Binding:  Publisher's textured green cloth, front cover and spine with gilt-stamped vignettes. All edges gilt.

•  NSTC 2A1051.   Binding as above, moderate rubbing to edges and extremities with top of spine pulled, gilt vignettes showing slight rubbing. Early pencilled ownership inscription in upper portion of first text page; some plate leaves a bit more age-toned than others or than text leaves. Overall both attractive and entertaining.  (37284)

Provenance:  Inked inscription “H.H.L.C.—“ on title-page; later in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.

Provenance:  From the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.

•  Adams A1362; Brunet, I, 362; EDIT 16 CNCE 2231; Index Aurel., 106.611; Renouard, Alde, 91.8; UCLA, Aldine Press: Catalogue of the Ahmanson-Murphy Collection (2001), 202.   Bound as above, spine evenly sunned to brown. Upper margins trimmed closely, in some cases shaving headers and foliation; small areas of waterstaining to outer portions of a few leaves. A very few early inked pointers and corrections, including lining-through of some headers. A solid and attractive copy of an important edition.  (37828)

The text is divided into sections by author, each of whom the editor introduces with a brief biography. A short abstract printed in roman precedes each poem, printed in italic. Fine woodcut head- and tailpieces, and a variety of initials in historiated, patterned, and factotum designs, decorate the text; and the title-page features the woodcut printers' device of Truth personified, flanked by an eagle, a lion, a bull, and an angel, representing the Four Evangelists.

Provenance:  Ownership inscription on front fly-leaf of Luigi Pagani Cesa, possibly the Italian jurist born at Belluno in 1855, who served as a member of Parliament for 1904–13; and the words “penso che” (“I think that . . .”) written above, in an earlier hand?

•  Adams A1691; CNCE 2806.   Later glazed cream-colored boards, title and date inked on upper spine, small paper label on lower spine, marbled red edges; boards soiled and front joint opening. One spot of worming on front pastedown and on colophon leaf; traces of former mounting on colophon leaf verso. Title-page with one letter added in manuscript (o, in Bentivoglio). Trimmed close at margins almost grazing headline on a few leaves. Very minor stains on a few leaves, generally bright and crisp.  (30836)

•  Publisher's quarter cream textured cloth with light blue fleur-de-lis printed paper sides, spine with printed paper label; lacking the blue dust-wrapper, small spot of staining at head of spine, otherwise a very nice example.  (28209)

•  Cock-a-hoop 196.   Publisher's light taupe paper–covered boards with red cloth shelfback, front cover with rooster vignette stamped in red, spine with gilt-stamped title; minor rubbing to spine foot and lower outer corners. A few page edges slightly darkened and one very limited, very faint stain affecting endpapers' lower outer corner at rear, pages otherwise clean.A nice copy of this interesting production.  (37173)

Though several editions were printed in a short period of time in the 16th century (1538, 1540, 1542, 1545), extant copies are few and far between. Searches of WorldCat, COPAC, and the NUC revealonly one holding of this edition in a U.S. institution (Penn).

Evidence of Readership: An early owner has added a handful of inked words and marks on two pages; a more recent owner has penciled extensive notes on several endpapers, supplied page numbers where lacking, marked several passages with arrows or bars, and written a marginal word.

Provenance:  Title-page marked with initials “G.D.S.R.” in ink; most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.

EDIT16 seems to have based its entry on an incomplete copy, for it gives the foliation as 267 [i.e., 167], and while folio 167 is misnumbered in this copy, there is also a folio 168 that is correctly numbered.

•  EDIT16 CNCE 5538; Adams B753; not in Gamba, Serie dei testi di lingua.   Recent cream calf, spine with two dark red leather labels, new endpapers; light scratching. Provenance and readership evidence as above. Light dust-soiling, staining, or spotting mostly in margins; just under four gatherings with light marginal waterstaining. A desirable representative of the burlesque poetry genre.  (38032)

Provenance:  Presentation copy from the publisher: “C.S. Bell, Esq. with J.G.B.'s compts.” (i.e., John G. Bell). This copy came from the Bewick collection of S. Roscoe, with his cataloguing slip tipped in and his pencilled note “one of 18 on large paper” (which we believe is erroneous). Described on Roscoe's slip as “on blue” paper: if so, it is very, very pale blue.

•  Hugo, Bewick Collector, 466.   Fine copy in later marbled light boards, edges lightly rubbed; provenance/presentation indicia as above.  (38856)

•  Publisher's printed salmon-colored paper wrappers, front and back wrappers with engraved vignettes; spine and edges mildly rubbed, back wrapper with small scuffs. All edges gilt. First and last few leaves lightly foxed.  (29059)

Cabanès (1862–1928) was a medical doctor, historian, and successful writer of a goodly number of works of fiction and history, with a subspecialty of historical medical mysteries. Carrington was a leading British publisher (“abroad”) of late-Victorian and Edwardian pornography/erotica for “bibliophiles,” much of it flagellatory; there have been significant essays on him and his works, butWikipedia provides one irresistible sentence: “Carrington went blind as a result of syphilis and the last few years of his life were spent in poverty as his mistress stole his valuable collection of rare books.”

The chapters in this publication are: A youthful indiscretion of Louis XIV, The fistula of a great king, The maladies of Louis XV, The semi-impotency of Louis XVI, The first pregnancy of Marie-Antoinette, Louis XVI in private life, One of the judges of Marie-Antoinette: the surgeon Souberbielle, What was Marat's disease, Talleyrand and the doctors, The accouchement of the empress Marie-Louise, The ancestors of Marshal Mac-Mahon, and Gambetta's eye.

Nicely printed, with title-page in black and red and text block issued untrimmed, this is a copy of the trade edition: There was a deluxe issue on Japan vellum limited to 30 copies.

Provenance:  “Virginia Pritchard Hilton-Green, my father's book.”

•  Publisher's blue cloth stamped in blind. Minor rubbing; small tear at base of front joint (outside). Inside clean.  (35372)

In a more serious vein, Head (1887–1963) was the author of Antiquities of Yale and the New Yale Guide, as well as a poet and a patron and supporter of both the Brick Row Book Shop and the Yale University Library. Several of the items here makeYale references, like the barroom ghosts who “puffed at their pipes and their stogies / And pulled at their Phantoms of Ale, / Recalling the things that were Bogies / When they were assembled at Yale”; Ex is specifically about four different gentlemen expelled from Yale for reasons including bad grades, vandalism, and bawdiness.

•  Folded as issued. 10 of the pamphlets with small inscription “M. Clark” or “Clark” pencilled on front wrapper. Apologia with two pencilled corrections. Upper edges of Hot from Hollywood chewed. Minor age-toning, occasional small spots and edge nicks. Overall a clean, crisp collection of these uncommon pieces.  (36453)

Provenance:  Late 17th-century ownership inscription at top of title-page of “T. Engle”; 18th-century ownership inscription below that of “E. Ward”; on endpaper, “December, 1787,” with lines in French in an 18th-century hand.

•  Rius 11; Peeters-Fontainas 227; Suñé Benages 15; Palau 51988.   Contemporary limp vellum, soiled and beginning to separate, ties perished; Don Quixote inked on spine, faded. Lacking one leaf of text only, supplied in very good facsimile (pp. 575–76). First and last gatherings guarded with strips of Renaissance vellum manuscript.  (23423)

•  Allibone, I, 455 (“Comic English Grammar”); Osborne Collection 121; Gumuchian 1955, 1956 (for later editions).   Contemporary quarter red morocco with paper-covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped title; edges and extremities scuffed, spine darkened, paper with small areas of discoloration. Ownership indicia as above; pages slightly age-toned.  (38651)

Evidence of Readership: Pencilled marks of emphasis in margins, and occasional early inked marginalia in Latin; final leaf with early inked verses on each side: “Oenigma de Collogino” and “Epigraphium Tilonis Ditmarri [sic] civis Goslariani [sic].”

Provenance:  Front pastedown with armorial bookplate of the Earl of Mexborough, with motto “Be fast.” Later in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.

•  Adams P390; Barbier, IV, 1338; Brunet, IV, 410; Index Aurel. 148.564; VD16 C6433.   Binding as above, extremities showing mild shelfwear. Bookplates as above; front free endpaper with old cataloguing for this copy affixed, front fly-leaf with early inked note (“très rare”) and ownership inscription (in a different hand), possibly “Wright.” Intermittent staining, mostly but not entirely confined to early portion of volume. A solid, attractive, and intriguing copy, hand-embellished and in a signed binding.  (37912)

Dietrich (1901–92) was an active performer for much of the 20th century; she reinvented her image many times — going from film actor to humanitarian during World War II to cabaret artist — and maintained her popularity and glamorous image throughout the years. In 1947, she received the Medal of Freedom for her work supporting Allied troops.

The volume includes a section of black-and-white photographs of Dietrich in various roles and with co-stars and friends.

Signed by Dietrich on the front free endpaper, where the book is also numbered (94).

•  Publisher's white cloth with gilt lettering to spine; original pink pictorial dust jacket present with faded spine, light wear to corners, minor creasing and rubbing to front panel with short tears to upper edge, and small piercing at front joint. Volume under jacket, pristine.  (37966)

Binding:  Publisher's green cloth, front cover and spine stamped in black, gilt, and yellow, with a frame of apples and greenery surrounding a decorative title and small gilt motifs.

•  Binding as above, corners and spine extremities very slightly rubbed, dust jacket lacking. Endpapers and a few pages sprinkled with spots of faint staining, pages generally clean A popular and entertaining author, in an attractive and well-preserved binding.  (35257)

The volume opens with acopper-engraved frontispiece done by Harrewyn, featuring a satyr and a jester in addition to muses crowning Furetière with a laurel wreath; the title-page is printed in red and black, and the text is ornamented with two woodcut headpieces, two tailpieces, and two decorative capitals. This nicely printed edition is not widely held in the United States; WorldCat locatesonly four American institutional holdings and these perhaps unexpected ones, with no holdings added by NUC Pre-1956.

•  This edition not in Brunet.   Contemporary speckled sheep, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and gilt-stamped floral decorations in compartments, board edges with gilt roll; worn and rubbed, leather lost at extremities, front joint cracked and back joint starting (sewing holding). All edges speckled red and brown. Front pastedown and free endpaper with modern collector's inscriptions, front pastedown with early inked numerals and later pencilled annotations; one obscured name in text annotated in pencil in the margin. Pages gently age-toned with occasional tiny spots of foxing. Externally worn, interior beautifully preserving the author's irrepressible, biting wit.  (36242)

The London-born Furniss (1864–1938) was the author of a number of Broadway hits — several of which served as the basis for Hollywood films — as well as the original script for the short film “On with the Dance”; Theatre Magazine published an admiring and very detailed account of Furniss's rise, with much commentary direct from Furniss herself, entitled “The Story of a Successful Woman Playwright” (Vol. VII, pt. 2, pp. 300–04/xii).

•  Publisher's original light blue cloth, front cover framed in roll of gilt leaves surrounding the title stamped in dark blue and a gilt-stamped comedy mask vignette, spine similarly stamped in gilt and blue; spine and corners rubbed, spine slightly faded, back cover with small patch of discoloration. Sewing loosening slightly towards front of volume, first few leaves starting to separate. A very few scattered spots of staining, with pages overall clean. This is not a reproduction or print-on-demand copy — it is a pleasing late 19th–century copy, from an author deserving of greater modern attention.  (38623)

Searches of WorldCat, COPAC, and KVK locateonly one copy worldwide  (in the National Library of the Netherlands).

•  Original red clamshell box with spine label in silver metal holder; author, title, and imprint date on handmade paper adhered to front board. All contents in very good condition.  (34731)

Provenance:  From the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.

•  Bibliotheca Osleriana 4907; Brunet, III, 43; Garrison & Morton 1594; NSTC H564; NCBEL, I, 1113. Not in Ing, Charles Whittingham: Printer, 1795-1876.   19th-century half brown calf and marbled paper–covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped title and gilt-ruled bands and compartments, leather edges ruled in blind; binding lightly rubbed overall, somewhat more so along joints. Front fly-leaf with pencilled annotations and affixed slip of old cataloguing. Fore-edges untrimmed.A clean, attractive copy.  (38229)

Binding:  1920s-era half brown morocco with marbled paper sides and matching marbled endpapers; round spines, raised bands accented with gilt rules and gilt beading, and a gilt center device in each spine compartment. Top edges gilt, others uncut; binding unsigned, but elegantly accomplished.

•  Bound as above. Vol. I lacks half-title, colophon leaf, and the two states of the frontispieces before the lettering. Vol. II lacks the cancelled title-page, the two states of the frontispieces before the lettering, and the instructions to the binder. A lesson of a set, as the lacking elements that so affect the price of this handsome duo are so not-obviously “missing”:  One must *know* they're supposed to be there!  (35436)

•  Bibliography of the Fine Books Published by the Limited Editions Club, 487.  Bound as above, with ochre linen shelfback and gilt-stamped title, in yellow paper–covered slipcase with gilt-stamped title; slipcase with inch-long ding to one edge and otherwise but a few small scuffs and light shelfwear to edges; volume just reached by the blow and cover just showing that — otherwise (blessedly) clean and fresh. (36861)

This edition, which is limited to 1500 copies, was designed by Francis Meynell and printed by Charles Batey, Printer to the University at Oxford. Meynell's choice for the font is the rarely used Fell, which can only be used at Oxford; the letters are large and have a rather archaic feel to them.

The binding is quarter rust-colored linen, stamped in gold, with sides covered in linen printed with a repeating pattern.

•  Limited Editions Club, Bibliography of the Fine Books Published by The Limited Editions Club, 1929–1985, 236.   In the original slipcase, covered with paper printed with the same pattern as that of the binding; case in very good condition, volume without the dust wrapper. A very attractive book and slipcase too; a near-fine copy.  (33381)

•  Bibliography of the Fine Books Published by the Limited Editions Club, 445.   Publisher's quarter red cloth and firework-printed paper–covered sides, spine with printed paper label, in original glassine wrapper and matching slipcase; glassine wrapper with small portion torn away from lower back edge and nicks to lower edge and spine head, slipcase with one nick to paper at one edge of foot, volume clean and lovely. Overall in beautiful condition.  (34066)

The author, who spent most of his life in Derby, was a sculptor as well as a Derbyshire historian, and he appears to have supplied theoriginal illustrations here himself. The two pairs of plates (one lithographed, one steel-engraved) are done in notably different styles — we suspect that two different engravers worked from Robinson's sketches. Robinson wrote one additional Twitcher piece in 1881, describing a visit to the Royal Agricultural Show, not included in this gathering.

All the Twitcher books are now scarce: WorldCat finds very few U.K. holdings of these titles and virtually no U.S.

Provenance: First text page with early pencilled ownership inscription of Mr. H. Mills in upper outer corner.

•  Crismas: NSTC 2R14138; Visit: NSTC 2R14139; Second Visit: NSTC 2R14140; Watter Cure: NSTC 0643751.   Later quarter green calf and fine combed marbled paper–covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped title; minor shelfwear. Pencilled ownership note as above. Light age-toning; first two works with mild foxing and last leaves with avery light, old waterstain across a lower corner. A highly personal production in text *and* illustration; an entertaining and very uncommon gathering.  (36501)

Unkind though that “unintentionally” may make it to put this here — still??

“This edition follows exactly the text of the original Belfast issue of 1897 except that certain misprints have been corrected,” according to the edition statement; the text is ornamented with reproductions of the originalthree wood engravings by W.M.R. Quick. The present example is numbered copy 719 of 1250 printed.

Provenance:  Calligraphic bookplate of Norman J. Sondheim, American collector of fine press books.

•  McKitterick/Rendall/Dreyfus 33.   Publisher's half sheep and pink, red, and brown mottled paper–covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped title; spine gently sunned, extremities a bit rubbed. Front pastedown with bookplate as above; light foxing to endpapers, with a very few faint spots elsewhere. Lovely Nonesuch production of a “must read it to believe it” novel!  (32039)

Provenance:  Front free endpaper with inked ownership inscription of Richard Wattel; back free endpaper with inked note: “H.h Price ex dono Rich. Wattel 17 June 1810.”

•  Gregg, Bibliography of the English Printed Drama to the Restoration, L8d; ESTC R8556; Wing (rev. ed.) R2214; Sweet & Maxwell 241.   Contemporary sheep framed in double blind fillets; rubbed, especially at spine and extremities, with sewing starting to loosen and text block separating from spine, back joint just starting from foot. Frontispiece with small smudge in lower portion (not touching main figure); pages lightly age-toned.  (34493)

This offering consists of the aforementioned two parts anda supplement with 26 extra tales taken from a newly discovered (in 1815) edition printed in 1567 by H. Wykes of theTales, and Quicke Answeres. Each section has a separate title-page and introduction explaining its Shakespearean connection and origin story, with canvassing also of the editor’s scholarly processes and his decisions to offer his tales with original orthography, in their full “licentiousness,” and with their original “moral reflections.” A short glossary of Elizabethan words is provided, and the second preface is signed in type “S.W.S.,” i.e., Samuel Weller Singer.

Provenance: From the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.

•  19th-century half black morocco and marbled paper–covered sides, spine lettered in gilt, with differently patterned marbled endpapers and black silk placemarker, top edge gilt; rubbed at corners and edges. Light age-toning with very occasional off-setting and a few spots, light pencilling referencing a 1925 Goodspeed’s price on title-page.A testament to 19th-century Shakespeare mania and a resonant, even cautionary tale for scholars of any ilk in any era.  (37850)

Part of Bentley's Shilling Series, with a leaf listing offerings of “Bentley's Railroad Library” bound in opposite title-page.

•  Original green paper–covered light pictorial boards, rubbed and edgeworn with corners bumped; five inches of spine paper detached but present (laid in). Previous owner's purchase note on front pastedown; interior otherwise unmarked.A good copy of an inherently fragile style of publication.  (37363)

First published in 1843 and first printed with illustrations in 17 monthly parts 1853–54, the misadventures of the enthusiastic Mr. Jorrocks appear here “printed for subscribers from the plates of the Original Edition issued by Bradbury, Agnew & Co.” The volume is illustrated with 16 hand-colored, steel-engraved plates and 31 wood-engraved plates by famed caricaturist John Leech. The colored scenes, many involving horses or hounds or both, are carefully and artistically tinted; the social scenes are more delicately shaded than the vivid hunting scenes. In addition to the color and black-and-white plates, numerous in-text wood-engravings decorate the text.

Binding:  Publisher's crimson cloth, front cover with horse and hound vignettes stamped in black and gilt, spine with black and gilt portrait of Jorrocks himself.

•  NCBEL, III, 967. On Surtees, see: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online.   Binding as above, spine much sunned but covers bright and fresh. Signatures almost entirely unopened; contents pages and a few other early signatures awkwardly opened with resulting edge tears, including to upper margins (only) of five uncolored plates. One colored plate with tiny scuff in image. Despite described faults, still a solid, bright, beautifully illustrated copy with a great deal of charm.  (30448)

See the end of the first paragraph in our first “Surtees” entry, for a general note on him.

First published in 1847, these vividly rendered hunting scenes appear here “printed for subscribers from the plates of the Original Edition issued by Bradbury, Agnew & Co.” The volume is illustrated with8 plates by Phiz, hand-colored, and 13 steel-engraved plates by W.T. Maude. While Phiz's caricatures are sharp and witty, the coloring itself is rather elegantly restrained. In addition to the color and black-and-white plates, numerous in-text wood-engravings decorate the text, the whole providing many depictions of the hunt.

Binding:  Publisher's crimson cloth, front cover and spine stamped with hunting vignettes and hound decorations in black and gilt.

•  NCBEL, III, 967. On Surtees, see: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online.   Binding as above, spine much sunned but covers bright and fresh, minimal wear to extremities. Signatures unopened. Save for the dimmed spine, a beautiful and bright copy.  (30434)

See the end of the first paragraph in our first “Surtees” entry, for a general note on him.

First published in 1853 as a 13-part serial, the Sporting Tour appears here “printed for subscribers from the plates of the Original Edition issued by Bradbury, Agnew & Co.” The volume is illustrated with13 hand-colored and 30 steel-engraved plates by famed caricaturist John Leech. The colored scenes, most of which depict hunting or riding scenes, are carefully and attractively done with nicely shaded tints. In addition to the color and black-and-white plates, numerous in-text wood-engravings decorate the text.

Binding:  Publisher's crimson cloth, front cover and spine stamped with horse and hound vignettes in black and gilt.

•  NCBEL, III, 967. On Surtees, see: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online.   Binding as above, spine much sunned but covers bright and fresh. Signatures unopened. One leaf holed in text with loss of a few words and with some light discoloration around this, without loss of sense. Save for the dimmed spine, a beautiful and bright copy.  (30426)

See the end of the first paragraph in our first “Surtees” entry, for a general note on him.

First published in 13 monthly parts in 1860, the machinations of Rosa and her mamma appear here “printed for subscribers from the plates of the Original Edition issued by Bradbury, Agnew & Co.” The volume is illustrated with12 hand-colored, steel-engraved plates and 8 wood-engraved plates by famed caricaturist John Leech. The colored scenes, some involving young ladies in elegant dress and some horses and hounds, are carefully and artistically tinted; the social scenes are more delicately shaded than the vivid hunting scenes. In addition to the color and black-and-white plates, numerous in-text wood-engravings decorate the text.

Binding:  Publisher's crimson cloth, front cover with black- and gilt-stamped hound decorations and a gilt-stamped vignette of two flirting equestrians, spine with black and gilt Cupid vignette.

•  NCBEL, III, 968. On Surtees, see: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online.   Binding as above, extremities slightly rubbed, spine much sunned but covers bright and fresh. Signatures unopened. A clean, unread copy, with lovely plates.  (30470)

Binding:  Publisher's green cloth, covers framed in blind, front cover with gilt-stamped decorative title and basket vignette, spine with gilt-stamped author and title.

•  Light wear only to joints and extremities, cloth showing small spots of faint discoloration. Front free endpaper with pencilled ownership inscription dated 1910, front fly-leaf with same owner's inked inscription. Pages gently age-toned, otherwise clean.  (30499)

•  Publisher's printed paper wrappers; wrappers darkened with corners bumped, front wrapper with small ink spots, short edge tears, and faint rings of discoloration. Faint intermittent foxing with one signature (only) more notably age-toned.; final leaf with portion torn out of outer margin, not touching text. A pleasing touchstone for Victorian literature and its “production.”  (33259)

•  Publisher's paper wrappers. A fresh, clean copy.  (37134)

•  Publisher's printed copper-colored paper wrappers; back wrapper lacking, front wrapper separating from foot and with small nicks to outer edge. One leaf with closed slit across, not spoiling sense of text; outer edges waterstained. A nice encapsulation of mainstream “presentable” thought on the literature, culture, politics, etc. of the day.  (35088)

The caption title reads: “Smith, with a copy of the 'Fugitive Slave Law,' eagerly inquiring the way to Canada.”   The text printed within a wavy border.

WorldCat locates only the copy at the Library Company of Philadelphia, this being its deaccessioned duplicate.

•  Old folds, dust-soiled, other stains. Evidence of old stitching. A decent copy of a rarity.  (38404)

This work is rarely found in the deluxe binding: The handsomely gilt-stamped publisher's cloth is the norm.

•  NSTC 2W24418; Allibone 2762.   For binding, see: Morris & Levin, Art of Publisher's Bookbindings, 44. Binding as above, showing minor wear to extremities and front cover vignette, original silk bookmark detached and laid in. Volume slightly shaken with text block starting to pull away from spine; this is the kind of volume that wants to do that, and the reader will want to “cradle” it in hand — that done, no worries. Front fly-leaf with early pencilled gift inscription and with a Maine druggist's small ticket. Mild to moderate foxing. Both funny and decorative, in a publisher's binding that may fairly be called “DAZZLING.”  (26748)