Lesage, Alain-René

Histoire De Gil Blas De Santillane, Par Lesage.

Paris : De L'Imprimerie De Didot Jeune, n.d.

Finely bound example of Lesage’s famed picaresque novel. Octavo, four volumes bound in three quarter crushed levant morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers, illustrated with engravings by the best artists of Paris. In fine condition. A beautifulContinue reading "Histoire De Gil Blas De Santillane, Par Lesage."

Grahame, Kenneth

The Golden Age.

London : Thomas Nelson & Sons, c. 1920.

Finely bound example of the author of Wind and the Willows, Kenneth Grahame’s collection of short stories for children. Small octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over cloth covered boards with gilt tooling to the spine, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, engraved frontispiece, top edge gilt. In very good condition.

Ethiopian Coptic Ge’ez Bible.

Ethiopia C. 18th Century.

Rare illustrated Ethiopian Coptic Ge’ez Bible. Duodecimo, bound in full leather with elaborate tooling stamped in blind to the front and rear panels, parchment manuscript in black and red ink, with six full-page hand-painted miniatures depicting the Annunciation, the Madonna and child, Saint George slaying the dragon, Michael striking down Lucifer, Saint Tekle Haymanot ofContinue reading "Ethiopian Coptic Ge’ez Bible."

Ethiopian Coptic Ge’ez Bible.

Ethiopia C. 18th Century.

Rare illustrated Ethiopian Coptic Ge’ez Bible. Small octavo, bound in full leather, parchment manuscript in black and red ink, illustrated with full-page hand-painted miniatures. Some writings and aged hand-stitched repairs throughout. Housed in the original leather chemise case with leather carrying handle,

Milnes, Richard Monckton. [The Right Honorable Lord Houghton]

Opening Address by Lord Houghton, President of the Society.

c. 1873.

Rare first edition of Lord Houghton’s Opening Address before the Norwich Congress of the Social Science Association. Octavo, bound in three quarters contemporary calf over marbled boards, gilt titles to the spine. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “with the best regards of Houghton.” In very good condition.

Boccaccio, Giovanni

Il Decameron Di Messer Giovanni Boccacci, Tratto dall’ ottimo Testo scritto Da Francesco D’Amaretto Mannelli Sull’Originale Dell’Autor.

1813 : Vitarelli, Venezia.

Finely bound 19th century Venetian printing of Boccaccio’s masterpiece. 12mo, five volumes bound in full straight grain morocco with gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in five compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, ribbons bound in,Continue reading "Il Decameron Di Messer Giovanni Boccacci, Tratto dall’ ottimo Testo scritto Da Francesco D’Amaretto Mannelli Sull’Originale Dell’Autor."

Hooker, Richard

Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Politie. [Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity].

London : Printed by William Standbye, [1622].

Early printing of this important work by the influential English theologian. Quarto, quarter morocco with gilt titles and ruling to the spine in seven compartments within raised bands, red morocco spine label lettered in gilt, engraved title, divisional titles, and woodcut initials. In very good condition. Bookplate and period ownership inscription. Rare.

Amishah Umshei Torah, Im Haft Arot Le-Khol Ha-Shanah. [Hebrew Chumash/The Pentateuch].

Tel Aviv : Hotsa at Sinai, c. 1950.

Rare Hebrew Chumash containing the Five Books of Moses, blessings before and after the Haftarah, and accents according to the Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Italian rites. 32mo, five volumes, original cloth with gilt titles and decorations to the spine, text in Hebrew. The word chumash refers to one of the five books of the Torah, whichContinue reading "Amishah Umshei Torah, Im Haft Arot Le-Khol Ha-Shanah. [Hebrew Chumash/The Pentateuch]."

Hardy, Thomas

The Works of Thomas Hardy. [Including Far from the Madding Crowd; Desperate Remedies; The Return of the Native.]

Chicago and New York : Rand, McNally & Company, c. 1900.

The Rand, McNally & Company edition of books by Thomas Hardy. Octavo, five volumes bound in the original publisher’s cloth with gilt titles to the spines and front panels, top edge gilt. In very good to good condition, bookplates to the front pastedowns of ‘Desperate Remedies’ and ‘Mayor of Casterbridge’.

Kipling, Rudyard. Illustrated by J. Lockwood Kipling and W.H. Drake

The Jungle Books.

London : Macmillan, c. 1960.

Finely bound edition of both volumes of Kipling’s Jungle Books. Octavo, bound in full leather with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Illustrated by J. Lockwood Kipling, C.I.E., and W.H. Drake. In near fine condition. An exceptionalContinue reading "The Jungle Books."

French Book of Prayer.

Paris c. 1697.

Rare late 17th century Book of Prayer. Octavo, bound in one quarter vellum over speckled red boards with a hand painted coat of arms to the front panel, all edges red, illustrated with two engravings, text in French manuscript. Dedicated on the title page to Madame de Maintenon. In very good condition.

[Livingstone, David]

David Livingstone: The Great Missionary Explorer.

New York : The Walter Scott Publishing Co., Ltd, n.d. c. 1908.

Finely bound example of this anonymous work on the life of David Livingstone. Octavo, bound in full morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled, frontispiece. In near fineContinue reading "David Livingstone: The Great Missionary Explorer."

Ethiopian Coptic Ge’ez Bible.

Ethiopia C. 18th Century.

Rare illustrated Ethiopian Coptic Ge’ez Bible. Duodecimo, bound with twine between two wood blocks carved with ornate patterns and hand-painted miniatures to the verso of each board with depictions of the Crucifixion of Jesus and the Arrest of Jesus, parchment manuscript in black and red ink. The book measures 4.25 inches in height by inchesContinue reading "Ethiopian Coptic Ge’ez Bible."

Hardy, Thomas

Tess of the d’Urbervilles. [and] The Woodlanders. [and] The Well-Beloved.

New York : Harper & Brothers Publishers, c. 1904-1905.

Finely bound editions of Thomas Hardy’s famous works. Octavo, original pictorial cloth, tissue-guarded frontispieces, with black and white illustrations in Tess of the d’Urbervilles, and a map of Wessex to the rear of The Well-Beloved. In very good condition, ownership signatures to the front free endpapers of Tess of the d’Urbervilles and The Woodlanders, bookplateContinue reading "Tess of the d’Urbervilles. [and] The Woodlanders. [and] The Well-Beloved."

Kipling, Rudyard; Illustrated by W. Heath Robinson.

A Song of the English.

London : Hodder & Stoughton, c. 1909.

Signed limited edition of Kipling’s collection of songs of the seas and cities, elaborately illustrated by W. Heath Robinson. Quarto, original publisher’s full pictorial vellum decorated in gilt, top edge gilt with others untrimmed, illustrated with 30-tipped in plates with captioned tissue guards and numerous in-text illustrations. One of 500 numbered copies signed by theContinue reading "A Song of the English."

Fitzgerald, Edward. With illustrations by Edmund Dulac

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.

London : Hodder and Stoughton, c. 1910.

Exceptionally rare bound in jewelled binding, set with 37 jewels by Sangorski & Sutcliffe. Quarto, reproduced from a manuscript illuminated by F. Sangorski  G. & Sutcliffe, with miniatures after E. Geddes, original red straight-grained morocco, upper cover with central sunken oval green morocco panel and a Peacock with light green, blue, white, and brown moroccoContinue reading "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam."

Schedel, Hartmann

Liber Chronicarum. [The Nuremberg Chronicle].

Nuremberg : Anton Koberger for Sebald Schreyer and Sebastian Kammermeister, 12 July 1493.

Exceptionally rare colored example of the first edition of the Nuremberg Chronicle, the most extensively illustrated book of the 15th century. Imperial folio, bound in full 17th-century pigskin over bevelled wooden boards with elaborate blind tooling and scrolling to the spine and panels, brass cornerpieces, 2 fore-edge clasps, 325 leaves (of 328, without blank 55/6Continue reading "Liber Chronicarum. [The Nuremberg Chronicle]."

Schedel, Hartmann

Liber Chronicarum. [The Nuremberg Chronicle].

Nuremberg : Anton Koberger for Sebald Schreyer and Sebastian Kammermeister, 1493.

First edition of the Nuremberg Chronicle, the most extensively illustrated book of the 15th century, from the St. Petersburg library of William Tooke. Imperial folio, bound in three quarter calf over paper-covered boards, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, five gilt-tooled raised bands, rebacked, decorated with 1809 woodcut illustrationsContinue reading "Liber Chronicarum. [The Nuremberg Chronicle]."

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 hisContinue reading "Odissea Per Raphaelem Volaterranum in Latinum Conversa (The Odyssey of Homer translated by Raphael of Volterra in Latin)."

Aristotle; Antonio Andreas. Edited by Walter Burley and Robert Grosseteste

Analytica Posteriora [bound with] Quaestiones super XII libros Metaphysicae Aristotelis.

Venice : Gregorium de Gregorijs, 1514.

Rare 16th century printing of Aristotle’s Posterior Analytics; bound together with Spanish Franciscan theologian Antonius Andreas’s best known work, Quaestiones super XII libros Metaphysicae Aristotelis. Quarto, bound in contemporary parchment over handmade paper-covered boards, woodcut initials, text in two columns. In very good condition. A rare and desirable collection.

Aristotle

Aristoteles de Animalibus.

Venetiis : Octaviani Scoticiuis, 1525.

Rare early 16th century Venetian printing of Aristotle’s pioneering work on zoology which had a powerful influence on zoology for over two thousand years. Folio, bound in full vellum, illustrated with woodcut initials. In very good condition. Deaccessioned from the Harvard College Library with their stamps and bookplate.

Aristotle

Logica: Aristotelis Ex Tertia Recognitione. Libri Logicorumad Archetypos Recogniti.

Parisiis : Petri Vidouei, 1531.

Rare 16th century French printing of Aristotle’s third book of logic. Folio, bound in full vellum, elaborate woodcut vignette-border title-page, illustrated with numerous in-text woodcut diagrams, and woodcut initials. Ownership inscriptions, including that of American philosopher Allan Gotthelf. Gotthelf received many honors for his work on Aristotle, including in 2004 an international conference on “AristotleContinue reading "Logica: Aristotelis Ex Tertia Recognitione. Libri Logicorumad Archetypos Recogniti."

Aristotle. Translated by Theodoro Gaza

Aristotelis De Historia Animalium Libri. IX. [Bound with] De Partibus Animalium, & Earu Causis, Libri IIII; De Generatione Animalium Libri V; Hoc Volumine Continentur.

Parisiis : Ex officina Prigentii Caluarini ad Geminas Cyppas in Clauso Brunello, 1542.

Rare 16th century French printing of Aristotle’s pioneering work on zoology which had a powerful influence on zoology for over two thousand years. Octavo, bound in full polished calf, engraved title pages. Rebacked. In very good condition.

Erasmus, Desiderius. Translated by Sir Thomas Chaloner

In Praise of Folie: Moriae Encomium. A book made in latine by the great clerke Erasmus Roterodame. Enlightened by Sir Thomas Chaloner, knight. [In Praise of Folly].

London : Thomas Berthelet, 1549.

First edition in English of one of the most notable and popular works of the Renaissance which played an important role in the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation and swiftly brought its author international fame. First printing with ‘latine’ and the printer’s initials ‘TB.’ to the title page. Octavo, bound in full crushed levant moroccoContinue reading "In Praise of Folie: Moriae Encomium. A book made in latine by the great clerke Erasmus Roterodame. Enlightened by Sir Thomas Chaloner, knight. [In Praise of Folly]."