Goldoni, Carlo

Delle Commedie Del Signor Carlo Goldoni Avvocato Veneto. Pere servire di continuazione al Nuovo Teatro Comico Del Medesimo Autore.

Bologna : A. S. Tommaso d'Aquino, 1762-1765.

Rare eighteenth century Italian printing of Goldoni’s Commedie. Octavo, two volumes bound in full vellum. In good condition. A rare printing published during Goldoni’s lifetime.

Plato; Translated by Floyer Sydenham

Plato’s Dialogues.

London : W. Sandby, 1767-1779.

First edition set contains all eleven parts, although without all the individual dated titles. Part one is signed on the dedication page by the translator Floyer Sydenham as usual, and includes a sheet laid in with manuscript instructions to the binder. Quarto, three volumes, bound in contemporary full calf, armorial bookplate. Dated title pages inContinue reading "Plato’s Dialogues."

Voltaire (Arouet, François-Marie)

Voyages et Aventures d’une Princesse Babylonienne [The Princess of Babylon].

Geneve 1768.

First edition of one of Voltaire’s best-known works of prose. Octavo, original full period calf, gilt titles to the spine, red morocco spine label, raised bands, marbled endpapers. In good condition. Rare and desirable.

Boccaccio, Giovanni

Novelle Ventotto.

Padua : Giuseppe Comino, 1769.

Eighteenth century edition of Giovanni Boccaccio’s twenty-eighth novella from his ‘Decameron.’ Octavo, original full vellum, engraved frontispiece portrait of Boccaccio. In very good condition with light toning to the front and rear panel, rubbing to the spine.

Boccaccio, Giovanni

Del Decamerone.

Tuscany : Giovanni Ghiara, 1770.

Finely bound edition of Giovanni Boccaccio’s masterpiece. Octavo, five volumes, original full contemporary vellum with morocco labels and gilt titles to the spine, patterned endpapers, all edges marbled, original emerald silk ribbons, frontispiece portrait of Boccaccio to Vol. I. In very good condition to near fine condition with some toning to the boards, a closedContinue reading "Del Decamerone."

The Book of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments, and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, According to the Use of the Church of England: Together with the Psalter or Psalms of David, Pointed as they are to be sung or said in Churches.

Cambridge : Printed by John Archdeacon, 1771.

Rare 18th century Book of Common Prayer. Small octavo, bound in full contemporary calf tie gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, double gilt ruing and cornerpieces to the front and rear panels, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. In very good condition. Ownership inscriptions. Desirable in a contemporary binding.

Voltaire (Arouet, François-Marie)

Vie de Moliere.

Lausanne : Chez Francois Grasset & Comp, 1772.

Early edition of Voltaire’s biography of one of the most influential and widely translated writers of all time. Octavo, bound in full sprinkled sheepskin. Gilt titles and tooling to the spine, pictorial endpapers, all edges red, ribbon bound in. In very good condition with some rubbing to the extremities. Tasteful period bookplate.

[Gozzi, Gasparo]

La Vittoria D’Amore Poema. Pubblicato In Occasione de Gloriosi Sponsali Dell’ Eccellenze Loro Il Signor Cavaliere Francesco Morosini P. e la Nobil Donna Loredana Grimani. [The Victory Of Love Poem].

Venezia : Presso Modesto Fenzo, 1772.

Rare 18th century Venetian printing of La Vittoria D’Amore. Quarto, bound in hand painted paper-covered wrappers, illustrated with engravings including frontispiece. In near fine condition. Small bookplate.

Stanhope, Eugenia

Letters Written by the Late Right Honourable Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, to His Son, Philip Stanhope, Esq; Together with Several Other Pieces on Various Subjects.

London : Printed for J. Dodsley, 1774.

First edition of one of the great classics of English letters. Quarto, period quarter calf over marbled boards with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, engraved portrait frontispiece. Second state of volume one, page 55 (line 16 corrected to “qui auroit”). From the library of Sir Edwyn Francis Stanhope with his bookplate to the pastedownContinue reading "Letters Written by the Late Right Honourable Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, to His Son, Philip Stanhope, Esq; Together with Several Other Pieces on Various Subjects."

Sterne, Laurence

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy.

London : T. Becket, 1777.

Finely bound set of Sterne’s Tristram Shandy. Octavo, 6 volumes, bound in contemporary full polished brown calf, black morocco spine labels, smooth spines with gilt rules and decorations, marbled endpapers. Frontispiece in volume one after Hogarth. In near fine condition.

Swift, Jonathan [Robert R. Livingstone]

The Works of Jonathan Swift: Including, Gulliver’s Travels.

Edinburgh : Printed by Mrs. Mundell, 1778.

First of 4 issues, Scotch editions, from the library of Robert R. Livingstone, with his bookplate to the pastedown of each volume. Small octavo, bound in contemporary calf, spine compartments ruled with Greek key tooling, morocco spine labels. From the library of founding father Robert R. Livingston. As one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, LivingstonContinue reading "The Works of Jonathan Swift: Including, Gulliver’s Travels."

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 toContinue reading "El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha: Nueva Edicion, Corregida Por La Real Academia Española."

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 andContinue reading "El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha: Nueva Edicion, Corregida Por La Real Academia Española."

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,Continue reading "El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha: Nueva Edicion, Corregida Por La Real Academia Española."

Scott, John

The Poetical Works of John Scott Esq.

London : Printed for J. Buckland, 1782.

First edition of John Scott’s collected poems. Octavo, bound in full mottled calf with elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, illustrated with 14 engravings including 2 by William Blake, engraved frontispiece and pictorial title page, rebacked. In very goodContinue reading "The Poetical Works of John Scott Esq."

Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de

El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha: Nueva Edicion, Corregida Por La Real Academia Española.

Madrid : Don Joaquin Ibarra, 1782.

The illustrated Ibarra edition of Cervantes’ masterpiece “which is to Spanish literature what Shakespeare is to English” (Bloom). Octavo, 4 volumes, written in spanish, bound in full speckled calf with gilt titles and tooling to the spines in six compartments within raised gilt bands, red and black morocco spine labels, gilt ruling to the frontContinue reading "El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha: Nueva Edicion, Corregida Por La Real Academia Española."

Euripides; Translated by Robert Potter

The Tragedies of Euripides.

London : J. Dodsley, 1783.

First translation of Euripides into English, translated by Robert Potter, from his own library. Octavo, two volumes, bound in contemporary leather, engraved frontispiece to volume I, list of subscribers. The translator’s own copy with his inscription, “From the Library of the Rev Robert Potter, M.A., Rector of Lowestoft from 1789 to 1804” to volume one ofContinue reading "The Tragedies of Euripides."

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques

The Confessions of J.J. Rousseau: With the Reveries of the Solitary Walker.

London : Printed for J. Bew, 1783.

Rare first edition in English of the author’s classic work. Duodecimo, 2 volumes, bound in three-quarters contemporary calfskin over marbled boards with gilt titles and ruling to the spine in five compartments within raised bands, morocco spine labels. In very good condition, signatures to the front pastedowns.

Caesar, Gaius Julius

Commentaires de César, avec des Notes Historiques, Critiques et Militaires [Caesar’s Comments, with Historical, Critical and Military Notes].

Paris : A Montargis, 1785.

First edition edited and translated by Lancelot Turpin de Crissé. Quarto, three volumes, bound in full contemporary calf, morocco spine labels, gilt titles to the spine, engraved title pages, two portraits and 40 folding plates, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers. In near fine condition. An exceptional example.

[Goldsmith, Oliver]

The History of Little Good Twoshoes; Otherwise Called Mrs. Margery Twoshoes.

Worcester, Massachusetts : Isaiah Thomas, 1787.

First Worcester edition of the famed fable. 16mo, original wrappers, illustrated with 8 engraved plates, terminal advertisements. In very good condition. From the library of noted collector and philanthropist Estelle Doheny with her bookplate to the folding chemise case. Housed in a custom full morocco and folding chemise case.

Johnson, James [Editor]; Robert Burns [Contributor]

The Scots Musical Museum, Humbly Dedicated to the Catch Club. Instituted at Edinr. June 1771.

Edinburgh : James Johnson, 1787 and 1790.

First edition, first issue of this influential collection of traditional folk music of Scotland. Octavo, two volumes comprised of volumes one and three out of six, bound in full contemporary calf with gilt ruling to the spines, vignettes to the title pages, engraved throughout with musical stanzas. Presentation copy, inscribed by Robert Burns on theContinue reading "The Scots Musical Museum, Humbly Dedicated to the Catch Club. Instituted at Edinr. June 1771."

Hayley, William

The Triumphs of Temper; A Poem: In Six Cantos.

London : Printed For T. Cadell, 1788.

Finely bound sixth edition of Hayley’s popular work. 16mo, bound in full contemporary calf, elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panel, gilt-ruled turn ins, marbled endpapers, illustrated with fine engraved plates by Stothard. Elegant period ownership inscriptions.

Goldsmith, Oliver; Edmund Burke; Sir H. Walpole; et al

A Collection of Poems, Mostly Original, by Several Hands.

Dublin : Printed for the Editor by M. Graisberry, 1789.

First edition of this rare collection of early English literature. Octavo, bound in full calf, elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers, ribbon bound in, illustrated with engraved vignettes, lists of subscribers. In near fine condition. An attractive binding.    

Boccaccio, Giovanni

Il Filostrato, Poema.

Paris : Presso Franc. Ambr. Didot Il Miaggiore, 1789.

Eighteenth century edition of this marvelous narrative poem. Octavo, bound in three quarter contemporary brown calf over blue marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, marbled endpapers, original silk ribbon laid in. In good condition with rubbing to the extremities, spine, front and rear panels, some loss to the calf binding andContinue reading "Il Filostrato, Poema."