Selections from our Collection

Hieronymus; Epistolae. [Letters; Volume II; Recension of Adrianus Brielis].  (Saint Jerome; ca. 340-420). Mainz: Peter Schoeffer, 7 September 1470. Issue b. Printed on vellum (163 leaves of the Second Volume). The Perckheimer-Earl of Arundel-Duke of Norfolk-Royal Society of London copy. Size of binding: 12 1/4 in. x 18 in. x 2 1/2 in. (thick). 163 leaves of the 210 leaves of the Second Volume, beginning with Distinctione 7, (with some breaks in sequence noted), with the blank verso present, and the colophon leaf with the double-shield printer’s mark. Printed on vellum, with red rubric headings; colophon and Fust-Schoeffer double-shield device, also printed in red; in double columns, in 56 lines; type 5:118G. A finely drawn initial letter P, in light blue on the first page, with several gold initials present, and many, various sized, hand-painted initial letters in red, light blue, light green; other rubrications, paragraph headings added in red or blue. Re-backed with a maroon morocco leather spine, with gilt bands, and gilt-lettered titling: S. HIERONYMI EPISTOLAE MAGUNTIAE PETRUS SCHOEFFER PRINTED ON VELLUM 1470; with the earlier, dark brown, polished leather-covered boards, preserved, with gilt-tooled corners, and double-line borders around the cover margins, edges and inner leather turn-ins. All edges gilt; marbled paper end-papers. The lower margin of the first printed vellum leaf bears the Latin stamp of The Royal Society of London, which is repeated in reverse on the second paper flyleaf, which also bears an early bibliographical citation in ink. A stain on the front of the third printed leaf, a few small natural imperfections, or repairs to the vellum margins, light, age-related dusting to the front of the first page, the colophon page, some upper corners or margins. This is issue b. Vellum copies are considered as much rarer than the paper copies. Overall, a clean, and handsomely printed book. Provenance: Perckheimer/Pirckheimer; The Earl of Arundel; The Duke of Norfolk; The Royal Society of London; Renbach/Fleming. Hain: 8553*-8554; Proctor: 91-92; Polain 1947; BMC I 27 (IC 150); Stillwell: Second Census (1940); H152, p. 244. Goff: H-165. Weight: 13 lbs.
$175,000.00

Liber Chronicarum. The Nuremberg Chronicle. Schedel, Hartmann. Nuremberg. Anton Koberger for Sebald Schreyer and Sebastian Kammermeister 1493 Fine. 1st Edition. Folio. Size of binding: 12 in. x 17 ¼ in. (30.48 cm x 43.8 cm); Size of pages: 11 7/8 in. x 16 9/16 in. (30.16 cm. x. 42.06 cm.) [20 ff.] 300 ff. (last one unnumbered); 6 ff. numbered by hand in pencil. The six folios following the 300 are unnumbered, and consist of one blank folio and five folios with the printed Supplement. This is a tall copy with wide margins on all edges. First Latin edition with two contradictory colophons, the second of which gives the date of July 12, 1493 as the date of completion. This copy begins with an index (table) of 19 leaves, preceded by an impressively lettered title page printed by xylography. The book contains 1809 picture-prints (645 individual woodcuts and 1164 repetitions). There are 26 double-page engravings of views of cities; some of these were apparently based upon sketches made on the spot. Sixty-nine other views of cities are based upon 22 woodcuts. Prints of individuals number 598, based on 96 different woodcuts. (This copy includes, unmarked, the famous portrait of “Pope Joan,” which was removed from or defaced in many copies. It appears on the verso of leaf CLXIX [169]). There is no indication on individual prints identifying the artists, but Michael Wolgemut, the well-known teacher of Albrecht Durer, and his stepson, Wilhelm Pleydenwurff, are mentioned in the second colophon (folio CCC). A map of Europe and a map of the World are included. There are two colophons; the first, at folio 266, does not name the printer; it gives the date June 4th (1493). The second colophon is on the verso of (unnumbered) folio CCC, and gives the date of completion as July 12, 1493. Folios numbered 259-261 (CCLVIIII-CCLXI) are blank except for headlines. Full dark brown leather with six raised bands, gilt titling, blind-stamped designs in compartments; blind-stamped borders and designs on the covers. A small label reading “From Leighton’s London” appears in the lower right corner of the front paste-down. The first page of the index has an illuminated capital letter “A.”The initial letters in the index are finely and delicately illuminated in red and blue; the coloring is contemporary. Folio I shows a large, finely illuminated initial; rubrics are in red and blue throughout this copy. On the xylographic title page there appear additional titling in neat ink inscriptions. The headline on folio 193 (CXCIII) is cropped. Folio 98 (XCVIII) shows a tear to the lower right of the margin on the recto but there is no loss of paper and the text is not affected. These two are the only flaws found. In a cloth-covered, fleece-lined slipcase in fine condition. After the Gutenberg Bible, the Nuremberg Chronicle is the most celebrated book printed in the Fifteenth Century. It is a history of the world ab initio (from the beginning) and includes references to contemporary events such as a possible voyage in 1483 to the New World. THIS COPY IS EXTRAORDINARILY FINE; IT IS ALMOST ENTIRELY WITHOUT FLAWS, SECURELY BOUND.
$145,000.00

Warre, Captain H. Sketches; In North America And The Oregon Territory. London: Dickinson & Co., 1848  First edition Large folio; approx. size of the binding: 14 in. x 21 1/4 in., title-page; rare dedication page (to the Hudson’s Bay Company); pp. [1]-5. Illustrated with 20 colored lithographic views, on 16 sheets. These include: The American Village (OregonCity), Buffalo Hunting on the Western Prairies, FortVancouver, FortGeorge (Oregon), FortGarry (Winnipeg), and the map. This is the rare issue with the coloredSketches in North America and the Oregon Territory plates; in most copies these are lightly tinted in monochrome. The outline map shows routes in red and blue. In the original pebbled dark green cloth binding, with gilt lettered titling on the front cover: “Warre’s Sketches in North America.” Professionally re-backed. An impressive, fresh, clean copy, much better than usual. “Made in 1845, when war between England and the United States over the Oregon boundary seemed imminent, this trip by Capt. Warre across the northern Rockies to Puget Sound must have had some military purpose… a better fate attended the views he had painted and were here magnificently reproduced; they remain the only western color-plates comparable in beauty to those by Bodmer accompanying Maximilian’sTravels. The dedication forming prelim. pages 3 and 4 was not issued in all copies.” Howes, p. 615, W-114; Sabin 101455; Wagner-Camp 157.
$89,500.00

Audubon, John James; The Birds of America, from Drawings Made in the United States and Their Territories. New York: V. G. Audubon. R. Craighead, Electrotyper and Stereotyper, 1856. Six volumes (1 through 6) of seven. Second octavo edition. Tall octavos. Size of bindings: 6 3/4 in. x 10 1/2 in., illustrated with 420 hand-colored lithographic plates of birds, with colored backgrounds, with tissue guards (420 of 500). Olive green morocco leather (which has faded to brown) spine, sides and corner-pieces, with marbled-paper over boards, and matching marbled endpapers; bound by Ringer for A. C. McClurg & Co., with its stamp on the endpapers; featuring five raised bands on the spine with gilt titling; top-edges gilt. The cover corners show light wear, some scattered spotting to some text pages, some light, age-related tanning to a few of the plate margins. With the bookplates of Cleveland, Ohio-based book collector, William G. Mather (1857-1951) on the front marbled paste-downs. The coloring is quite bright and delicate, and very effective on the pastel colored backgrounds.
$24,000.00

Vidal, E[meric] E[ssex] (1778-1861). Picturesque Illustrations of Buenos Ayres and Monte Video, consisting of Twenty-four Views: Accompanied with Descriptions of the Scenery, and of the Costumes, Manners, &c. of the Inhabitants of Those Cities and Their Environs. London: Published by R. Ackermann, 101, Strand. Printed by L. Harrison, 373, Strand. M.DCCC.XX. [1820]. First edition. Elephant quarto-size edition; one of 750 copies. Size of the binding: 11 in. x 13 1/2 in., title-page; preface; introduction. xxviii, [1]-115 pp. With 24 magnificent hand colored aquatint plates by E. E.
Vidal, and engraved by Havell, Maile, Bluck & Sutherland. One plate features both the views of Montevideo & Buenos Aires harbors; four plates are folding (double-page); the frontispiece, “General View of Buenos Ayres,” is here bound in at page 63 with the descriptive essay. Bound in full, dark green cloth, skillfully re-backed, with portions of the gilt and embossed spine laid down, and gilt titling on the front cover; embossed floral designs on the covers, all edges gilt. The cover corners show some wear; a few plate images have the usual off-setting to the facing text pages, light age-related tanning to the page margins. The plates are generally clean, and with both fine and very delicate coloring; overall, a near fine copy. An important, early English color-plate travel book devoted to Argentina.  Tooley # 495; p. 394.
$17,500.00

Thornton, R.J.;  Temple of Flora or Garden of the Botanist, Poet, Painter and Philosopher. London: Published by Dr. Thornton. “Lottery Edition”, 1812. Small folio; size of the binding: 12 1/8 in. x 15 1/2 in., with the hand-color&nbsped aquatint frontispiece, the engraved title-pages, two uncolored, engraved plates, and the 28 colored engraved flower plates, that are finished by hand, including the Persian Cyclamen plate. (With vignette and two plates in stipple, and twenty-nine plates in colors). Bound in full, contemporary straight-grain red morocco, with five bands across the spine, and the spine richly gilt, with a geometric gilt design of single line borders , and blind-stamped tooling on the covers, marbled endpapers; all edges gilt. The cover corners show light wear. An exceptionally fine copy. With the Louise Ward Watkins (Anthony Euwer) bookplate inserted; and an early inscription on the front flyleaf: “C. Mackenzie From her dear Brother Sir Harry Niven Lumsden.” The color plates in this copy are clean and quite brightly colored. Flowers pictured include: Snowdrops, roses, hyacinths, tulips, lilies, carnations, Night-blooming cereus, dragon arum, rhododendron, Persian cyclamen, Passion flowers, begonia, Egyptian water lily, artichoke protea.
$29,500.00

Geographical, Historical, Political, Philosophical and Mechanical Essays. The First, Containing an Analysis of a General Map of the Middle British Colonies in America; And of the Country of the Confederate Indians. Evans, Lewis. Publisher: Philadelphia: Benjamin Franklin and D. Hall. 1755 4to. [1]-iv, 1-32 pages. Size of the binding: 7 in. x 9 3/8 in. Size of pages: 6 7/8 in. x 9 1/16 in. Three folding maps: (a) A Map of the Province of Pennsylvania, drawn from the best authorities by T. Kitchin, Gr.; printed for R. Baldwin in Pater Noster Row, 1756; size when opened: 10 ½ in. x 8 1/8; faces page 1; (b) A Map of the Eastern Part of the Province of New York with part of New Jersey &c, drawn from the best authorities by T. Kitchin, Geogr., printed for R. Baldwin in Pater Noster Row, 1756, engraved for The Lond. Mag., size when opened: 10 ½ in. x 8 1/8 in., at page 6; (c) a Map of Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Maryland with part of New Jersey &c, printed for R. Baldwin in Pater Noster Row, 1755, size when opened: 11 1/8 in. x 9 ¼ in.; at page 22. The lower margin of this map has a small split. First edition, first issue of the text with only the names of B. Franklin and D. Hall on the title page. (Miller “Benjamin Franklin’s Philadelphia Printing,” 605, at p. 330.) This copy does not have the large Lewis Evans map: “The (Evans) map…need not be considered an integral part of the Essay since copies of the map and the Essay were sold separately.” (Miller). This copy has bound-in the three maps as described above, two by Thomas Kitchin, a rival map publisher who pirated the large Evans map and republished it in 1756 in London. The two Kitchin maps in this copy were most likely based on the Evans map. Brown polished calf spine and sides with grey paper over boards. Imprinted on the front panel is “Printed by BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, Philadelphia, 1755.” A mounted printed paper label with the same statement appears on the front free endpaper. At the upper right-hand margin of the title page there is a skillful paper repair; a few lower page margins show trimming. On p. 17 the catchword is partially trimmed away. The binding shows light wear. Rosenbach states that this is one of the most desirable books published by Benjamin Franklin. The first edition, first state of the text is very rare. Since 1978 only three copies have been sold at auction.
$32,500.00

Twain, Mark (Samuel L. Clemens); Works: The Writings of Mark Twain. Autograph Edition. [Signed by Twain, and with a Manuscript page]. Twenty-five volumes; 5 ¾ in. x 8 ½ in. Volume One: The verso of the f.f.e.p. has the bookplate of William G. Mather (1857-1951), a Cleveland, Ohio-based industrialist and book collector. Bound in at this point is a tab reading “Original Autograph Manuscript Pages from The Gilded Age.” There are two manuscript pages: the first in Twain’s hand with some corrections and cross-outs; the second in the hand of Charles Dudley Warner, who was Twain’s collaborator for “The Gilded Age.” The verso of the half-title page in Volume One is the limitation page and states: “The Autograph Edition of Mark Twain’s Works is limited to Five Hundred and Twelve Copies, of which this is No. 4 [signed]: S.L. Clemens (Mark Twain).” This is followed by (1) an engraved portrait of Twain; (2) title-page of the set; (3) the title-page for the work in Volume I (“Innocents Abroad”) and (4) an essay entitled “Biographical Criticism” (pp. v-xxxiii), which is signed at the end by the author, Brander Matthews. All volumes are illustrated (some are photo-gravures); and some illustrations are signed. Presswork by The University Press, Cambridge. (1899-1907). Volume 10 of the set is the first volume of “The Gilded Age;” it has a limitation page reading the same as that in Volume I and is signed by Charles Dudley Warner (only). Bound in full, dark red-brown morocco leather by Pfister, with its stamp on the endpapers. With five raised bands on the spine gilt titling, and a gilt floral design on the spine and front covers, with doublures of green and dark red-brown morocco with a gilt design of floral sprays, gilt borders, gray silk endpapers; top-edges gilt. Some of the spine ends, outer hinges, or cover corners show light wear or rubbing to the leather; a few volumes show more wear. Near Fine.
$21,500.00

Bodoni, Giambattists; Manuale Tipografico. Parma, Italy: Pressa la Vedova. 1818.
In two volumes with a combined weight of 13.5 lbs. Size of bindings: 9 in. x 12 7/8 in. Size of pages: 8 ¾ in. x 12 3/8 in. Vol. I: 325 leaves, including half-title, frontispiece, title, introductory material, examples of typeface, and index. Vol. II: 280 leaves, including half-title, title, examples of typeface, and index. The frontispiece of Bodoni is an engraving by Rosaspina based on the portrait by Appiani.

The examples of typeface are printed on the recto only, except for the last one which is on the verso of leaf 278 in Volume II. Three folding leaves of musical notation are near the end of Vol. II. ORIGINAL ORANGE BOARDS with printed labels on the spine, untrimmed. Brown cloth-covered wrap-around cases with ties. A damp stain appears on the lower margin of the back inner cover of Volume I. Binding is rubbed, extremities somewhat worn. Rare in original boards. The text is without blemish, and in extraordinarily fine condition. Less than three hundred copies of this work were printed. A landmark in the art of typography, never duplicated. 
$40,000.00

Martin Lewis, Childe Hassam, John Taylor Arms, Frank W. Benson, Ernest D. Roth, Kerr Eby, Alfred Hutty, Philip Kappel, Arthur William Heintzelman, Troy Kinney and Louis C. Rosenberg, and George Elbert Burr. American Etchers, Vols. I-XII. Deluxe edition. New York and London by T. Spencer Hutson, The Crafton Collection Inc. and P. & D. Colnaghi & Co. 1929. Hardcover in Fine condition, no dust jacket. Signed by the illustrators. An edition limited to 75 copies. A complete set of the deluxe twelve printed

Martin Lewis’s Little Penthouse as found in Vol. XI of Etchers

volumes, published from 1929 to 1931. Each contains an original etching by the artist and twelve reproductions of other works by him; each original and each reproduction has a tissue guard; each original etching is signed (one is initialed) by the artist in pencil. Each volume contains an essay on the artist. From an edition limited to 75 copies. Each volume contains the original typed and notarized certificate of authenticity. Each has been opened to verify the presence of the original and the copies; the ribbons, seals, glassine wrappers, and certificates are present. Except for the etching in Volume X, the paper of which shows ripples, all etchings and all reproductions are fine, as are the bindings and text pages. Neither Volume I, Volume II, nor Volume XII has a box. Each of these three is wrapped in heavy brown paper as issued with a part of the red seal intact. Volume I is copy #2 of 75. Volume II is exactly like Volume I except it bears copy # 45. Volumes III to XI are housed in the original brown boxes. Each box has a neat pen inscription of the artist’s last name on the edge of the spine of the box. Four of the boxes have a slight damp stain on the bottom edge. Volumes III through XII bear copy # 32 of 75. The artists and the signed print are as follows: Vol. I ERNEST D. ROTH; Union Square, N.Y.C., dated in pencil Vol. II ALFRED HUTTY; In a Southern City, dated in pencil Vol. III CHILDE HASSAM; Egeria (C. 324) Vol. IV PHILIP KAPPEL; Barranquilla, Colombia, S.A., titled in pencil Vol. V JOHN TAYLOR ARMS; Rio dei Santi Apostoli, Venice (F. 226), dated and inscribed ‘Ed. 75,’ Vol. VI ARTHUR WILLIAM HEINTZELMAN; Bambino, inscribed ‘Ed. 75’ Vol. VII GEORGE ELBERT BURR; Arizona Night, printed in gray-green, titled in pencil Vol. VIII KERR EBY; Ploughing, inscribed ‘Ed. 75’ Vol. IX TROY KINNEY; Ruth St. Denis Vol. X LOUIS C. ROSENBERG; Bab-el-Khoukha, Kairovah, printed in brown. Vol. XI MARTIN LEWIS; Little Penthouse (McC. 101) Vol. XII FRANK W. BENSON; Two Black Geese. Very scarce and very rare in this condition.
$27,500.00

Mary Schweidler, the Amber Witch. The Most Interesting Trial for Witchcraft Ever Known. Printed from an Imperfect Manuscript by Her Father, Abraham Schweidler, the Pastor of Coserow in the Island of Usedom. Meinhold, William (Ed.) Lady Duff Gordon (Trans.) Published in London: The Vale Press (1903). One of only 10 copies printed throughout on pure vellum, in a full leather binding. Small folio, full maroon crushed levant; multiple gilt fillet borders, with gilt arabesques in centers and in corners. Back gilt with floral sprays; inner dentelles gilt by Zaehnsdorf. This binding has on the rear paste-down endpaper a small gold seal featuring a bookbinder. This seal was used by Zaehnsdorf only on their finest book-bindings. A magnificent work preserved in a binding of matching beauty. 156 pp. Woodcut border and decorations by Charles Ricketts. The first English edition was published in 1844, this being the first Vale Press edition. An exceptionally fine copy.
$12,500.00

Limited Edition Comics Art. New York: Abrams Original Editions (1978).  Limited Edition. A portfolio containing twenty original prints specially created for this collection, each numbered and signed by the artist. (In two cases, the print was signed by the artist’s widow.) One hundred copies of the portfolio were made. The prints are lithographs and serigraphs printed on rag paper, each approximately 22 in. x 29 in. The artists and their creations are: 1. Mel Lazarus (Miss Peach); 2. Hal Foster (Prince Valiant); 3. Chester Gould (Dick Tracy); 4. Ferd and Tom Johnson (Moon Mullins); 5. Dick Moores (Gasoline Alley); 6. Roy Crane (Wash Tubbs, Captain Easy and Buzz Sawyer); this drawing about WW II is probably not from a strip; this item is signed by Crane’s widow. 7. Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey); 8. Johnny Hart (B. C.); 9. Lee Falk and Fred Fredericks (Mandrake the Magician); 10. Ken Ernst and Allen Saunders (Mary Worth); 11. Alfred Andriola (Kerry Drake); 12. Fred Lasswell (Snuffy Smith; this item printed on dark, crinkly paper); 13. Al Smith (Mutt and Jeff); 14 Ernie Bushmiller (Nancy and Sluggo); 15. Howie Schneider (Eek and Meek); 16. Al Capp (Lil Abner); 17. Bud Sagendorf (Popeye); 18. Milton Caniff (Terry and the Pirates); 19. V. T. Hanlon (Alley Oop); 20. Walt Kelly (Pogo) This item signed by Kelly’s widow. The portfolio is housed in a clamshell box covered in red cloth with a printed paper label. Complete sets are now quite rare, as many were broken up and the prints sold individually.
$12,500.00

Leech, John (Artist & Illustrator;1817-64). Eight Original Drawings in Colour by John Leech. [Mounted Watercolor Drawings].Undated. Size of the binding: 7 ½  inches x 9 ¾  in. The book is bound in full, maroon, levant leather with five raised bands on the spine, gilt-lettered titling on the spine, and on the front cover with a gilt floral design of sprays on the front cover, with white morocco on-lays in this design, gilt borders on both covers, gilt borders on the cover edges, inner leather turn-ins, gray endpapers, top-edge gilt. The lower back cover leather turn-in, bears the gilt stamp: “Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe London.” This book contains eight original watercolor drawings by John Leech, each with a handwritten title, and his initials. They are mounted in paper frames. Titles: [1] Mrs. Gamp on Gorilla Island is astonished by the Natives (a woman in large bonnet, watching natives dance; [2] The Prize Cucumber brings tears in the eyes of the Great Onion (large cucumber saying: “No Doubt!!” to a standing figure with a onion-head, crying & using a handkerchief); [3] Chinese Curio’s from the Fitz-fiddle-faddle Collection !!! (teapot & tea canister, labeled: Best Congou, dancing, with teacups, mandarin orange) [4] Paddy and his two best friends(loaf of bread labeled: Down Again!, and tin pitcher with a man in a red vest and a paper hat; [5] Potpourri from the Vase Room (British Museum) (various jars & vessels, dancing, with labels: There’s an ugly mug! & I’m worth more than you!!!; [6] At the Zoo Quacking the Hippo! (a duck, dressed as a doctor, taking the pulse of an ailing hippo); [7] Fancy Bread (various types of breads in partly human forms, with label: Down Again.); [8] Men Women & Measures (various bottles, pitchers, jugs, with labels: They didn’t make me big enough. I only hold half a pint! Champagne Charley is my name! I wish my name was Champagne Sally!, I’m only half a quartern.” The average size of the mounted illustrations is approximately 5 in. x 5 in., with a few a little larger. They are charming and quite humorous images, which mix human forms and objects. The first scan shows a reproduction of drawing No. 8, and part of the binding. The first raised band on the spine shows chipping away of some of the leather, light rubbing to outer hinges and cover corners, tanning to endpaper edges from the leather turn-ins; the drawings show some light, age-related tanning.
$10,500.00

Hunter, Dard II; The Life Work Of Dard Hunter. A Progressive Illustrated Assemblage of His Works as Artist, Craftsman, Author, Papermaker, and Printer.  Chillicothe, OH: Mountain House Press, 1981. Hardcover. Fine. Two volumes. 12 in. x 17 in. Volume I: Frontispiece; (8), 198 pp.; Volume II: frontispiece, (9), 131 pp; plus numerous inserts in each volume. Volume II has photographs and examples of Hunter’s paper and watermarks which are not found in the regular edition. Bound in full native dyed red Niger leather by Gray Parrot, ruled in black & gilt; the Hunter family armorial device gilt on Vol. I, Hunter family watermark gilt on Vol. 2. Each volume in a cloth tray case with morocco title label. Fine. With the prospectus to Vol. 1, the only one issued. This set is number 132, one of 50 deluxe sets (of a total 150 sets) signed by Dard Hunter II. It was printed on a hand-made dark cream paper of 44 pounds made by the Hodgkinson Mill of Wookey Hole, Somerset, England.
$10,000.00

Crane, Hart; Autographed Postcard. A postcard bearing a hand-written note by Hart Crane to his stepmother, and signed by him. Mailed from Taxco, Mexico on January 27, 1932 to Bessie Crane, at P. O. Box 604 in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, EE-UU.  The card bears a twenty-centavos air mail stamp. The note reads in full: “Don’t know what letters await me in Mexico, but a thousand thanks for your loan. Telegram explained sufficiently, I think. I wish you were here, Bess, you would love this place. Affectionately, Harold.” The postcard bears a picture of the church of Santa Prisca in Taxco, the church whose bells Crane rang at dawn on January 27, sending him into an ecstasy. It was this experience which inspired him to begin working on his poem, “The Broken Tower.” See also “The Composition of the BrokenTower,” by Vivian Pemberton, in the Hart Crane Newsletter, Volume II, Number 2, Spring 1979, pp. 6-10. In fine condition.
$8,950.00

Hunting Hawking, Shooting. Illustrated in a Catalogue of Books, Manuscripts, Prints, and Drawings, Collected by C. F. G. R. Schwerdt. Privately Printed for the Author by Waterlow & Sons Limited, London. MCMXXVIII [1928-1937] Limited to 300 numbered & signed copies. Number 106 + 104 (of Volume Four). Four Volumes; size of the bindings: 10 1/4 in. x 13 1/4 in., xxiv, 324 pp.; xvi, 359 pp.;[10], 256 pp.; xx, 260 pp. Volumes One & Four are signed by Schwerdt; 266 plates in Volumes 1-3, and 116 plates in Volume 4; over 130 are in color, some plates are folding; various-sized facsimiles; decorations; and reproductions of the Schwerdt bookplate. Onionskin paper guards. Dark green morocco leather spines, sides and corner-pieces with green cloth over boards; bound by Kelly & Sons, London, with its stamp. Five raised bands on the spine, gilt-lettered titles, top-edges gilt, green & gold hunting design endpapers, green silk bookmarker ribbons bound in. Volume Four shows loose sheets of a special pink paper card placed before the tissue guards on the full-page plates of book bindings. The lower cloth margin of the front cover of Volume Two shows a four-inch area of tan stain to the cloth; a paper adhesion with a small tear is present to the top margin of pp. xvi-xvii in Volume One, light rubbing to some of the leather on the cover corners. Overall, in quite fine condition for this heavy set. Approximate weight: 48 lbs.
$8,500.00

Greenaway, Kate; Almanacks for 1883 to 1897. (with variants, a total of 24 volumes) London: G. Routledge. Complete and pristine set of her Almanacks for 1883 to 1897 (14 volumes; none was published for 1896); six years (1883, 1885, 1890, 1891, 1893, and 1894) have a second copy in a variant binding; 1884 has three variants; and the 1891 French edition is included. A TOTAL OF 24 VOLUMES. The four 1884 variants are 3.5 in. x 5 in. with pictorial flexible covers. All the others are 2 7/8 in. x 3 7/8 in. with hard covers. The 1887 edition is oblong. The 1885 and 1886 issues have their original paper wrapper; the wrapper of 1885 shows the place for affixing the postage. The diary in the 1897 volume is not filled in. A few copies have a bookseller’s label discretely placed on a paste-down. Each volume has full-color illustrations. Enclosed in a solander slipcase of full crimson levant; the case shows a small scuff on the spine, which has five raised bands. A very fine set of these extremely rare and fragile children’s classics, with interesting variant issues. Weight is 2.5 lbs.
$12,500.00

Baskin, Leonard (Illustrator); Goethe, Johann Wolfgang; Fancies, Bizarreries & Ornamented Grotesques. The Eremite Press Leeds 1989. Number 25 of 35 copies. Etchings by Leonard Baskin with an essay on The Arabesque by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. 1st Edition. [Colophon as printed]: “Thirty-five copies of ‘Fancies, Bizarreries & Ornamented Grotesques’ were achieved by The Eremite Press in the very early Spring of 1989. The etchings were printed from the original coppers by D. R. Wakefield of Howden, England. The Bembo type was cast at Harold Berliner’s Typefoundry & printed by Arthur Larson. The edition is arranged as follows: copies numbered 1-3 have two extra suites, one hand-colored by the artist & the other in different inks & on other papers; copies 4-8 have the second suite of etchings; & copies 9-35 [this copy] comprise the regular edition. This is number 25 [signed] Leonard Baskin”. Folio; 10 5/8 x 16″, unnumbered pages of text & 24 etchings, each numbered & signed by Baskin, with tissue guards. Maroon morocco spine, fore-edges & arabesque front cover title label with gilt title & inlaid, gray spine label with red points & gilt title, marbled paper boards; bound by Gray Parrot & Co., with their label on back inner cover. In a similarly bound clamshell box featuring black morocco leather spine & fore-edges, with maroon spine label with gilt title & black, cloth-covered boards. With printed announcement inserted. Fine (as new). See: The Gehenna Press The Work of Fifty Years 1942-1992; # 92, pp. 105-106 Weight: 5 lbs.
$9,500.00

Two Years Before the Mast. Dana, Richard Henry, Jr. New York, Harper & Brothers. (1840). WITH AN ALS. A hardcover in fine condition. No Jacket. First Edition. Thick 16mo, 483 pp., full dark blue levant, gilt anchors in corners and on back, inner dentelles gilt; original cloth covers (state “b” of the binding, tan muslin cloth and back-strip) bound in). In state 1 of this binding which includes the “Harper’s Family Library,” Nos. 1-105; 1-36; 1-27 on back cover. With an Autograph Letter. First Edition, First Issue, with all the points: dotted “in” in copyright notice, perfect running head at page 9, “CVI” on back-strip, and list on rear cover ending with 105. Some foxing, as usual, but in every way a most desirable copy of a great novel of American maritime adventure. Bound-in is a folded, full-page Autograph Letter Signed by Dana to C. E. Norton, from 1864. It reads as follows: “Salisbury, Conn. Oct. 19. 1864 My dear Norton You kindly offered me the opportunity to meet Prof. Smith. I hope I shall not lose it; but my duty to the great cause has sent me upon a campaign into this State. Where I speak every night until Saturday, when I return home. I should truly regret it, if this should lose me the privilege I have anticipated so long. Pray present me to Lieut. Ledyreich (?) with my best wishes for his recovery and my compliments to the ladies, & believe me truly yours, Rich. H. Dana Jr. Charles Eliot Norton, Esq.” Norton (1827-1908) was a progressive, a social reformer, a professor of art at Harvard, and a noted author. A very exceptional copy of the book without the usual substantial foxing and poor condition resulting from multiple readings. BAL 4434.
$8,000.00

Ethelrude et Wolfram. Aquatintes originales de Maria Sepiol [In a Daniel Knoderer Bookbinding].Quignard, Pascal & Daniel Knoderer (Bookbinder). Claude Blaizot, Paris. 1986. Limited edition, Number 89 of 135; signed by Pascal Quignard & Maria Sepiol. In a specially crafted binding by   Knoderer, signed by the binder in 1987. First edition. [Colophon]: “Cette edition originale de Pascal Quignard illustree de huit (8) aquatintes originales de Maria Sepiol, dont trois (3) en couleurs, a ete etablie par Claude Blaizot pour le concours de reliure organise par la Societe des Amis de la Reliure Originale; elle a ete acheve d’imprimer a Paris, le 3 janvier 1986, sur les presses de Francois Da Ros, typographe; les aquatintes ont ete tirees a la presse a bras par l’artiste. Tirage unique limite a 135 exemplaires numerotes, imprimes sur grand velin pur fil Johannot. Exemplaire 89 [signed]: Pascal Quignard Maria Madpouata Sepiol.” Size of the binding: 13 inches x 14 1/2 in., half-title; blank page (signed: Knoderer 1987); color aquatint title-page; title-page. Unpaginated; illustrated with eight aquatints by Maria Sepiol, three of which are printed in color. Text is in French. In a striking, free-form sculpture binding by Modern French Bookbinder, Daniel Knoderer. The flowing, abstract shaped covers are extended beyond the square form of the book and feature inlays of various colors and grains of morocco leathers, with free-form gilt-tooled details, and a special, semi-transparent plastic panel in the front cover, with the title lettered in black. The inner covers are also inlaid with a mosaic of colored papers, and with blue endpapers, which are visible through the plastic, and through an open section in the back cover. The son of bookbinders, Knoderer was born in 1948 at Sartrouville, France. He began binding at an early age, and is now considered one of France’s most important binders. The most distinctive feature of his Art Deco-influenced style of binding is his rejection of the traditional rectangular boards in favor of softly curved shapes. This book was exhibited at the Grolier Club in New York, in 1988, at the “Reliure Francaise Contemporaine”, an exhibition organized by “Les Amis de la Reliure Originale” (Number 58 in the catalogue). See “Fine Bookbinding in the Twentieth Century”, by Roy Harley Lewis, page 116 and elsewhere. A very fine as new copy.
$7.500.00

Groth, John (Artist; 1902-88); Retreat from Moscow: From Tolstoy’s War and Peace. [Original John Groth Painting to be used in an Illustrated Edition of War & Peace]. [Unpublished in this form: The original painting was never published as part of the 1961 Heinemann edition of War and Peace]. 1961 Size of matted painting: 35 ¾ in. x 27 ¾ in.; size of metal frame: 40 in. x 32 ¼ in x 1 ¼ in. (thick). A John Groth painting of the Napoleonic Army’s retreat from Moscow during the winter of 1812, to be used as an illustration in an edition of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. The painting shows the army on foot or horse, retreating through the snow under a gray sky, with a figure of a long dead soldier in the foreground. From the collection of bookseller & publisher, William (Bill) Targ (1907-99), whose printed mailing label is on the back of the mounting board, and identifies the painting: “William Targ 101 West 12th StreetNew York, N. Y. RETREAT FROM MOSCOW by John Groth (oil) Planned for inclusion in the Heinemann ed. of War & Peace—rejected for budgetary reasons.” Bill Targ was an early and close friend of the artist John Groth, and an admirer of his work. Most of Groth’s work intended for book illustrations were drawings or watercolors that were suited to his style of working; he produced few oil paintings for this purpose, and they are considered rare. The framer’s label on the back reads: “Decor Arts. Inc. 225 west 14th StreetNew York, N. Y.” The frame is black, matte finished metal, with original hanging wire present; gray canvas-type material covered matting board around the painting, white matting board backing with the Targ label, and the framer’s label. If purchased in the original, glass-fronted frame, this item requires special packing and shipping. Can also be sold without the glass-fronted frame, but with matting, and original Targ label. Weight: 15 lbs. (framed); Fine
$7,500.00

Bude, Guillaume (Budaeus); Libri V. de Asse et partibus ejus. 1374. Renouard, p. 94, NO. 3. Brunet, Vol. 1. About this Item: Venice: Aldus & Andrea Asulani soceri., 1522.   Size of binding: 5 1/4 inches x 8 1/2 inches, leaf size: 5 inches x 8 1/8 inches. [12] ils. 262 (260 ils.), 2 lls. Leaf 158 is numbered: 158, 159, 160. (12 preliminary unnumbered leaves, 262 numbered leaves, 2 unnumbered leaves including printer’s page.) Printed in italics, Aldus’ device on the title and last leaf. A fairly wide-margined copy, with some faded glosses identifying the subject matter of the text. Initial spaces with printed guides. Attractively bound in full vellum, in antique style, by Bayntun-Riviere, with their stamp at the lower edge of the back paste-down. With gilt Aldine anchor & dolphin design on the front cover, on the title page, and on the reverse of the printer’s page; and gilt-lettered spine, reading: Budaeus De Asse Aldus 1522. Sewn headbands. Latin text with some passages in Greek. Title page and a few preliminaries display light, scattered age-spotting. Otherwise, a beautiful book, beautifully bound. A treatise on Roman coinage, weights and measures written by the humanist, Guillaume Bude. This is the work that made Bude famous: it was an essay on ancient Roman measures, but included a plea for humanistic studies to accompany study of the Bible and theology. Similar pleas were being made at the time by Erasmus and Thomas More, with whom Bude corresponded. Jean Grolier (1479-1565) a noted bibliophile, obtained a copy of the De Asse & Partibus Eius in Latin and sent it to Francesco Asulo, an associate of the famous printer Aldus with a letter detailing how he wanted it to be printed and published. This book is one of the rare Aldine printings. Loosely inserted is a two-page typed translation into English by a modern Renaissance scholar of the letter sent by Grolier to Asulo, in which Grolier expresses his desire “that beauty and elegance be added to it which choice paper, clearness of type, and those least worn, and ample margins” be provided.  A fine copy.
$7,500.00

Brecht, Bertolt & Weill, Kurt & Others; The Seven Deadly Sins of the Lower Middle Class by Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill; Translated by Michael Feingold Interpreted by Mark Beard; Vincent FitzGerald &Company New York 1992. # 7 of 50 copies; signed by translator & illustrator., 1992 Letterpress Wild Carrot Letterpress Typography Handset by Marc Shifflett from types cast at Golgonooza Letter Foundry Calligraphy Jerry Kelly Lithography Agnes Murray Etching Marjorie Van Dyke Vincent Fitz Gerald Printmaking Workshop Silkscreen Colorgirls Paper Rives Map Special edition by Paul Wong Dieu Donne Papermill Collage Zahra Partovi Vincent Fitz Gerald Binding Zahra Partovi in association with Book Lab. This is copy 7/50 [signed] Micheal Feingold Mark Beard. Folio; 13″ x 21 1/4″, unnumbered printed pages of text, with over 100 color printed illustrations & 7 separate gatefolds. Bound with black leather spine & sides, with 5 raised bands & deep violet “tiger-skin” design; fleecy cloth over boards. In a black cloth-covered clam-shell box, with violet leather title label with title in gold letters on front cover. Fine.
$7,500.00

Ely, Tim (book artist); Equivalent T. Ely 6-7-89. Handmade artist’s book. 7 ½ in. x 10 in. Handmade artist’s book by Tim Ely. Red/brown morocco spine & “diced” 1 in. sides with hand-painted board covers featuring various types of materials which have been mounted & then painted, including a set of gilt numbers on front cover: 9, 50874, 70, 43, 052, 21; raised areas with painted “marbleized” surface in various shades of red & brown, black, gold, & blue painted letters; brass corner pieces with raised oriental-appearing lettering. Containing 5 bound-in leaves “overprinted” with a black-line graph paper design on various shades of red & brown;  yellow or tan letters or pictographic characters, designs, geometric figures, numerals make up the “text” of these leaves. Title page has in gilt: EQUIVALENT T. ELY6-7-89 & iridescent foil character; other pages have letters, etc. printed in blue or iridescent silver foil on surface. Outer edges show red & gilt edged surface. Inside covers feature textured surfaces in red or tan with gold & black over-painting. A wonderful & mysterious book-object! If a medieval manuscript, an elvish tome from Middle Earth, or an indecipherable Secrets of the Universe arrived from outer space it might approximate this; it would not match it. An interesting (if baffling) artist’s book produced by an artist well-known for work of this type. “(Ely’s) practice of the craft of bookbinding has extended to involve metalworking, leatherworking, woodworking, and related disciplines….He originated and teaches his “drum leaf” binding, a technique for binding single sheets that is designed to suit paintings, prints and drawings, mounted photographs, and other materials difficult for the standard technology of book-manufacturing. Ely’s one-of-a-kind books draw on domains of knowledge and culture, including Western and Eastern religious traditions, astronomy, particle physics, cartography, alchemy, and sacred geometry; they employ graphic elements from skeletal structure, UFOlogy, and the golden ration.” (From wikipedia; and from dbpedia.) Ely has received numerous awards, and his work is known, collected, and sought-after throughout the world. Very fine.
$15,000.00

Sobota, Jan (bookbinder; 1939-2012) & Frederick Forsyth; The Day of the Jackal. [Jan Sobota Bookbinding/Book- Sculpture]. New York/The Viking Press (1971). First edition in a handcrafted, design bookbinding/scultpture by Jan Sobota. Approx. size of binding: 8″ x 9 1/4″, size of book: 5 1/2″ x 8 1/8″, 380pp. A copy of the first edition text-block which has been bound inside of a handcrafted, clamshell box/book sculpture by Jan Sobota, with his bookbinder’s stamp, blind-stamped in the lower rim of the inner back cover of the sculpture. This specially constructed binding features various colored, soft-surfaced leathers; as olive green for the military cap & collar, black for the visor of the cap, tan/flesh-tone for the face of the figure (De Gaulle), white & black on-lays for the “target” form on the front & back covers; interior of this clamshell box is lined with a soft gray, textured paper, the flyleaves of the book have also been replaced with 3 sheets of this type of paper in other shades of color; small, circular colored velcro closures in the interior of the box, keep it lightly closed. Preserved in a sturdy, 9 1/4″ x 10 3/8″ x 2 1/4″ (thick), drop-back clamshell box/case constructed by Sobota, this is covered in a textured tan cloth with a red leather title label, with gilt title, mounted at the top of the spine, red cloth edges; interior of the box is lined with white felt. Binding and case are in fine condition. Scan shows the front of the sculpture (front cover of binding). Created by Jan Sobota, sometime in the late 1980’s, or early ’90’s. To quote an earlier catalogue description: First edition of the popular suspense novel in an extraordinary sculptural binding by one of the most interesting and inventive art binders of our day. Sobota has bound the book block into a clamshell box in the shape of President De Gaulle s head in right profile. A target is on-laid in the center. Sobota s work is unquestionably among the most distinctive and readily identifiable among his contemporaries. Fine
$5,500.00

Dickens, Charles; The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. London: George G. Harrap, 1930. Large octavo. xx, 687 pp. Navy blue morocco with a large front cover illustration of multi-colored morocco, inlaid, with the gilt caption:  “ ‘Take this little villain away!’ said the agonized Mr. Pickwick.” (From p. 134 of the book.) Gilt borders on both the front and back covers, the front and back turn-ins, and on the spine. Five raised bands. Illustrated with sixteen full-page color plates, including frontispiece, by C. E. Brock. All edges gilt. Bound by Riviére & Son (stamp-signed on front turn-in). With the bookplate of Clinton G. Thomas on the front turn-in, dated in ink “Dec. 25th, 1935.” The first blank shows a gift inscription to Thomas. A very fine copy in a very fine cloth-covered slipcase. Weight is 4 lbs.
$5,250.00

Tennyson, Alfred Lord; The Poetic and Dramatic Works of Alfred lord Tennyson. In 7 volumes. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1929. 7 octavo volumes. No. 2 of 500 copies. Bound in full red morocco with gilt-titling and design on the spine, gilt designs on front and rear panels. Green and red leather doublures; green silk end-papers with protective paper guards. Five raised bands on spine. Each volume has a red silk bookmark. Vol. One includes a letter from Tennyson tipped-in. It is a “Thank You” note to a Manchester correspondent, with envelope. The envelope reads: “W.H. Doldy [?], Esq. Barlow Moor, Manchester.” Postmark on rear of envelope reads in part: “Didsbury, July 17, ’68”, with other postmarks present & a red One-Penny stamp; on black-bordered stationery. The note reads: “Farringford, Freshwater, Isle of Wright. July 16, 1868. Dear Sir, Pray accept my thanks for Wordsworth’s photograph and believe me, yours faithfully. A. Tennyson.” The stamp of the binder, The Riverside Press, shows on the reverse of the front silk free endpaper.  Fine.
$5,000.00

Halford, Frederic Michael (1844-1914); Dry-Fly Fishing in Theory and Practice. [Limited Edition]. London, Sampson, Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington Limited,  Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson and Co., 1889. Number 31 of 100 numbered, signed copies. [Limitation Statement]: “This Imperial 8vo Edition de Luxe, with Mounted Plates and Text Illustrations on India Paper, is limited to 100 copies, of which this is No. 31 (signed) Frederic M. Halford”. Size of the binding: 7 3/4 in.x 11 1/4 in., half-title with signed limitation statement on the reverse; frontispiece; title-page in red and black; dedication page; poem “Angling” by Thos. Doubleday; contents; list of plates. xii, pp. [1]-289, including index + [1] p. ad for “Floating Flies”. With a mounted frontispiece: “Landing a Trout”, and 25 other plates, with borders, mounted on a thicker paper card, with tissue guards. Most are in gray-green tones, and are by D. Moule, (Leighton Bros. Lithographers), or E. Kemp for the insects; several are in color: two chromolithographs of locations, and three colored plates of insects. The tissue guards show some light tanning from the borders of the mounting cards, a few tiny tan spots to some mounting cards. Full, dark green morocco leather, with five raised bands on the spine, with gilt-lettered titling, gilt borders to the covers, gilt inner dentelles, brown & yellow marbled endpapers; top-edge gilt; green silk bookmarker ribbons bound in. The lower cover corners show some turning inward from the weight of the volume, light rubbing to the lower cover corners, edges. Overall, an exceptionally fine copy of an edition limited to only 100 copies. Weight: 5 1/2 lbs.
$4,750.00

Samain, Albert & Mossa, Adolphe (illustrator).; Xanthis, ou La Vitrine Sentimentale. [Levitsky binding]. Paris, Ferroud, 1920. 4to., 44 pp. One of 1000 copies; this is one of the 125 copies on Japon with an extra suite of engravings. Illustrations by Gustave Adolphe Mossa, with initials, etc., hand colored. Illustrations, etc. done in the Art Deco style found in pochoir illustrations of the period. Bound by Georges Levitsky in full vellum with watercolor & gold painting following illustrations, etc. Marbled endpapers; original wrappers bound in; all edges gilt; morocco edged slipcase with chemise. In fine condition. Lettered signature of Levitsky on lower left of back cover.
$5,950.00

The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments and The Making of The Bruce Rogers World Bible. Rogers, Bruce (Designer and Typographer); Targ, William.  Published in 1949 by The world Publishing Company (Cleveland/New York). Two items sold as a unit. (1) Commonly known as “The Bruce Rogers World Bible.” One of 975 copies. Folio; 13 ½ inches x 19 in. x 3 ¾ in. (thick). Half-title, design title page, Dedication, To the Reader. xxii, list of contents. Pp. 1-941. With New Testament title page, colophon page. Printed by A. Colish from designs by Bruce Rogers for the World Publishing Company Cleveland and New York MCMXLIX [1949]. Original red cloth with titling gilt on the spine: Holy Bible (and at the bottom) World. With a large gilt design of an eagle standing on a globe, surrounded by four Old Testament designs on the front cover, and designs related to the four Evangelists on the back cover. The bottom edge shows some scratches. (2) The Making of The Bruce Rogers World Bible. [Colophon]: “Bruce Rogers designer A. Colish, printer and The World Publishing Company have made this book for presentation to their friends.” 8 ½ inches x 11 ½ in., 19 pp. + [18] pp., illustrating the Decorations and Initials for The World Bible and numbered colophon page; and four reproductions of black & white photographs. Red cloth with titling gilt on the spine, and gilt design on the front cover; blue-gray paper-covered slipcase. The slipcase shows light fading and some spotting. Both volumes have on the front paste-down the bookplate of Jean Hersholt (1886-1956) a Danish-born actor and book collector; the bookplates have in red ink the notations ‘R37’ and ‘R37A.’ Each has the small label of a bookseller. A magnificent set. The total weight: 24 lbs.
$3,250.00