
Half-titles each with old-fashioned rubber-stamp of José Carmona y
Ramos.
Palau 65340. Bindings as above, edges and extremities
showing minor shelfwear, back cover of vol. I with small spots of faint discoloration,
front joint of vol. II rubbed. Collector's stamp as above, each front pastedown
with small paper label bearing hand-inked numeral. Pages age-toned; edges
slightly embrittled, occasionally with small chips or short tears. Scattered
light smudges in vol. I; vol. II with mild to moderate foxing.
A
peacocky set. (29262)
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