LITERATURE
A B Bibles C D E-F G
H I-K L M N-O P
Q-R Sa-Sn So-Sz T-V W-Z
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“Lass wi' the Bonny Blue E'en” *&* MORE
The quaver: A choice collection. Newcastle-on-Tyne: W.R. Walker, [ca. 1850]. 12mo (16.3 cm, 6.45"). 24 pp.
$125.00
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Chapbook of song lyrics, opening with
a comic woodcut illustration of a man with his pants billowing smoke. Present here along with the usual sorts of Irish and English offerings are dialect pieces written in German (“The Vorkhouse Boy”), American Southern black (“Oh Susannah”), and Scots (Burns's “Red, Red Rose”) accents.
This edition of the Quaver chapbook is uncommon: WorldCat does not find any institutional holdings of this Walker printing, and NSTC lists only a slightly different title.
This ed. not in NSTC. Removed from a nonce volume. Page edges untrimmed, several with short tear from outer margin; pages slightly age-toned, otherwise clean. (37201)

First U.S. Editions — Dickens & Faux-Dickens
“Quiz” [pseud. of Edward Caswall], & Charles Dickens. Sketches of young ladies: In which these interesting members of the animal kingdom are classified according to their several instincts, habits, and general characteristics. Philadelphia: Carey, Lea, & Blanchard, 1838. 16mo (13.5 cm, 5.3"). 111, [1] pp. [with] Dickens, Charles. Sketches of young gentlemen. Dedicated to young ladies. Philadelphia: Carey, Lea, & Blanchard, 1838. 108, [2] pp.
$800.00
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First American editions of these two works, together as issued, in the original publisher's cloth. Young ladies and young gentlemen are humorously categorized under their various types: including for the former Romantic, Evangelical, Literary, Manly, Hyperbolical, Abstemious, and others, and for the latter Bashful, Military, Political, Censorious, Funny, etc. While the first work was often attributed to Dickens when originally published anonymously in 1837, it was actually written by humorist Caswall in a voice very much like Dickens's; the second work, first printed in 1838, is
genuine Dickens.
American Imprints 49619. Publisher's violet cloth; front cover and spine faded to tan, the former with a printed paper label somewhat chipped, and front cover showing tiny spots of discoloration and pinholes in cloth. Pages age-toned with intermittent mild spotting; a few lower outer corners bumped and middle section with dent to upper outer margin. A copy much read; still both highly readable and
highly entertaining. (34870)

A Great 18th-Century Printer Presents a
a Great 17th-Century Dramatist
Racine, Jean. Oeuvres de Jean Racine. Paris: de l'Imprimerie de Didot l'aine, 1784. 8vo in 4s (19 cm, 7.5". 3 vols. I: 463, [1] pp. II: [2] ff., 484 pp. III: [2] ff., 372 pp., [2] ff.
$950.00
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“Cette édition in-8o a été imprimée au nombre de 350 exemplaires, avec les nouveaux caractères de la fonderie de Didot l’aine, sur du papier-vélin de la manufacture de M[ess]rs. Johannot pere et fils, d’Annonaie, premiers fabricants en France de cette sorte de papiers” (vol. III, verso of leaf following p. 372). That is, this is printed on wove paper.
In the series Collection des auteurs classiques, françois et latins, this was issued in the same year in 4to and 18mo formats. The present, octavo format is not only handsomely conceived but
very “handy in the hands.”
Binding: Full crushed red morocco, gilt spine and boards, signed Petit Succs. de Simier; gilt rule on board edges, gilt rolls on turn-ins, marbled endpapers, green silk placemarkers. All edges gilt. Each volume in a light board open-back slipcase covered with marbled paper.
Provenance: Bookplates of Casimir L. Stralem, Clarence E. Clark, and Brian Douglas Stilwell, the trio presenting an appealing set of styles.
WorldCat locates copies of this edition in this format at only four U.S. libraries (UCLA, Georgetown, Library of Congress, Harvard).
Bulletin de la Librairie Morgand et Fatout 10951; Brunet, V, 1078–79; Jammes, Les Didot, 25. Bound as above, joints of all volumes slightly cracking with volumes otherwise only lightly worn; some tape repairs to the delicate slipcases. Age-toning and foxing of faintest varieties only.
Very Good. (40317)

A Review for
Printers & Bibliophiles
Randle, John & Rosalind, eds. Matrix 7. Number seven, winter 1987. Gloucestershire:
The Whittington Press, 1987. Imperial 8vo (28.7 cm, 11.3"). [6], 166, [2] pp.; illus.
$175.00
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Another volume of worthwhile and aesthetically pleasing reading for book arts enthusiasts, including “A Moroccan Diary” by Edwina Ellis, “Ornamented Types: the Making of the Edition” by Ian Mortimer, “On the Shape of Books” by Brooke Crutchley, “A Medley of Printers Past” by Ward Ritchie, “Letters from a Papermaker's Husband” by Brian Richardson, and a variety of other essays and reviews pertaining to typography, fine printing, and illustration, as well as two poems by Philip Gallo. This is
one of 960 copies printed, illustrated with an assortment of photographic plates, an oversized folding plate reproducing illustrations by Annie Newnham, tipped-in examples of printing, etc. The prospectus for Matrix 8 is laid in.
Publisher's printed yellow paper wrappers over printed paper–covered stiff boards; wrappers with spine sunned, minor edge wear. Contents clean and crisp. Very good. (34969)

The Baron with
Hand-Colored Plates
[Raspe, Rudolf Erich]; Alfred Crowquill [pseud. of Alfred Henry Forrester], illus. The travels and surprising adventures of Baron Munchausen. New York: James Miller, 1864. 12mo (17.7 cm, 7"). Col. frontis., col. t.-p., 251, [1] pp.; 8 col. plts., illus.
[SOLD]
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Rudolph Erich Raspe's dauntless Baron is presented here with
ten vibrant, hand-colored plates by English artist Alfred Henry Forrester (1804–72), credited under his pseudonym, “Alfred Crowquill.” The plates, which include a frontispiece and title-page, bring to life some of the Baron's most well-known adventures, such as confronting lions, falling from the moon, and riding a half-horse. The text is also embellished with in-text illustrations and decorative initials.
The German writer anonymously introduced the nobleman, Baron Munchausen, in 1785 based on a real-life baron, Hieronymus Karl Friedrich von Münchhausen, who was known for telling inflated versions of his exploits. His fictional Baron also entertains by narrating his implausible adventures.
Binding: Textured blue cloth, front board with corner maple leaves in blind and elaborate gilt center medallion with lettering. On the spine, the Baron appears to be cutting the rope he's hanging onto that dangles from the Moon, with a lion and alligator waiting underneath him. Undoubtedly he'll come out alive!
Bound as above; mild rubbing to extremities and rear board, spine cocked very slightly. Some occasional light foxing and general age-toning to interior.
Fantastic fun for lovers of adventure and art. (39527)

What Might the Baron Do Next? — Signed Riviere Binding
[Raspe, Rudolf Erich]; Strang, William, & J.B. Clark, illus.; Thomas Seccombe, intro. The surprising adventures of Baron Munchausen. London: Chelsea Pub. Co. [colophon: Printed in Nijmegen, Holland, by G. J. Thieme], [1920?]. 8vo (21.7 cm, 8.5"). lv, [1], 299, [1] pp.; 30 plts. (incl. in pagination), illus.
[SOLD]
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Baron Munchausen's infamously implausible adventures are showcased here in a stunning Riviere binding, with the added entertainment of illustrations by William Strang and J.B. Clark. Strang and Clark's Art Nouveau decorations include 30 full-page black and white plates, many smaller in-text illustrations, and ornate initials.
In this collection of stories, the Baron “crosses the Thames without the assistance of a bridge, ship, boat, [or] balloon,” “shoots a stag with cherry-stones,” makes two visits to the Moon, and completes any number of other unimaginable feats. This appears to have been a
privately printed edition done in Holland by G.J. Thieme, based on the 1895 Lawrence & Bullen first edition with Strang and Clark's illustrations, and intended specifically for American subscribers according to some sources.
Binding: Contemporary full calf, spine gilt extra with five raised bands and two red leather labels with gilt lettering. Sides are mottled in shades of green, brown, and tan with triple-rule gilt borders, turn-ins decorated with gilt dentelles, and endpapers marbled in a stone pattern. All edges gilt. Binding
signed by Riviere & Son.
Ray, Illustrator and the Book in England, 272 (for Lawrence & Bullen's 1895 ed.). Binding as above; some rubbing to joints and corners, minor scrapes to rear board, portion of spine-head lacking. Very tiny closed tear to last leaf, interior otherwise in wonderful condition.
Engaging inside and out. (39428)

The Illustrator's Copy
Raspe, Rudolph, et al.; John Carswell, intro.; Fritz Kredel, illus. The singular adventures of Baron Munchausen. New York: For the members of the Limited Editions Club, 1952. Small 4to (24.8 cm, 9.75"). xli, [1], 175, [1] pp.; illus.
$175.00
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The Limited Editions Club brings Rudolph Erich Raspe's dauntless Baron to life with many full-page and in-text pen and watercolor drawings by Fritz Kredel (1900–73), beautifully hand-colored by Walter Fischer. Kredel illustrates the Baron galloping on a half-horse, fighting off an attack dog, and dodging a wild sow, as well as many more humorous situations.
This is
one of 15 presentation copies (of a total of 1500 copies), as indicated by the publisher's blindstamp on the colophon, and is “numbered” with the initials “F.K.,” signifying that this was
Fritz Kredel's own copy; his signature also appears on the colophon.
Bibliography of the Fine Books Published by the Limited Editions Club, 221. Quarter black calf with gilt lettering to spine, and French marbled paper sides, this copy without the glassine dust jacket and the slipcase; rubbing to corners and spine-ends. Interior lightly age-toned with the very occasional finger-smudge.
A compelling copy from the artist's bookshelf; and the illustrations are amusing and bright! (39561)
Also, if “The Baron” is a friend of yours, please enter
[Raspe, Rudolf Erich]
in the “Author ” field of
our website's search engine.
We presently have several other interesting and charming editions,
not all of which will appear in illustrated catalogues.

The Art of the Dedication
Rat, Maurice. Dédicaces. Poitiers: Éditions SFIL, 1958. 12mo (19.2 cm, 7.55"). 218, [2] pp.
$50.00
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First edition: Histoire et petite histoire littéraire. This is
numbered copy 66 of 500 printed, 50 of which were hors de commerce.
Publisher's cream paper wrappers; darkened, back wrapper with light spots, spine creased with chip at head. Pages clean. (35687)

Fictitious 17TH-Century Diary — Both Parts — Matching ZAEHNSDORF Bindings
[Rathbone, Hannah Mary]. So much of
the diary of Lady Willoughby as relates to her domestic history, & to the eventful period of the reign of Charles the First. London: Longman, Brown, Green, & Longmans (pr. by C. Whittingham), 1845. 12mo (17.3 cm, 6.8"). [4], 220 pp. [with the same author's] Some further portions of the diary of Lady Willoughby which do relate to her domestic history and to the events of the latter years of the reign of King Charles the First, the Protectorate and the Restoration. London: Longman, Brown, Green, & Longmans, 1848. 12mo. [6], 215, [1] pp.
$500.00
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As per the “Address to the Reader” of So Much of the Diary, etc. “the style of Printing and general appearance of this Volume have been adopted by the Publishers merely to be in accordance with the design of the Author, who in this Work personates a lady of the seventeenth Century” — with “personat[ing]” being the key word, as this is
the diary of a real 17th-century woman as imagined, both deeply and extensively, by a Victorian woman who had immersed herself in the history and memoirs of the “diarist's” period. Published anonymously, it was on its first appearance often sincerely attributed to Elizabeth Cecil Willoughby, Baroness Willoughby (1606–61), perhaps helped on by the fact that Longman had gone so far as to commission a new font from
the Chiswick Press, a recasting of Caslon Old Face, with “antique” headpieces and decorative woodcut initials, pages framed in double-ruled borders, and up-front woodcut coats of arms further employed to enhance the “journal's” verisimilitude. According to the DNB (online), the publication “fostered a minor vogue for first-person historical narratives in contemporary typefaces, notably Anne Manning's 1850 account of Mary Powell (Milton's first wife), and Thackeray's Henry Esmond (1852).”
Lady Willoughby's husband, Francis Willoughby, was a political intriguer who originally opposed the King, but later fell out with the Parliamentarians and joined the Royalists, fleeing to the Caribbean where he eventually became Governor of Barbados and established the short-lived colony of Willoughbyland (in what is now Suriname) before being restored to his estates in England. The diary entries attributed to his wife, which end shortly before Willoughby's departure for the islands, describe the major political and military events of the day against a background of her concern for her children, her love of her mother and husband, and her piety and devotion. Rathbone paid enough attention to detail to have “Lady Willoughby” offer a recipe against giddiness “given to mee by Mr. Gerard's Aunte” — the recipe being quoted in full directly from John Gerard's Herball of 1597 — but altered the course of historical events very slightly by extending the life of her daughter Diana about six years past her actual death and increasing the number of her deceased children!So Much of the Diary, here in its 1845 second edition, was originally printed in 1844, while Some Further Portions is here in its first printing.
Binding: Contemporary
matched bindings done by Zaehnsdorf, signed on each front turn-in: brown morocco, framed and panelled in gilt and black fillets with gilt-stamped fleur-de-lis corner fleurons, turn-ins similarly designed, and board edges with gilt roll; spines with gilt-stamped titles and volume labels, blind-stamped compartment decorations, and gilt-stamped fleurs-de-lis in compartments. Top edges gilt. Back pastedown of each volume with gilt-stamped example of Zaehnsdorf's oval medieval bookbinding apprentice device, from a design by Jost Amman.
Provenance: Front fly-leaf of second volume with a woman's tantalizingly not-quite-decipherable ownership inscription: “E[something] Anne Fan[something!]s [/] Farnley 1848.” Most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
NSTC 2R2740 & 2R2743; Ing, Charles Whittingham: Printer, 1795-1876, 32. Bindings as above, variously rubbed to extremities; offsetting to endpapers from turn-ins. Vol. II with ownership inscription as above. Pages lightly age-toned with occasional minor smudges or spots; front fly-leaf of vol. II (only) more notably spotted.
A handsome set of an intriguing Victorian — and feminine — perspective on the domestic side of this dramatic period in the 17th century. (37855)

A Popular “Medieval” Novel
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
Reade, Charles. The cloister and the hearth. A tale of the Middle Ages. New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1932. 8vo. 2 vols. I: xv, [1], 367, [1] pp.; 15 plts. II: 745, [3] pp.; 15 plts.
[SOLD]
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Dramatic historical novel featuring a scribe torn between his sweetheart and the Church, including a few genuine medieval figures such as Margaret Van Eyck and Gerard Gerardson (now better known as Erasmus). Originally published in 1861, this, the most popular of Reade's works, appears here in a Limited Editions Club rendition with introduction by Hendrik Willem Van Loon — who says the novel “survives today as a spiritual retreat for the weary” — and with
30 photogravure plates of wash drawings done by Lynd Ward. The volume was designed by George Macy and printed by A. Colish on Hurlbut paper, and bound by George McKibbin & Son in full brown duck cloth, “gold-stamped and printed in brown and orange from a design by Mr. Ward.”
This is numbered copy 1051 of 1500 printed; it was
signed at the colophon by the artist.
Bibliography of the Fine Books Published by the Limited Editions Club, 32. Publisher's brown and orange cloth as above, spines with gilt-stamped titles; slipcase and wrappers lacking, bindings showing moderate shelf wear most pronounced at spine extremities. Clean. (30404)

A U.S.–U.K. Collaboration
Reeves, James. The closed door. [Newark, VT]: Twinrocker & The Janus Press, 1977. 8vo (23.8 cm, 9.4"). [12] pp.; 1 illus.
$175.00
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First edition of these poems, preceded by a wood engraving printed from an original block by Richard Shirley Smith. Twinrocker, the Janus Press, and the Gruffyground Press are described as co-publishers in the colophon.
The edition was limited to a total of 240 copies; this is one of the 75 unsigned copies printed for the two American publishers, bound in hand-marbled Fabriano paper done by Susan Johanknecht and Claire Van Vliet. The text was hand set in Walbaum, also by Johanknecht and Van Vliet.
Fine, Janus Press 1975–80, 40. Publisher's lilac marbled paper–covered boards with tan shelfback, front cover with printed paper label. A clean and crisp copy. (32334)

A Chivalric Chapbook Swell Woodcuts
(Renaud de Montauban). L'histoire des quatre fils d'Aymon, revue et corrigee de nouveau et augmentee de plusieurs figures. Limoges: F. Chapoulaud, [ca. 1780–99]. 8vo in 4s (21.5 cm, 8.5"). 126 pp.; illus.
[SOLD]
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Subjects of a chivalric legendary romance, the four brothers Renaud de Montauban (the principal figure), Guiscard, Alard, and Richard, sons of Aymon, Count of Dordogne, were paladins at the court of Charlemagne. Their legend was the inspiration of many writers (Tasso, for example, used “Rinaldo” as the subject of his first epic poem) and appeared in many different versions. Because of the chapter in which Renaud kills Berthelot, Charlemagne's nephew, while playing
chess, this work is included in the great Claude F. Bloodgood Chess Collection at the Cleveland Public Library.
The present charming provincial production is printed on low-quality paper with worn type and
illustrated with 30 crude and thoroughly engaging woodcuts, including one large one on the title-page. Some of the images are used multiple times; the second image just above is an enlarged detail of one of the smaller ones.
Provenance: Late 18th- or early 19th-century inscription on front endpaper reading “This book was given to me by old Bridges, the bookseller at Cambridge, Henry.” 20th-century bookplate of Mary Herbert of Styche. Most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Searches of NUC and WorldCat find only three U.S. libraries reporting ownership (Cleveland Public, Notre Dame U., U. of Minnesota).
Modern half calf with pastepaper-covered sides, flat spine with longitudinal title-label of caramel-colored morocco lettered in gilt; gilt ornaments at top and bottom of spine. Binding signed “GM” in the rear turn-in. Title-page foxed/soiled; text clean. (39609)

A Charming & Attractive
BIBLIO HOAX
Repton, J. Adey. A trewe & feythfull hystorie of the redoubtable Prynce Radapanthus. [London: Re-printed by R. & A. Taylor, 1820]. 24mo (13.5 cm, 5.25"). [2] ff., 41, [1] pp.; 1 illus.
$250.00
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This pretends to be a type facsimile of a unique copy of a “Romance” from the press of Wynkyn de Worde, but is in fact a hoax from start to finish perpetrated by John Adey Repton: The hand-colored initial letters beginning the chapters spell the author's name in red, blue, and black.
Printed in gothic type, this is
one of 75 copies on plain paper (there were also three copies on colored paper and two on vellum). The illustration is a line drawing of the watermarks in the supposed unique copy being facsimilized!Provenance: From the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Freeman & Freeman, Bibliotheca Fictiva. Bound in a much-faded quarter once-peach(?) brocade silk with brown textured cloth–covered sides; binding showing wear with silk fraying. Floral-pattern endpapers; all edges gilt. A few pages lightly crumpled, with occasional mild soiling.
Quite the little tour de force! (38720)

CASANOVA Beyond His Exploitatious Exploits
Ricci, Seymour de. Jacques Casanova de Seingalt: An address to the Philobiblon Club of Philadelphia, 24 May, 1923. Philadelphia: Privately Printed [for The Philobiblon Club], 1923. 8vo (22 cm; 8.5"). 24 pp.
$22.50
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The great bibliographer and friend of Dr. Rosenbach (and of many American, British, and French bibliophiles and booksellers) entertained the gentlemen of the Philobiblon Club with a good and sympathetic account of Count Casanova, the publishing history of his memoirs, and the fate of the manuscript of the same.
New. Publisher's blue cloth shelfback and French swirl marbled paper over boards; white paper label on front cover. (35760)

“Yellow Bird's” English Poetry — Morocco Presentation Binding by Bosqui
Ridge, John Rollin. Poems. San Francisco: H. Payot & Company, 1868. 12mo (19 cm, 7.5"). Frontis. port., 137, [1] pp.
[SOLD]
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Ridge's Poems is widely held to be
among the first published books of poetry by a U.S. native (i.e., indigenous) American in the English language. The author was the son of a chief of the Cherokee, who, with his white wife, went west with other dispossessed Indians in 1850, hoping to strike pay dirt in the gold fields — but didn't. Instead, he settled in San Francisco and launched a writing career with a series of articles on crossing the plains for the New Orleans True Delta. He later contributed many articles and poems for the Golden Era and the Hesperian under the pen name of “Yellow Bird,” the literal translation of his Indian name. Additionally he “owned or edited ten different papers, including the Sacramento Daily Bee, the Marysville Califonria Express, the Grass Valley Daily National, and the San Francisco Herald” (Reese & Miles). Today, Ridge is remembered primarily for his Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta [1854], which transformed the Mexican bandit into a noble Robin Hood.
Ridge's poems were collected posthumously and are here published by his widow, with
a mounted albumen photograph of the author for the frontispiece; the preface includes a detailed account of the assassination of his father, John Ridge. The book was printed by Edward Bosqui & Co., considered San Francisco’s finest 19th-century printer.
Binding: Chestnut-brown morocco presentation binding with bevelled edges, covers framed in black rules, with author and title in gilt in nice frames on each board (gilt stamping the same as seen on the cloth binding).
Binding by Bosqui, with that firm’s ticket.
Cowan p. 533; Graff 3504; Kurutz, California Books Illustrated with Original Photographs 1856–1890, 43; Miles & Reese, Creating America, 122; Norris 3270. Binding as above; rebacked, original spine somewhat unartfully reapplied, sides scuffed. Scratched markings on pastedowns; title-page and a few others with old stains.
A very decent copy, with the presentation binding copies being rare. (39603)

“Jes' Looky Hyonder, Hey?”
Riley, James Whitcomb. Riley songs o'cheer. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Co., [1905]. 8vo (20 cm, 7.8"). 195, [1] pp.; illus.
$75.00
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First edition, first issue of this compendium bringing together poems previously published and these new elements: “Songs O'Cheer,” “Dedication to Bliss Carman,” “A Christmas Carol,” and “Her Smile of Cheer and Voice of Song.” The “Hoosier Poet” presents some verses in his classic midwestern dialect and some in more elegant verbiage, while
Will Vawter provided numerous full-page and in-text illustrations nicely evoking a nostalgic, mostly rural America to match.
Binding: Publisher's green cloth with a young farmer's vignette stamped in white, black, and gilt on the cover, spine with gilt-stamped title and bird vignette.
BAL 16671. Binding as above, dust jacket lacking, very minor rubbing to extremities and front cover vignette. Front pastedown with ownership inscription of Alice Grace Stone. Clean and fresh. (35049)

“Little Orphant Annie's Come to Our House to Stay”
Riley, James Whitcomb; Ethel Franklin Betts, illus. The Orphant Annie book. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co., (copyright 1908). 4to (29.4 cm, 11.6"). [30] pp.; 8 col. plts.
[SOLD]
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Riley's beloved poems for children, here in
the first edition with Betts's illustrations. Philadelphia-born Ethel Franklin Betts (1877–1959) was a prolific illustrator, particularly of magazines and children's books; here her work first enhances the classic piece that inspired many differently imagined “Little Orphan Annies” across the decades — although Riley's little homemaker and teller of moral horror stories does not much remind one of any of her later avatars in the funny papers, in films or on the radio, or on Broadway!
Also present here are six other poems including “Billy Miller's Circus-Show,” “The Squirt-Gun Uncle Maked Me,” and “Lizabuth-Ann on Bakin'-Day” for which Betts supplied additional full-page, color-printed depictions of children playing outdoors, watching a circus clown, visiting horses, etc. In addition to her eight plates, the poems are decorated with small vignettes and bordered with floral frames, the vignettes and frames being printed in shades of orange and green.
Provenance: Front fly-leaf with early inked inscription of Marjorie S. Ingraham of South Lynnfield, MA.
BAL 16687. Publisher's dark green cloth, covers with color-printed illustration; light wear to edges and extremities, covers with a few small scuffs. Fly-leaf with inscription as above and with tiny paper adhesions at top and lower edges. Pages and plates clean.
A landmark American children's book, here in a delightful copy. (38674)

LEC: 50 Rilke Poems
Rilke, Rainer Maria. Selected poems of Rainer Maria Rilke. New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1981. 8vo (24.2 cm, 9.5"). xxxiii, [1], 129, [3] pp.; illus.
$75.00
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The Limited Editions Club takes on “Germany's greatest modern poet”: 50 poems from Rilke's early career, selected, translated, and annotated by Carlyle Ferren MacIntyre, with a preface by Harry T. Moore. The poems are
printed in English and German on facing pages, with mutedly melancholy, gray-toned, stippled full-page and in-text illustrations (four of the former, six of the latter) done by Robert Kipniss and lithographed by George C. Miller & Son. Katy Homans designed the volume; the text was printed in Dante type (both roman and italic) on Mohawk eggshell wove paper, and the binding was done by A. Horowitz & Son.
This is numbered copy 1063 of 2000 printed, signed at the colophon by the artist. The appropriate LEC newsletter is laid in.
Bibliography of the Fine Books Published by the Limited Editions Club, 518. Publisher's quarter navy buckram and light blue paper–covered boards, spine with author stamped in silver, in original matching slipcase; slipcase showing minor shelfwear with spine and edges gently sunned, volume spine likewise gently sunned, otherwise crisp and solid. (37247)

Scots Antiquarianism — ILLUSTRATED
Ritson, Joseph, ed. The Caledonian muse: A chronological
selection of Scotish poetry from the earliest times. London: Robert Triphook, 1821. 8vo. Frontis., iv, 232 pp.
$275.00
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During the heyday of attempts to find the origins of Great Britain's literature, Ritson collected and published anthologies of nursery rhymes, Robin Hoodiana, English songs and ballads, and English and Scottish poems. Shortly before the present work was supposed to be published in 1785, a fire destroyed part of the printer's warehouse and the manuscript of Ritson's introductory essay; the surviving sheets, printed in octavo with horizontal chain lines, make their first appearance here with a new introduction. The poems are illustrated with vignettes engraved by Heath after Stothard's designs, and with small woodcuts by Bewick. The frontispiece is an engraved silhouette
portrait of Ritson.
NSTC 2R11677; Lowndes 2099; Hugo, The Bewick Collector, 434. Contemporary half dark green morocco with red marbled paper sides, spine with gilt-stamped title; some rubbing and with a bit of green discoloration to paper of front cover. Minor offsetting to frontispiece and title-page; mild to moderate foxing in first third of volume and to last few pages. (21934)

“The Favourites of the People” — PICKERING PRINTING, BEWICK ILLUSTRATIONS
Ritson, Joseph, ed.; Thomas Bewick, illus.; John Bewick, illus. Pieces of ancient popular poetry: From authentic manuscripts and old printed copies. London: William Pickering, 1833. 8vo (20.2 cm, 7.9"). xvi, 172, [4] pp.; illus.
$285.00
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First Pickering edition, but second overall: a “republication . . . with the original woodcuts, and Mr. Ritson[']s additions and corrections,” along with newer vocabulary glosses, of the 1791 first appearance, which had “become scarce and dear” by the time of this publication (p. [v]). This anthology was compiled by one of the most dedicated scholars of the origins of British literature, and includes “Adam Bel, Clym of the Cloughe, and Wyllyam of Cloudesle,” “The King and the Barker,” and “The Life and Death of Tom Thumbe.” The volume is
illustrated with in-text wood engravings by Thomas and John Bewick, and shows why Pickering is a highly collected printer.
The wood engravings are printed from the original blocks from Bewick's atelier; however, many of the tailpieces differ from those of the first edition. Also, this edition adds “Sir Peny” from a Cottonian manuscript that was not included in the first edition.
Provenance: Front free endpaper with difficult to decipher inked ownership inscription dated 1849, half-title with pencilled inscription: “Ex Armario Gulielmi Blaine Wootten.” Later in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
NSTC 2R11684; Hugo, The Bewick Collector, 488; Kelly, Checklist of Books Published by William Pickering, 1833.9; Keynes, William Pickering (rev. ed.), 87. Publisher's plain dark blue cloth, spine with printed paper label; cloth worn and faded, spine extremities and top of label chipped. Inscriptions and ex-libris as above. Pages slightly age-toned, with edges untrimmed and dust-soiled; first and last few leaves lightly foxed.
Externally an unprepossessing, internally an attractive copy. (37871)
Classic
Collection / Uncommon
Illustrated Variant
[Roach, John, ed.]. The beauties of the poets of Great Britain,
carefully selected from the works of the best authors. Embellished with engravings on wood. London:
Sherwin & Co., 1821–22. 12mo (15 cm, 5.9"). 2 vols. I: [4], ii, 360 pp.; 9 plts. II: [2], iii, [1], 360 pp.;
9 plts.
$250.00
Click the interior images for enlargements.
Scarce-to-say-the-least illustrated variant of a long-popular anthology first published
in 1793. OCLC and NUC Pre-1956 fail to find any holdings of this edition, which is also not listed
by NSTC; from this time period, most catalogues and bibliographies find only the three-volume 1826
printing.
The contents of these two volumes appear to be based almost entirely on John Roach's Beauties of the
Poets of Great Britain, although Roach is not cited as the editor, the pieces are in a different order than
originally presented, and there are a few minor changes: “The Negro Boy” is not included here, while
several “runic odes” by Mathias and Penrose have been added. The expected highlights of Pope, Gray,
Cowper, Burns, Chatterton, Goldsmith, etc. are present, as well as lesser-known pieces such as Mrs.
Carter's “Address to Meditation,” Mary Darby Robinson's “Trumpeter,” and Helen Maria Williams's
“Sonnet to Twilight” and “Sonnet to Hope” (the latter memorized by Wordsworth, whose first
published poem was “Sonnet, on seeing Miss Helen Maria Williams Weep at a Tale of Distress”).
The volumes are illustrated with 18 wood-engraved plates signed by Sears, Willis, and others — not
the 1793 originals.
Provenance:
Ownership note of “Adams Jewett, M.D.” to top of title-page.
This ed.
not in NSTC, Lowndes, or Allibone. Not in British Library OPAC, not in NUC Pre-1956, not in
OCLC, not in COPAC. Recent marbled paper–covered boards, spines with printed
paper labels. Each title-page with early inked ownership inscription in upper margin as above. Some
pages with offsetting; spots of light to moderate staining; one page with pencilled annotation.
(25339)

“Full a Fun, Tales, An Rhymes” — “Printed for the Author”
[Robinson, Joseph Barlow]. [Works of Sammy Twitcher]. Owd Sammy Twitcher's
CRISMAS BOWK FOR THE YEAR 1870. Derby: Printed by the author, [1870]. 8vo (21.3 cm, 8.4"). 26 pp.; 4 plts. [with] Owd Sammy Twitcher's visit tu't Gret Exibishun e Darby. Derby: Pr. by the author, [1870]. 8vo. [24] pp. [and] Owd Sammy Twitcher's second visit tu't Gret Exibishun e Darby, wi' Jim. Pr. by the author, [1870]. 8vo. [24] pp. [and] Owd Sammy Twitcher's visit tu't watter cure establishment, at Matlock-Bonk. Darby: Pr. by the author, [1872]. 8vo. 54, [14 (adv.)], 22 (adv.) pp.; 4 plts.
$750.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Attractively bound collection of the first editions of these four humorous works written in thick Derbyshire dialect (the first sentence here reads “Frend, ah gey thee my hond, ah dunna mene tow fingers, bur a gud grip, az tha'll feel tinglin e aw thy veins”).
Three of the pieces include glossaries of some of the more opaque terms. Two of the essays recount
visits to the extensive and interesting Midland Counties Fine Arts and Industrial Exhibition of 1870, and the final entry features a lengthy appendix offering a more serious look at
Matlock-Bank, its hydropathic establishments, and its other landmarks, this in standard English. Mr. Smedley's Hydropathic Establishment, referenced in the text, is the first business appearing in the subsequent advertisement section, which is extensive, evocative, and contains
many ads embellished with little recommendations (by “Twitcher”?) in Darbyshire doggerel.
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 the
original 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)

“Afloat by the Heels, in That Terrible Ocean
In a Manner of Which You Can Scarce Have a Notion”
(Robinsonade — Not Defoe, Daniel). Robinson Crusoe: With thirty illustrations. London: Wm. S. Orr & Co. (pr. by Vizetelly Brothers & Co.), [ca. 1843]. 16mo (17 cm, 6.45"). Frontis., [2], 39, [1] pp.; 8 plts., illus.
$300.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Uncommon comedic verse retelling of the most famous castaway story of all (sorry Gilligan, sorry Tom “Cast Away” Hanks, Will “Lost in Space”), featuring
a total of nine sepia-tinted plates and a number of in-text vignettes. In this version, Crusoe stays lost mostly because he prefers to be his own king, free of civilization, rent, and taxes; once having left his island, he sells Friday and puts his mother in the workhouse. Among other cracks at contemporary societal quirks, the narrator suggests that Crusoe would have found his lack of a wife “the most pleasing of facts” if only he had read Malthus and Martineau, and the scanty costumes of the natives are compared to those at the ballet this season.
The wood-engraved frontispiece is signed “A.C.,” i.e., Alfred Crowquill, pseudonym of A.H. Forrester, while the other
tinted plates and black and white in-text illustrations are unsigned. While the exact publication date of this volume is difficult to identify, Orr published this popular piece in 1840 and 1844, as well as part of the 1843 edition of the Comic Album; it appears here as part of the “Comic Nursery Tales” series. This stand-alone printing is scarce: WorldCat locates only seven U.S. institutions reporting copies (Boston Public, Yale, Huntington, Lilly, Minnesota, Free Library of Philadelphia, SUNY-Stony Brook).Provenance: From the children's book collection of Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
NSTC 2D7678. Not in Gumuchian; not in Osborne Collection. Publisher's original printed paper–covered boards; paper slightly darkened, edges and extremities rubbed, joints refurbished. Now in a sturdy, dark blue cloth–covered clamshell case and matching slipcase. Pages evenly age-toned. One leaf with tear from lower margin, touching two lines of text and lower edge of one illustration (without loss); one leaf with short tear from lower margin not touching text.
A worthwhile copy of this unusual parody, in its original binding and nicely box-housed. (39980)

“El Amor a la Memoria de
Mi Infeliz Hermano”
Rodríguez Galván, Ignacio. Poesías de D. Ignacio Rodriguez Galvan. Mejico: Impresas por M.N. de la Vega, 1851. Folio (24 cm; ). 2 vols. in 1. I: [4] ff., frontis., 311, [1 (blank)] pp., [1] f. II: 336 pp., [1] f.
$950.00
Click the images for enlargement.
First edition. Born in 1816 in the small town of Tizayuca in what is now the state of Hidalgo, Rodriguez Galvan is widely credited with being
the initiator of the Romantic movement in Mexico. He wrote novels, poetry, plays, and was the editor of several periodicals, most especially Calendario de las Señoritas Mexicanas and Año Nuevo, El Recreo de las Familias. He died of yellow fever in Havana in 1842 at the age of 27 while en route to South
America on a diplomatic mission. A few of the poems in vol. I were penned in
Havana before his death.
These volumes offer his “Composiciones líricas originales” in vol. I and “Composiciones dramáticas originales” in vol. II. The frontispiece is a fine lithographic portrait of Don Ignacio, in Romantic style of course; there is a liberal use of handsome tailpieces. The whole was compiled and edited by the author's brother Antonio.
This first edition is uncommon in our experience as dealers in Mexicana.
Provenance: Masonic stamp, “Porfirio del Rio” on title-page; inscription to fly-leaf of A. Quijano, 1916.
Palau 273981; Sabin 72510. Handsome contemporary quarter red morocco with red mottled paper sides, boards rubbed; spine exuberantly tooled in gilt, bright. Foxing and spotting variously; provenance indications as above. (31961)

Love & Honor in the REVOLUTION
Roe, Edward Payson. Near to nature's heart. New York: Dodd, Mead, & Co., © 1876. 12mo. [4], [7]–556, [4 (adv.)] pp.
$75.00
Click the image for an enlargement.
First edition. Presbyterian minister and popular novelist Edward Payson Roe wrote this romance with strong Christian themes, set in New York state during the Revolutionary War — mixing in real people such as “Captain Molly” Corbin and George Washington.
Binding: Publisher's dark green cloth, front cover and spine with flowering branches stamped in black, spine with gilt-stamped title.
BAL 16902 (not matching either described binding); Wright, III, 4619. Bound as above, extremities rubbed not too roughly; front cover with small areas of faint discoloration. Front free endpaper with inked ownership inscription (S.M. Woodburn) dated [18]81 and tear with a bit of loss from upper margin. Generally clean and nice with occasional light spots; ads at the back giving extra pleasure and interest. (28406)

Poems for a “Much Loved Daughter” — Ticketed Binding
Rogers, Samuel. Poems. London: Edward Moxon [colophon: Chiswick Press: Pr. by C. Whittingham], 1839. 16mo (16.7 cm, 6.625"). viii, 311, [1] pp.; illus.
$100.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Nicely bound selection of poems from the celebrated Romantic-era English poet and member of the Dickens circle, with many charming vignettes (head- and tailpieces), mostly of women, scattered throughout the work. The vignettes were done by Thomas Stothard, with some bearing his logo.Binding: 19th-century black pebbled calf, spine with gilt title surrounded by various double gilt rules and arabesque stamps, covers framed with double fillets in blind around two drawer pulls connected by a rule of dots surrounding a mostly oval gilt foliate design. All edges gilt; original brown silk ribbon placeholder present. Front pastedown with binder's ticket of T. Edmondson, 38 Marketplace, Lancaster.
Provenance: With gift inscription “Elisabeth Sophia Jameson to her much Loved Daughter Maryanne Jameson Lancaster July the 7 1848" on front fly-leaf in ink and a pencilled note “C.S.F. July 10 1915" immediately below. A small rubber-stamp green monogram, possibly C.S.F.'s, appears at the bottom of the title-page. Most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Binding as above, very gently rubbed at corners and joints, top back joint (outside) just starting, front cover very slightly splayed. Light age-toning throughout, a handful of specks, one small marginal spot. Provenance markings as above, binder's ticket offsetting to front endpaper. Despite the sound of the necessarily recited faults, this is
a strong, lovely copy of this handsome production. (38254)

Early 17th-Century Collection — Highlights of Ronsard's Works
Ronsard, Pierre de. Recveil des sonnets, odes, hymnes, elegies, et avtres pieces retranchees aux editions precedentes des oeuures de ... avec quelques autres non imprimees cy-devant. Paris: Chez Nicolas Buon, 1609. 12mo (15.1 cm, 5.9"). 360 pp., 12 ff. (lacking 4 final ff., the “Table des Poesies contenves en ce recveil”).
$825.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Dubbed “the prince of poets,” Ronsard was one of the leading lights of the French Renaissance; his influence was felt in his own time via the school of poetry he helped found (La Pléiade) and thereafter through his revitalization of classical forms and inspiration. The first collected edition of his extensive oeuvre appeared in 1567, published by Buon, who in tribute to Ronsard's enduring popularity continued to produce various updated, corrected, and annotated versions into the 17th century. The present volume, vol. 11 of Buon's 1609–10 printing of the complete works, offers some of the poet's most significant productions — including many of his best-known poems along with more obscure verses, as well as his important l'Abrégé de l'art poétique français. It is set here as a
duodecimo rather than Buon's better-known folio printing of the same year: Conveniently portable, this smaller production still features
woodcut and typographic headpieces, and decorative capitals.
Provenance: Front free endpaper with large ex libris label of Grace Rolleston.
Brunet, IV, 1375. Contemporary vellum, later recased using green silk bands with new headbands; vellum slightly sprung, back cover with significant area of discoloration (from glue inside?), binding showing moderate wear overall but sturdy and serviceable. All edges stained blue. Bookplate as above. Four final leaves lacking, see above. Pages clean; last few leaves with waterstaining at inner portions, final leaf adhering to free endpaper.
If you want a neat, compact yet compendious, early 17th-century distillation of “Ronsard” in one volume — here it is! (39486)

“True Poetry Forever Lasts”
Ronsard, Pierre de. Songs & sonnets ... Selected & translated into English verse by Curtis Hidden Page. Boston: Houghton Mifflin & Company, [May] 1903. 8vo (19.2 cm, 7.6"). xxxvi, 137, [2] pp.
$125.00
Click the images for enlargements.
This collection of poems on love, nature, and poetry itself begins with biographical notes. The Renaissance “Prince of Poets,” Ronsard (1524–85) was the “favorite and friend of six successive [French] kings,” with patronage from queens and princesses to match. Many editions of his works appeared before 1623, and one in 1629, however none came forth again until 200 years later, when interest in 16th-century poetry was revived by Sainte-Beuve, Blanchemain, et al.
This edition was designed by the great American typographer (or “typster,” as he labeled himself) Bruce Rogers, and he left his mark on its final page; it was limited to 425 copies printed at the Riverside Press in Cambridge, MA. Bound in maroon paper–covered boards with a white paper spine label printed in black, this is copy 405 and is in its original dust wrapper and with its box, being
rare thus. The spare label is tipped in at the back.
Work of Bruce Rogers, 101. Bound and in its box as above; dust jacket and box label sunned, box edges rubbed. The pristine text is, which can be read with enjoyment by peeping, is
unopened and uncut. (30539)

Nonesuch Press Edition: A Novel
C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien Read Aloud
to
Make the Inklings Laugh
Ros, Amanda McKittrick. Irene Iddesleigh. London: Nonesuch Press, 1926. 12mo (20 cm, 7.9"). 151, [1] pp.; illus.
$125.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Nonesuch printing of the first novel from an Irish author who made a career out of being critically savaged for her florid and improbably alliterative prose. Anna Margaret Ross, who wrote under the “Ros” pseudonym, first published this tragic novel about a doomed marriage at her own expense in 1897; Mark Twain called it “one of the greatest unintentionally hilarious novels of all time,” and to this day it continues to be featured on lists of the worst books ever written.
“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 original
three 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)

A Cute Little Bodoni
Rosini, Giovanni. Poesia, la musica e la danza, versi ... Parma: co' Tipi Bodoniani, 1796. Small 8vo (16.5 cm, 6.5"). [4] ff., 30 pp.
$725.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Giovanni Rosini (1776–1855), a professor, novelist, poet, dramaturge, and writer on art, was fortunate to have this collection of some of his poetry
beautifully printed in elegant, minute type by the famous Bodoni Press. Brooks says of this edition: “Ravissante impressione bodonienne.”
Provenance: Unidentified stencilled ownership mark of an anchor flanked by a “G” on the left and an “I” on the right contained in an oval with a solid outer ring and an inner one of dots.
Brooks 629. Contemporary light boards covered with tan paper speckled with red; paper of spine damaged with loss. Housed in a simple one-ply phase box. (39613)

Perishable Press: Marking the Occasion
Rothenberg, Jerome. B • R • M • TZ • V • H. Mount Horeb, WI: Perishable Press, 1979. 8vo (21 cm, 8.25"). [8] pp.
$75.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition of this poem in honor of Matthew Rothenberg's bar mitzvah,
signed by the author. This is one of 225 copies printed in black and gray on Umbria paper and pamphlet-sewn in a single, four-folded sheet of Raffaello Roma. Walter Hamady's usual colophonic flair is showcased here: the edition statement is composed
acrostically.
Two Decades of Hamady & the Perishable Press, 90. Publisher's paper wrappers, front wrapper with title printed in off-white. Crisp and clean. (30903)

A Perishable Press Birthday Gift
Rothenberg, Jerome. A poem to celebrate the spring & Diane Rothenberg's birthday 3/20/75 in four parts. [Mount Horeb], WI: Perishable Press, 1975. Oblong 8vo (15.2 cm, 6"). [16] pp.
[SOLD]
Click the images for enlargements.
Sole edition and signed by the poet, this piece was thoughtfully and inventively designed and produced by Walter Hamady of the Perishable Press, with
“a small gift added in by Jody Shields”: a bow-like, brightly colored paper sculpture “print” in paper wrappers. The colophon proclaims that “this small volume is the Seventy-fourth from this press & is intended as a continuation of the celebration, a present interchanged by friends”; the present example is numbered copy 70 of only 76 produced, handset in Palatino printed in pink, blue, black, raspberry, and blind “on various papers none quite as nice as Shadwell” (also per the colophon).
Two Decades of Hamady & the Perishable Press, 71. Pamphlet-sewn by printer in double-folded Swedish marbled papers; minor rubbing to spine extremities, otherwise crisp and clean. (30895)

Didot
Handsomely Presents Rousseau
Rousseau, Jean Baptiste. Odes, cantates, epitres et poesies diverses. Paris: Chez P. Didot, fils aine de F. A. Dudot l'aine, 1790. Large 4to (32 cm, 12.75"). xii, 560 pp.
$1250.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First Didot printing of Rousseau's poetry; he was to reprint the work in two volumes, 12mo format in 1799. “Cette edition a été imprimée, au nombre de 250 exemplaires, avec de nouveaux caractères gravés exprès par Firmin Didot, sur du papier vélin de la fabrique de MM. Dervaud et freres Henry, d’Angoulême” (p. [vi]].
This was part of the continuation of the series originally printed for the education of the Dauphin.
Provenance: Bookplate of Louis Boutemy, later owned by Tisseyre Boutemy.
WorldCat locates five U.S. libraries reporting ownership (Pierpont Morgan, NYPL, State Library of Indiana, St. Johns, St. Catherine University).
Brunet, V, 1491. 19th-century half red morocco and marbled boards, rubbed at extremities; top edge gilt, silk place marker. Foxing of a the lightest sort and that not “throughout.”
A lovely copy. (40332)
Rousseau, Jean-Baptiste. Oeuvres poétiques ... avec un commentaire par M. Amar. Paris: Chez Lefèvre, 1824. 8vo (23.1 cm, 9.1"). 2 vols. in 1. Frontis., xxxv, [1], 419, [5], 363, [1 (blank)] pp.
$225.00
First edition of this compilation. Rousseau’s verses and epigrams enjoyed enormous popularity in their day; they appear here as part of the “Collection des classiques françois,” with commentary by Jean Augustin Amar du Rivier and an engraved frontispiece portrait done by Taurel.
Brunet, IV, 1421. Contemporary black half morocco over blue pebbled cloth, spine beautifully gilt extra, leather edges ruled in gilt; volume clean and virtually unworn. Front pastedown with private collector’s bookplate and with institutional rubber-stamp (no other markings); some soiling and offsetting to front pastedown and free endpaper. Many leaves lightly to moderately foxed, a few more heavily — the paper here was not as good as it might have been. One leaf with short tear from upper margin, touching page number but not text.
An attractive production. (19301)

The
LARGEST Herbal in the English Language
(Ruskin's Copy). Parkinson, John. Theatrum botanicum: The theater of plantes. Or, an herball of a large extent ... London: Thomas Cotes, 1640. Folio (35.3 cm, 13.9"). Add. engr. t.-p., [18], 1755 (i.e., 1745), [3] pp.; illus.
$6000.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition: Over 3,000 species and their virtues described for the use of apothecaries and herbalists. Parkinson (1567–1650), who served officially as Royal Botanist to Charles I and unofficially as gardening mentor to his queen, Henrietta Maria, was also one of the founders of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries — to which the allegorical frontispiece here may refer with the rhinoceros in its upper portion. The author of Paradisi in sole paradisus terrestris, Parkinson was much acclaimed by his contemporaries and by later botanists; Henrey cites Sir James Edward Smith's assessment that “this work [the Theatrum botanicum] and the herbal of Gerarde were the two main pillars of botany in England till the time of Ray.” Gerard and Parkinson indeed competed in publication, with the printing of the present work having been delayed several years so as to avoid marketplace clash with Johnson's edition of Gerard's herbal.
In the present work, Parkinson divided the plants by classes such as “Sweete smelling Plants,” “Purging Plants,” saxifrages, wound herbs, cooling herbs, “Strange and Outlandish Plants,” etc. Most of the entries are illustrated with in-text woodcuts, interspersed with pages wholly occupied with four images. Among the Americana content here are descriptions of Virginia bluebells, Peruvian mechacan, potatoes, and an assortment of “Ginny peppers” (with dire warnings regarding their fiery hotness); also present are
28 previously unrecorded British species, including the strawberry tree and the lady's slipper orchid. The index and tables are organized by Latin name, English name, and medicinal property.
Provenance: Front pastedown with John Ruskin's Brantwood ex-libris, and with bookplate of American zoologist Charles Atwood Kofoid; additional engraved title-page with inked inscription “Ex bibliotheca Mathiae Lynen, Londini,” dated 1641. A cheque drawn on Prescott Dinsdale Cave Tugwell & Co. by Joanna Ruskin Severn on Ruskin's behalf is tipped in.
ESTC S121875; Henrey 286; Johnston, Cleveland Herbal, Botanical, and Horticultural Collections, 197; Nissen 1490; Rohde, Old English Herbals, 142; STC (rev. ed.) 19302; Alden & Landis 640/143; Arents 212; Pritzel 6934; Hunt 235. Contemporary speckled calf framed in blind double fillets, spine with gilt-stamped red leather title-label; much worn with front joint open, hinges (inside) reinforced with linen tape, old refurbishments including shellacking. Front pastedown and engraved title-page reinforced, the latter by attachments to endpaper and title-page; preface leaf partly separated; first and last leaves generally tattered and a few others with marginal paper flaws, one affecting a few letters and a small portion of one image. Occasional marginal tears, one just touching text; three small ink spots to one leaf, touching two images, else scattered spots only; one spread with ink blot (possibly printer's) obscuring portions of five words. Some corners bumped, and index leaves creased with three partly split along creases; final table leaf and errata leaf with old repairs costing a few words. Some pagination erratic and pp. 845–48 laid in, supplied from a smaller-margined copy; front free endpaper with pencilled annotations regarding this copy. A worn and pored-over yet respectable copy of this important 17th-century herbal, with
nice English and American provenance suggesting who did some of the poring. (34702)

For “Workmen & Laborers” & Including Ruskin's
Attack on Whistler
Ruskin, John. Fors clavigera. Letters to the workmen and labourers of Great Britain. New York: Greenwood Press, 1968. 8vo (21.8 cm, 8.6"). 4 vols. I: 430 pp. II: 459, [1] pp. III: 425, [1] pp. IV: 412 pp.
$100.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Facsimile printing of the 1886 Frank F. Lovell & Co. edition: pamphlets presenting Ruskin's perspective on contemporary moral and social issues.
Publisher's teal cloth, spines with gilt-stamped title; spines with gilt slightly dimmed and minor extremity wear, front cover of vol. II with a small light smudge. A solid and pleasant set, with its pages very crisp and clean. (33164)

“My dearest John,” “My dear Girl,” “My dearest Boy,” “My dear Father” . . .
Ruskin, John James; Van Akin Burd, ed. The Ruskin family letters. Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press, © 1973. 8vo. 2 vols. I: Frontis., lviii, 417, [1] pp. II: Frontis., [418]–792, [2] pp.
$45.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition: the correspondence of John James Ruskin, his wife, and their son John, from 1801 through 1843 — an important body of material for scholars of the great art critic.
Publisher's red cloth, spines gilt-stamped, in matching slipcase; volume spines sunned, slipcase showing minimal shelfwear. Overall very clean and crisp. (33160)

A Prince, Accused of Heresy & Lust
Russell, John. Don Carlos; or, persecution. A tragedy, in five acts. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown, 1822. 8vo (22 cm, 8.7"). xvi, 119, [1] pp.
$175.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Based on Schiller's play (which also served as the basis for Verdi's Don Carlos), this tremendously popular piece portrays Don Carlos as a romantic hero brought down by the machinations of both the power-hungry Spanish Inquisition and his tyrannical father, King Philip II. This is the second edition, following the first of the same year — in fact, the work was so successful that it went through six printings in that year, although contemporary critics were not universally fond of either the text or its actual stage performance. The author, Lord John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, was better known as a reformist politician than as an author, serving twice as Prime Minister. Here he gives a brief overview of the historical circumstances in the preface, although he ruefully admits that “the two main props upon which the following attempt at a play is built, have no solid foundation in history” (p. v): that is to say, the Prince's devoted passion for the Queen (first promised to him, then married to his father), and the malign intervention of the
Inquisition.
Provenance: From the library of Robert L. Sadoff, M.D., sans indicia.
NCBEL, III, 1138; NSTC 2R21229. Contemporary tree calf, covers framed in small floral gilt roll, spine with gilt-stamped red and green leather title and author labels, spine compartments with gilt-stamped floral decorations, board edges and turn-ins with gilt rolls; minor rubbing to spine, joints, and extremities. Light foxing.
An interesting piece, in distinguished dress. (39827)
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