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"Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these": Exquisite first edition large paper set of Loddiges' Botanical Cabinet; containing 2000 numbered hand-colored botanical plates by George Cooke
LODDIGES, George. Plates by George Cook.
The Botanical Cabinet Consisting of Coloured Delineations of Plants, from all Countries.
London: John & Arthur Arch; Hackney: Conrad Loddiges & Sons, et al, 1818–1833.
Rare first edition, large paper issue set of Loddiges' renowned Botanical Cabinet with 2000 numbered hand-colored plates by George Cooke. Octavos, 20 volumes bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards with elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, red morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, all edges marbled. Illustrated with 2000 numbered hand-colored botanical plates by George Cooke. In near fine condition. Armorial bookplates. An exceptional collection, most rare and desirable in a complete set.
Price: $32,500.00 Item Number: 109061
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“My work is not a piece of writing designed to meet the needs of an immediate public, but was done to last for ever": Rare First Edition in English of Thucydides The History of the Peloponnesian War
THUCYDIDES,.
The Hystory, Writtone by Thucidides the Athenyan, of the Warre, Whiche was Betwene the Peloponesians and the Athenyans [The History of the Peloponnesian War].
London: William Tylle, 1550.
First edition of one one of the greatest of classic historical works. Folio, bound in 19th century full vellum, morocco spine label, marbled endpapers, title-page with elaboarate historiated woodcut border. In very good condition with light toning to the text. Rare and desirable in this condition.
Price: $32,500.00 Item Number: 111546
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Exceptionally rare second edition of Ye Zipei’s complete map of the world, one of only two known copies produced by terrestrial globe expert Liu Yan
YAN, Liu (Liu Dezhi). [Ye Zipei].
Complete Map of the World with All Nations.
China: Wanguo Dadi Quantu, 1851 [Xianfeng period].
Exceptionally rare second edition of Ye Zipei’s complete map of the world, one of only two known copies produced by terrestrial globe expert Liu Yan. The terrestrial map is comprised of six accordion-style albums bound in handmade paper with white titular labels lettered in hand to each front panel. A woodblock print in red and black ink, the map features two hemispheres defined by straight meridian and circular parallel lines and a ground of red grids. The left hemisphere centers on the south pole, while the right one on the north pole; both are bordered by the equator, adopting the…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 131424
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“Of all creatures that breathe and move upon the earth, nothing is bred that is weaker than man”: exceptionally rare sixteenth century printing of Homer's Odyssey in Latin
HOMER. TRANSLATED BY RAPHAELLO MAFFEI,.
Odissea Per Raphaelem Volaterranum in Latinum Conversa (The Odyssey of Homer translated by Raphael of Volterra in Latin).
Rome: Per Lacoubum Mazochium, 1510.
One of the earliest Latin translations of Homer's epic poem, translated from the Greek by Roman Hellenic scholar Raphaello Maffei (Raphael of Volterra). Quarto, bound in contemporary vellum, rebacked, woodcut titles and printer's device to the title page and at end of text. From the library of Robert R. Dearden, Jr. of Philadelphia with his bookplate to the front panel. American bibliophile and author Robert R. Dearden was known for his extensive rare bible collection with a focus on early editions of American Bibles. He authored the book The Guiding Light on the Great Highway (1929), elaborately illustrated with photographs…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 88060
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“THE FATHER OF MODERN DEMOCRACY”: First edition in English of Aristotle's Masterpiece Politiques, or Discourses of Government
ARISTOTLE,.
Politiques, or Discourses of Government.
London: Adam Islip, 1598.
Rare first edition in English of one of the world’s most important and influential political texts, “the most valuable work on that branch of philosophy that has descended to us from antiquity.” Small folio, bound in full leather, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, front and rear panels. In near fine condition, bookplate, small name to the title page, small paper repair to the first few pages. First editions are exceptionally rare.
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 138658
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Samuel Johnson Pratt's Family Secrets; from the library of President George Washington; with a small note in his hand tipped in
PRATT, Samuel Johnson. [George Washington].
Family Secrets: By Mr. Pratt. Volume III. [From the Library of George Washington].
London: Printed for T.N. Longman, Paternoster-Row, 1798.
Octavo, bound in full contemporary calf with a burgundy morocco spine label lettered in gilt, gilt ruling to the spine. Vol. III of the original five volumes. Tipped in to the pastedown is a small clipped note in the hand of George Washington which reads, "with the said" and the bookplate of Benjamin Lincoln Lear. The set in which this volume originated was listed in a manuscript by Washington's private secretary Tobias Lear titled 'Catalogue of Books received from Washington' and bears the bookplate of Lear's son Benjamin Lincoln Lear. Tobias Lear served as Washington's personal secretary from 1784 until…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 139518
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THE FIRST ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF ULYSSES: SIGNED BY JAMES JOYCE AND HENRI MATISSE
JOYCE, James and Henri Matisse.
Ulysses.
New York : Limited Editions Club, 1935.
First illustrated edition of Joyce’s landmark Ulysses, one of only 250 examples signed by James Joyce in pen and Henri Matisse in pencil, with 26 illustrations by him, one of the 20th-century’s most desirable illustrated books, combining the work of two great modern artists. Large quarto, original gilt-stamped pictorial brown cloth, original slipcase. In fine condition with the rare original slipcase which is in good condition and original glassine jacket. With an introduction by Stuart Gilbert. An exceptional example, most rare in this condition and in the seldom seen glassine jacket.
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 140072
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“THE GREATEST HISTORICAL WORK EVER WRITTEN”: Rare complete first edition set of Edward Gibbon's Masterpiece The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; with a rare first edition, first issue of Vol. I; from the library of legendary aviator Steve Fossett
GIBBON, Edward.
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
London: Printed for W. Strahan; and T. Cadell, 1776-1788.
Rare full first edition set, first state of volume one, of Gibbon's landmark work of historiography with three engraved folding maps by Kitchin of the Western and Eastern Roman Empire and of Constantinople and frontispiece portrait of Gibbon. Quarto, 6 volumes bound in three quarter calf over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine. Vol. I: undated engraved portrait frontispiece by Hall after Joshua Reynolds, 12pp. contents, x4 and a4 are cancels, errata leaf; Vol. II: full-sheet folding map of the Eastern Roman Empire by Thomas Kitchin dated 1 January 1781 bound before p.1, half-sheet map of…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 129094
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First Editions of Each Novel By William Faulkner; Finely Bound by The Harcourt Bindery
FAULKNER, William.
The Complete Novels of William Faulkner. [Soldier’s Pay, Mosquitos, Sartoris, The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying, Sanctuary, Light in August, Pylon, Absalom, Absalom!, The Unvanquished, The Wild Palms, The Hamlet, Go Down Moses, Intruder in the Dust, Requiem For a Nun, A Fable, The Town, The Mansion, The Reivers].
New York: Various Publishers, 1926-1962.
First editions of each novel by the Nobel Prize-winning author. Octavo, 19 volumes, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt stamped signature to the front panel, gilt inner dentelles stamp-signed by the Harcourt Bindery, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. An exceptional set, rare and desirable.
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 142531
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A fine set of the works of Theodoretus; Each Beautifully Painted on the front and back of each panel
Opera Omnia. Ed. Jac. Sirmond (Volumes 1-4), and J. Garnier (Volume 5).
Paris: Sebastian and Gabriel Cramoisy, 1682-84.
A fine set of the works of Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus, beautifully painted on each panel. Quarto, five volumes, bound in full 17th-century vellum, both covers on each volume fully painted with a scene from the life of Christ, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, brown and black morocco lettering pieces. The first four volumes were edited by J. Sirmond and were published in 1642. The fifth volume, not published until 1684, was completed by Sirmond's fellow Jesuit Garnier and contains an auctarium, comprising fragments of commentaries and sermons and some additional letters, together with Garnier's five learned but…
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 140490
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“THE GREATEST HISTORICAL WORK EVER WRITTEN”: Rare complete first edition set of Edward Gibbon's Masterpiece The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; with a rare first edition, first issue of Vol. I
GIBBON, Edward.
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
London: Printed for W. Strahan; and T. Cadell, 1776-1788.
Rare complete first edition set, including the rare first state of volume one, of Gibbon's landmark work of historiography. Quarto, 6 volumes bound in full contemporary mottled calf, with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, gilt ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, gilt turn-ins, three engraved folding maps by Kitchin of the Western and Eastern Roman Empire and of Constantinople. First edition, first issue of vol. 1 with errata uncorrected, [one of 500 copies], half-titles (that in vol. 1 a tipped-in later facsimile), 3 folding engraved maps, engraved portrait frontispiece after Reynolds and vol. 1 *a4-*b2…
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 144594
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"As art it is perfection" (Dostoevsky); Rare First Russian Edition Of Tolstoy’s Masterpiece Anna Karenina
TOLSTOY, Leo. [Count Lyof N Tolstoi].
Anna Karenina.
Moscow: T. Ris, 1878.
First edition in Russian of Tolstoy's masterpiece. Octavo, 3 volumes, bound in three quarters calf, gilt titles, raised bands. Housed in a custom box. In near fine condition. First editions in Russian are rare.
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 126365
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Rare first complete edition in English of Cervantes' masterpiece The History of Don Quixote; Thomas Shelton's famed first English translation bound in full crimson crushed levant morocco by Riviere & Son
CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, Miguel de. Translated by Thomas Shelton.
The History of Don-Quichote. The First Parte and The Second Part of the History of the Valorous and Witty Knight-Errant, Don Quixote of the Mancha.
London: Printed for Edward Blount, 1620.
Exceedingly rare first complete edition in English of Cervantes' masterpiece comprised of a second edition of the first part and first edition of the second part. Small quarto, bound in full crimson crushed levant morocco by Riviere & Son, gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, triple gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, engraved headpieces, tailpieces and initials. Engraved title pages and printed title page to the second part supplied in exact facsimile from the copy in the British Museum. No…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 139832
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Rare First Edition of Thomas Paine's Dissertations on Government, the Affairs of the Bank, and Paper-Money
PAINE, Thomas.
Dissertations on Government, the Affairs of the Bank, and Paper-Money.
Philadelphia: Printed by Charles Cist, 1786.
First edition of Paine's defense of the Bank of North America. Small octavo, bound in three quarters leather over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine. Rare.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 104062
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Rare first printing of the Second Acts of Congress; bound with an even more rare printing of the United States Constitution
Acts Passed at the Second Congress of the United States of America: Begun and Held at the City of Philadelphia, In the State of Pennsylvania, On Monday, The Twenty-Fourth of October, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-One: And o the Independence of the United States, the Sixteenth. [Bound With]: The Constitution of the United States of America; As Proposed by the Convention Held at Philadelphia, Sept. 17, 1787, and Since Ratified by the Several States.
Philadelphia: Printed by Francis Childs and Joseph Swaine, Printers to the United States; Printed by John Fenno, 1791-c. 1793.
First printing of the Second Acts of Congress, bound with an even more rare printing of the Constitution. Octavo, original full calf, red morocco spine label lettered gilt. From the library of the first (and longest serving) Secretary of the United States Senate, Samuel Allyne Otis with his signature to the second page. Otis was a delegate from Massachusetts during the Second Continental Congress, and went on to serve in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1784-85. He was elected to the position of Secretary on April 8, 1789, through political machinations orchestrated by John Adams, that saw front runner,…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 126804
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"OF EXCEPTIONAL RARITY": 1814 FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST HEBREW BIBLE PUBLISHED IN AMERICA; In Contemporary Binding
VAN DER HOOGHT, Everardo.
Biblia Hebraica, Secundum Ultimam Editionem Jos. Athiae, a Johanne Leusden, Denuo Recognitum, Recensita Variisque Notis Latinis Illustrata, ab Everardo Van Der Hooght. Editio Prima Americana, Sine Punctis Masorethicis.
Philadelphia: Printed by William Fry for Thomas Dobson, 1814.
Very rare first edition of the first Hebrew Bible published in America. Octavo, 2 volumes, bound in full contemporary calf, including half-titles and front and rear blanks, as well as scarce publisher's notice in volume one (not found in all examples); Van der Hooght's four leaf Preface bound in at front of second volume, morocco spine labels. In very good condition. An exceptionally clean example, most rare and desirable in contemporary binding.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 147438
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Rare first edition of one of the earliest chess manuals; Pietro Carrera's Game of Chess
CARRERA, Pietro.
Il Gioco De Gli Scacchi Di D. Pietro Carrera Diviso in Otto Libri. (The Game of Chess).
Militello: Giovanni de' Rossi, 1617.
Rare first edition of one of the early chess manuals, and the first book printed in Militello at Prince Francesco Branciforte's private press. Octavo, bound in full contemporary vellum with ink titles to the spine, large engraving of the Branciforte coat of arms opposite the dedication page, woodcut illustrations throughout the text. In near fine condition. First editions are of exceptional rarity, with only three appearing at auction in the past 90 years.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 96172
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Scarce complete First edition, first issue of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities; in the original monthly parts; with three variant issues of part 1
DICKENS, Charles.
A Tale of Two Cities.
London: Chapman and Hall, June-December 1859.
First edition, first issue of one of Dickens’ most enduring works, with p.213 in part 7/8 mispaginated "113", and signature mark 'b' present on List of Plates at end, etched frontispiece, additional title and 14 plates by "Phiz" (Hablot K. Browne). Octavo, original blue-green wrappers. Complete with all the advertisements called for by Hatton & Cleaver, and the two rare slips in parts 1 and 5. Includes three variant issues of part 1, one with Morison's 'premises' advert, the second with Morison's 'lion' advert, and the third with the rare French version of the Morison's 'lion' advert. In near fine…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 131460
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"If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?": Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland; inscribed by him
CARROLL, Lewis. [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson].
Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland.
London: MacMillan and Co, 1879.
Early edition with sixty-second thousand stated on the title page of this classic work, boldly inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "Edith Mary Alice Berkeley from the Author, May 15/80." Octavo, original cloth, gilt titles to the spine, all edges gilt, publisher's cloth s, all edges gilt, housed in a modern scarlet morocco slipcase and chemise. 7 1/8 x 4 1/2 inches (18 x 12 cm); 192 pp., [2] pp. ads, half-title; electrotyped frontispiece, and 42 illustrations from the woodcuts by Dalziel after John Tenniel. In near fine condition. From the library of actor William E. Self, with his book…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 142979
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“The world is so full of people who have been put in boxes, who have been made to believe that they are less than they are": First edition set of the complete works of Margaret Atwood; each volume signed by Atwood and finely bound in full red levant morocco by the Harcourt Bindery
ATWOOD, Margaret.
The Complete Works of Margaret Atwood. [The Edible Woman, Surfacing, Lady Oracle, Life Before Man, Bodily Harm, The Handmaid’s Tale, Cat’s Eye, The Robber Bride, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin, Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, MaddAddam, The Heart Goes Last, Hag-Seed, and The Testaments].
Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited/Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 1969-2019.
Complete true first edition set of the novels of Margaret Atwood, finely bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery. Octavo, 16 volumes bound in full red crushed levant morocco by the Harcourt Bindery with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in five compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt signature to the front panel of each volume, gilt scrolled inner dentelles stamp-signed by the Harcourt Bindery, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Each volume is signed or inscribed by Margaret Atwood. In fine condition. Founded over a century ago in 1900, the…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 149507
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Rare First Edition of John Bunyan s The Holy War, made by Shaddai upon Diabolus
BUNYAN, John.
The Holy War, made by Shaddai upon Diabolus.
London : Printed for Dorman Newman and Benjamin Alsop, 1682.
Exceptionally rare first edition of this allegorical epic, which Macaulay said "if The Pilgrim's Progress had not been written, The Holy War would have been the greatest English allegory" (Cambridge History of English Literature). Octavo, engraved portrait frontispiece by R. White. In very good condition, final advertisement leaf present, sig.B damp-stained at lower outer corners, corner torn away from E6, small hole in G8 slightly affecting text, printing flaw on H3v affecting sidenote, short tear at head of R5, folding engraved plate, which has been skilfully remargined. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 148135
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First Edition of William Percey's The Compleat Swimmer: Or, The Art of Swimming
PERCEY, William.
The Compleat Swimmer: Or, The Art of Swimming: Demonstrating The Rules and Practice thereof, in an Exact, Plain, and Easie Method. Necessary to be Known and Practiced by All Who Studie or Desire their own Preservation.
London: Printed by J. C. for Henry Fletcher, 1658.
First and only edition of one of the earliest treatises on swimming, preceded only by Sir Everard Digby's short Latin tract, published in 1589 and translated into English in 1595; and the Dutchman Nicholas Wynman's De arte natandi, 1538. 12mo, bound in full 19th century calf with gilt titles and tooling the spine, gilt ruling to the panels, gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers, engraved frontispiece. In very good condition. Exceptionally rare with only a handful of copies having appeared at auction in the past century.
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 125337
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“THE GREATEST HISTORICAL WORK EVER WRITTEN”: Rare complete first edition set of Edward Gibbon's masterpiece The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
GIBBON, Edward .
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
London: Printed for W. Strahan; and T. Cadell, In The Strand, 1776-1788.
First edition, first state of Gibbon's "masterpiece of historical penetration and literary style" (PMM). Quarto, six volumes, bound in modern half calf over marbled boards by Bayntun-Riviere with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, gilt ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, all edges speckled red, engraved frontispiece portrait of Gibbon by John Hall after Sir Joshua Reynolds in Vol. II, three engraved folding maps, half-titles in vols. I-III and V, all 4 errata leaves (lacking half-titles in vols. IV and VI, vol. I with half-title. Strahan predicted the popularity of Gibbon's History and doubled the print run…
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 145050
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THE FIRST JEWISH TRANSLATION OF THE PENTATEUCH INTO ENGLISH
LEESER, Isaac.
The Law of God.
Philadelphia: C. Sherman, 5605, 1845-46.
First edition of the “first English translation of the Pentateuch in America,” the 1845 Hebrew-English Bible by one of the most prominent and influential figures in American Jewish history. Octavo, 5 volumes. Translated by Isaac Leeser. Bound in contemporary polished calf, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, rebacked. Lightly rubbed, moderate wear. A very nice example of a scarce and important work.
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 49020
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“I know who I am and who I may be, if I choose": Deluxe illustrated Ibarra Edition of Don Quixote
CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, Miguel de.
El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha: Nueva Edicion, Corregida Por La Real Academia Española.
Madrid: Don Joaquin Ibarra, 1780.
The deluxe illustrated Ibarra edition of Cervantes' masterpiece "which is to Spanish literature what Shakespeare is to English" (Bloom). Quartos, 4 volumes. Bound in full contemporary Spanish tree calf with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, red and black morocco spine labels, elaborate double gilt-ruled borders, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, engraved frontispiece to each volume and 31 engraved plates throughout, 2-page folding engraved map of Don Quixote's travels to the rear of volume 1. Spanish printer Joaquín Ibarra made several important technical developments in press printing, book-making, typography and paper-making. In his printed work, Ibarra sought to achieve a…
Price: $22,000.00 Item Number: 96554
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“I know who I am and who I may be, if I choose": Deluxe illustrated Ibarra Edition of Don Quixote
CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, Miguel de .
El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha: Nueva Edicion, Corregida Por La Real Academia Española.
Madrid: Don Joaquin Ibarra, 1780.
The deluxe illustrated Ibarra edition of Cervantes' masterpiece. Quartos, 4 volumes. Bound in full 19th century green morocco with central motif and cornerpieces stamped in blind to the panels, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, elaborate double-ruled gilt borders, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, engraved frontispiece to each volume and 31 engraved plates throughout, 2-page folding engraved map of Don Quixote's travels to the rear of volume 1. Spanish printer Joaquín Ibarra made several important technical developments in press printing, book-making, typography and paper-making. In his printed work, Ibarra sought to achieve a perfect flow of harmonious type, inks, illustration,…
Price: $22,000.00 Item Number: 97654
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Rare First Edition of Richard Baxter's A Treatise of Conversion
BAXTER, Richard.
A Treatise of Conversion.
London: Printed by R. W. for Nevel Simmons, 1657.
Rare first edition of this book on conversion by one of the chief pioneers of English Protestantism, and also revered in the United States for his contributions to the cause of evangelism. Octavo, bound in three quarters leather over boards, morocco spine label. In very good condition, owner name to the preliminary blank and he has also used this to delineate all the authors in Bells English Poets; the rear blank pages, and these contain notes, by the same reader, on the main religious and philosophical works to read Exceptionally rare with no copies appearing at auction in over 80…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 123511
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"Love, Jerry Salinger": Scarce autograph note signed and entirely in the hand of J.D. Salinger; signed by him two months and two days before he saw combat at Utah Beach on D-Day
SALINGER, J.D.
J.D. Salinger Autograph Letter Signed.
1944.
Scarce autograph note signed by J.D. Salinger on April 4, 1944, two months and two days before he saw combat at Utah Beach on D-Day. One page from an oblong octavo autograph album bound in full leather, the note is dated 4/4/44 and reads, "Dear Molly - I just don't have anything bright to say. But I'd like to send you some of my work, and I'd like to take you to a nice place in London where we might get pretty drunk and mellow. Maybe later in The War or after. I'd like that. You remind me of very…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 117208
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“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past": First Editions of the Novels of George Orwell; Finely Bound by the Harcourt Bindery
ORWELL, George.
The Novels of George Orwell: Including, Burmese Days; A Clergyman’s Daughter; Animal Farm; Nineteen Eighty-Four; Coming Up For Air; Keeping the Aspidistra Flying.
London: Various Publishers, 1934-56.
First editions of the novels of George Orwell. Octavo, 6 volumes, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt inner dentelles stamp-signed by the Harcourt Bindery, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. An exceptional set, rare and desirable.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 147631
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"BY FAR THE BEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN ABOUT AMERICA”: RARE FIRST EDITION OF TOCQUEVILLE’S MASTERPIECE DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA
TOCQUEVILLE, Alexis Charles Henri Clérel. Translated by Henry Reeve.
Democracy in America.
London: Saunders and Otley, 1835.
First edition in English of Tocqueville’s magnum opus. Octavo, 2 volumes, bound in three quarters period calf over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled, half-titles, folding engraved map. I very good condition. At attractive contemporary binding.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 132164
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The Collected Works of Joseph Conrad; first editions of each volume finely bound in full morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe
CONRAD, Joseph.
The Collected Works of Joseph Conrad. [Almayer’s Folly, An Outcast of the Islands, The Nigger of “Narcissus”, Tales of Unrest, Lord Jim, The Inheritors, Youth: and Two Other Stories, Romance, Typhoon and Other Stories, Nostromo, The Mirror of the Sea, The Secret Agent, A Set of Six, Under Western Eyes, Some Reminiscences, ‘Twist Land & Sea Tales, Chance, Victory, Within the Tides, The Shadow Line, The Arrow of Gold, On Day More, The Rescue].
London: Various Publishers, 1895-1920.
Rare finely bound first edition collection of the writings of Joseph Conrad including a first issue of Almayer's Folly. Octavo, 23 volumes bound in full crushed crimson levant morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt banes, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers, ribbons bound in. Each volume is a first edition with the original cloth covers and spines bound in at the rear of each volume (with the exception of Almayer's Folly and Tales of Unrest). In near fine condition. A stunning set. Rare…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 118074
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Volume LI of Harvard University's Review of Economics and Statistics containing Robert Merton's Lifetime Portfolio Selection Under Uncertainty; inscribed by him to fellow Nobel prize-winning economist Kenneth J. Arrow
MERTON, Robert C. [Kenneth Arrow].
The Review of Economics and Statistics: Lifetime Portfolio Selection Under Uncertainty.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1969.
Volume LI of Harvard University's Review of Economics and Statistics containing Robert Merton's Lifetime Portfolio Selection Under Uncertainty: The Continuous-Time Case, which introduced the concepts of continuous-time optimization later featured in his landmark work Continuous-Time Finance. Quarto, bound in full morocco with gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panel, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. Association copy, inscribed twice by Robert C. Merton to fellow economist Kenneth J, Arrow on the table of contents page referencing his work, "For Ken, Robert Merton February 26, 2010" and on…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 127335
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“I know who I am and who I may be, if I choose": Deluxe illustrated Ibarra Edition of Don Quixote
CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, Miguel de .
El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha: Nueva Edicion, Corregida Por La Real Academia Española.
Madrid: Don Joaquin Ibarra, 1780.
The deluxe illustrated Ibarra edition of Cervantes' masterpiece "which is to Spanish literature what Shakespeare is to English" (Bloom). Quartos, 4 volumes. Bound in full contemporary Spanish tree calf with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, red morocco spine labels, gilt ruled borders, marbled endpapers, all edges green, engraved frontispiece to each volume and 31 engraved plates throughout, 2-page folding engraved map of Don Quixote's travels to the rear of volume 1. Spanish printer Joaquín Ibarra made several important technical developments in press printing, book-making, typography and paper-making. In his printed work, Ibarra sought to achieve a perfect flow of…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 96763
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First Edition of The Second Part of Cervantes' Masterpiece the History of the Valorous and Witty Knight-Errant, Don Quixote of the Mancha
CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, Miguel de.
Second Part of The History of the Valorous and Witty Knight-Errant, Don Quixote of the Mancha.
London: Printed for Edward Blount, 1620.
First edition of the second part of Cervantes' masterpiece in English. Oblong duodecimo, bound in half leather over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, black and green morocco spine labels. In near fine condition, lacking the engraved title with several words faintly missing on p. 160 [an original printing flaw], slight trimming to the bottom lines of the first signature, and a bookplate to the front pastedown. An exceptional presentation.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 145724
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"War is the continuation of politics by other means": Scarce First Edition of arguably the most important treatise on political-military analysis and strategy ever written; Carl von Clausewitz's On War
VON CLAUSEWITZ, Carl Philipp Gottfried.
Vom Kriege. Hinterlassenes Werk. [On War].
Berlin: Ferdinand Dümmler, 1832-34.
Scarce first edition of arguably the most important treatise on political-military analysis and strategy ever written. Octavo, three volumes bound in contemporary half cloth over marbled boards with gilt titles and ruling to the spine. In near fine condition with light rubbing to the extremities.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 123578
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Rare first edition of N.H. Purple's A Compilation of the Statutes of the State of Illinois; from the Lincoln-Herndon Law Office Library with Herndon's ownership signature for the firm to both volumes
PURPLE, N. H. [Abraham Lincoln; William Herndon].
A Compilation of the Statutes of the State of Illinois, of a General Nature, In Force January 1, 1856. Collated with Reference to Decisions of the Supreme Court of Said State, and to Prior Laws Relating to the Same Subject Matter.
Chicago: Published by Keen & Lee, 1856.
First edition of Purple's Statutes from the law library of Abraham Lincoln and William Herndon. Large octavo, 2 volumes, bound in full contemporary calf with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt. With Herndon's ownership signature on behalf of the firm to the front pastedown of Vol. I, "A. Lincoln W. Herndon Lincoln & Herndon Springfield" and Vol. II, "Lincoln-Herndon." Additionally with what are likely Lincoln's scribbles to several pages including page 531 and 590-591. Lincoln was known to doodle in squiggly lines in his books and papers; in 2006 David Greenberg published Presidential Doodles: Two Centuries of Scribbles, entirely devoted…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 124498
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Signed Limited Edition of Winston Churchill's Marlborough: His Life and Times; one of only 155 numbered copies signed by Winston Churchill and in the publisher's full gilt-decorated morocco
CHURCHILL, Winston S.
Marlborough: His Life and Times.
London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd, 1933.
Signed limited edition of Churchill's magisterial biography of his notable ancestor John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough; Churchill's only work produced as a signed limited edition. Quarto, 4 volumes in the original publisher's full morocco bound by Leighton-Straker with gilt Marlborough family crest to the front panel of each volume, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers, illustrated with hundreds of maps and plans (many folding), plates and document facsimiles. One of one hundred and fifty-five numbered copies signed by the author of which one hundred and five were…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 144252
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"When you come to observe faithfully the changes of each humblest plant, you find that each has sooner or later its peculiar autumnal tint, or tints": The Manuscript Edition of The Writings of Henry David Thoreau; In the Original Binding
THOREAU, Henry David.
The Manuscript Edition of The Writings of Henry David Thoreau.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1906.
The manuscript edition of the writings of Henry David Thoreau. With the original manuscript sheet by Thoreau from his journal tipped-in to volume 1. The two page manuscript fragment comprises 58 lines from "Autumnal Tints," in altered form, published in the Atlantic Monthly, October 1862, and collected in Excursions the following year. The fragment concludes with the line containing the title phrase: "When you come to observe faithfully the changes of each humblest plant, you find that each has sooner or later its peculiar autumnal tint, or tints [...]." Octavo, 20 volumes. Bound in the publisher's three-quarter green morocco over…
Price: $18,500.00 Item Number: 97590
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“THE MOST AMBITIOUS PUBLICATION EVER UNDERTAKEN, UP TO THAT TIME, UPON AMERICAN SOIL… RICHLY DESERVING OF ITS GREAT REPUTATION AT HOME AND ABROAD”: First edition of Noah Webster's landmark American Dictionary of the English Language
WEBSTER, Noah.
An American Dictionary of the English Language.
New York: Published by S. Converse. Printed by Hezekiah Howe - New Haven, 1828.
First edition of pioneering lexicographer Noah Webster's monumental American Dictionary, arguably the most popular American book ever published and one of only 2500 copies printed. Thick quarto, bound in three quarter polished calf over marbled boards with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, engraved portrait of Webster after Samuel F.B. Morse, unpaginated text in triple columns, pages untrimmed and hence a copy once in boards, the 44 preliminary leaves in Vol. I containing Webster's preface on the history of the dictionary, his introductory dissertation, "on the origin, history and connection of the languages of western Asia and of Europe. With…
Price: $18,500.00 Item Number: 143614
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THE FIRST JEWISH TRANSLATION OF THE PENTATEUCH INTO ENGLISH
LEESER, Isaac.
The Law of God.
Philadelphia: C. Sherman, 5605, 1845-46.
First edition of the “first English translation of the Pentateuch in America,” the 1845 Hebrew-English Bible by one of the most prominent and influential figures in American Jewish history. Octavo, 5 volumes. Translated by Isaac Leeser. Bound in full contemporary calf, gilt titles and tooling to the spine. In near fine condition. A nice example, rare in contemporary binding.
Price: $18,500.00 Item Number: 78547