NATURAL HISTORY
NATURAL HISTORY
Animal Stories — Fly-Fishing, Too!
Aelianus, Claudius. [4 lines in Greek, then] Aeliani de natvra animalivm.... Londini: Gulielmus Bowyer, 1744. 4to (26.2 cm, 10.4"). 2 vols. I: xiv, xxvii, [35 (index)], 603, [1] pp. II: [605]–1128, [88 (index and addenda)] pp.
• ESTC T88657; Dibdin, I, 232; Schweiger, I, 2. Contemporary vellum-covered boards, covers framed and panelled in blind with central blind-stamped strapwork medallions, spines with gilt-stamped leather title and volume labels. Boards sprung with front joint of vol. I open and separating from bottom, vellum soiled. Front free endpapers with early inked owner’s name as above; shadow of shelf number once pencilled on title-page, erased. Spotting of various sorts and minor smudging in upper margins of some pages; leaves otherwise clean.
“Interesting In Spite of Its
Snarling AsperityAshe, Thomas. Travels in America, performed in 1806, for the purpose of exploring the rivers Alleghany, Monongahela, Ohio, and Mississippi, and ascertaining the produce and condition of their banks and vicinity. Newburyport [MA]: Wm. Sawyer & Co. (pr. by E.M. Blunt), 1808. 12mo (18.1 cm, 7.1"). 366 pp. 
Click any image where the hand appears on Provenance: Front free endpaper with inked inscription reading “Henry Pratt’s Book, Bought in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eleven, third month twelfth day”; front pastedown with inked inscription reading “Matilda Miller’s Book 1898.”
• Shaw & Shoemaker 14380; Sabin 2180; Howes A352. Contemporary sheep, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label; leather much worn and abraded, spine with inked call number. Front pastedown with institutional bookplate (affixed above and not obscuring inscription), front free endpaper and fly-leaf with inscriptions as above, title-page unobtrusively pressure-stamped, first text page with inked annotation in inner margin and stamped numeral in lower margin. Pages age-toned and spotted. Upper outer corner of one leaf torn away, with loss of a few words; four leaves torn, touching a number of lines of text but not generally affecting sense. Occasional small pencilled check marks.
Wildcats, Bears, Rabbits, Otters, Skunks, Buffalo,
& “Wapite”Audubon, John James, & John Bachman. The quadrupeds of North America. New-York: V.G. Audubon, 1854. Royal 8vo (27.5 cm; 10.75"). 3 vols. I: viii, 383, [1 (blank)] pp., 50 plts. II: [2] ff., 334 pp., 49 plts. III: v, [1], 348 pp., [1] f., 51 plts.
155 fine handcolored lithographed plates by W. E. Hitchcock and R. Trembly after J.J. and J.W. Audubon, lithographed by J.T. Bowen. 
A lovely set. (23904)
“Fundamentall to the Erecting & Building of
a True Philosophy”Bacon, Francis. Sylva sylvarum or a naturall history in ten centuries. London: Pr. by J.H. for William Lee, 1627. 8vo (27.6 cm, 10.9"). Frontis., add. engr. t.-p., [10], 266, [16], 47, [3] pp. (lacking final blank f.).
Single-click any image where the hand appears onNew Atlantis, an unfinished allegorical fantasy begun shortly after his political downfall and not long before his death. Together, the two works exemplify Bacon's scientific and literary accomplishments.
Provenance: Riggs family: Front pastedown with armorial bookplate of philanthropist Elisha Francis Riggs, who funded the Riggs Library at Georgetown University; volume inherited by T. Lawrason Riggs, founding chaplain of St. Thomas More Chapel, Yale University; donated to St. Thomas More Chapel Library; deaccessioned 2008.
• ESTC S106924; STC (2nd ed.), 1169; Gibson, Bacon, 171. On Bacon, see: Dictionary of National Biography. 18th-century calf framed in gilt single fillet, spine with recent gilt-stamped leather title and author labels, board edges with gilt roll; a little rubbed and covers with portions darkened. All edges stained yellow. Front pastedown with bookplate as above. Some pages gently age-toned, with occasional minor spotting. Small hole to added engraved title-page just beneath publication information, not affecting text. Final blank leaf (only) lacking. (24666)
A Celebrated Study of Nicaragua's Natural History Belt, Thomas. The naturalist in Nicaragua: A narrative of a residence at the gold mines of Chontales; journeys in the savannahs and forests. With observations on animals and plants in reference to the theory of evolution of living forms. London: John Murray, 1874. 8vo (19.4 cm, 7.6"). Frontis., xvi, 401, [1] pp.; 3 plts., 1 fold. col. map.
Click the interior images for enlargements. • NSTC 00522718; Palau 26647; Jackson, Guide to the Literature of Botany, 368. Publisher's blue cloth, covers framed in black-stamped designs, front cover with central gilt-stamped alligator vignette; binding slightly shaken, spine sunned, corners and spine extremities rubbed, sewing just starting to loosen. Two leaves with outer margins lightly waterstained; map edges lightly foxed. A nice clean copy. (24406)
With
aCharming! Gilt! Cover
VignetteBrowne, Daniel Jay. The American bird fancier; considered with reference to the breeding, rearing, feeding, management, and peculiarities of cage and house birds.... New York: C.M. Saxton, (copyright 1850). 12mo (19.2 cm, 7.5"). Frontis., 107, [1], 12 (adv.) pp.; illus. 
Single-click
either image,
Provenance: Front pastedown and free endpaper with inked inscriptions belonging to “Caroline and Jane (of) Millport” and (twice) “J. Emory Botsford (of) Millport NY.” These bird lore–seeking Botsfords were surely kin to Anna Botsford Comstock (1854–1930)—identified by the online Encyclopedia Britannica as a prominent American “naturalist, illustrator, and educator” and by a Cornell “Sciencenter” publication as “the first female Cornell professor and arguably the mother of nature education.” A pleasant thought, if not a matter of true importance! (See: http://search.eb.com/women/articles/Comstock_Anna_Botsford.html and http://seti.sentry.net/archive/bioastro/2002/Jul/0145.html.)
Binding: Publisher’s pebbled blue cloth, covers and spine gilt- and blind-stamped,. Front cover with gilt-stamped pictorial vignette of a woman at a casement window, surrounded by birds on boughs and caged.
• Binding lightly rubbed, gilt bright. Endpapers browned, pages clean. A nice copy.
Go Fish The child's book of nature; being figures and descriptions illustrative of the natural history of beasts, birds, insects, fishes, &c. Lancaster [MA]: Carter, Andrews, & Co., (copyright 1830). 16mo (13.2 cm, 5.3"). 16 pp.; illus.
Click the images for enlargements. The book is illustrated with
17 hand-colored, in-text wood engravings of different types of fish and one uncolored title-page vignette.
• American Imprints 852. Not in Rosenbach, Early American Children's Books. Publisher's printed paper wrappers, creased, paper worn and split along spine, edges rubbed. Moderate spotting throughout.
Charming. (24547)
Illustrated Indigenous
Customs & Dress
FIRST Edition in ENGLISH Clavigero, Francesco Saverio. The history of Mexico. Collected from Spanish and Mexican historians, from manuscripts, and ancient paintings of the Indians ... translated from the original Italian, by Charles Cullen. London: Pr. for G.G.J. and J. Robinson, 1787. 4to (28.5 cm, 11.2"). 2 vols. I: [2], xxxii, [4], 440, (441–44), 441–76 pp. (pagination skips v/vi, with text complete); 1 fold. map, 25 plts., 1 table. II: [4], 463, [1 (blank)] pp.; 1 fold. map, 1 plt.
Click the interior images for enlargements. 
Thetwo oversized, folding maps were engraved by T. Conder; a genealogical chart in vol. I shows the descent of the Mexican kings from the 13th century, while
numerous engraved plates depict Mexican artifacts, costumes, activities, flora and fauna, architecture, etc.
IMPERFECT. Well Worth HavingANYWAY.Darwin, Erasmus. The Botanic Garden; a poem, in two parts. London: Pr. for J. Johnson, 1791. 4to. I: xii, 214, 126, [2] pp.; [6 of 8] plts. (lacking two of the Portland Vase plates). II: [4], ix, 196 pp. [9 of 10] plts. (lacks the frontispiece). 
Click any image where the hand appears on 
The Lives of PlantsDigby, Kenelm. Discovrs svr la vegetation des plantes, fait par le Cheualier Digby, le 23. Ianuier 1660, en presence de Messieurs de l’Academie Royale d’Angleterre.... Paris: Chez la veuve Moet, 1667. 12mo (15. 6 cm, 6.2"). ã8A–G6H4 (-H4, blank); [16], 89, [1 (blank)] pp.
Rare. Searches via OCLC, RLIN, and NUC locate only five copies worldwide: Two in the U.S. (both at same university!) and three in France.
• Duveen D494. Recent calf with covers framed in single gilt fillets, spine with gilt-stamped title label and gilt-ruled raised bands. Leaves with some dustsoiling and dampstaining; now heavily sized, many with margins repaired and a few with stray pencil marks. Lacks final blank leaf (only). In fact, a rather nice copy of a very uncommon item.
Materia Medica — Ancient Knowledge Dioscorides Pedanius, of Anazarbos. Dioscoridis libri octo Graece et Latine. Castigationes in eosdem libros. Parisiis: Apud Petrum Haultinum (colophon: Excudebat Benedictus Prevost), 1549. 8vo (16.7 cm, 6.5"). [20], 392 ff. 
Click the interior images for enlargements. 
The work was edited by Jacques Goupyl, and is laid out with the Latin translation by Jean Ruel in side-by-side columns with the Greek text.
Provenance: Early title-page inscription, “F.M. ex dono Eduardi Davenant.”
• Adams D656; Durling 1135; Index aureliensis 154.341; Pritzel 2295. 18th-century speckled calf (front cover) and sheep (back cover) rebacked with lighter-colored sheep preserving original gilt-stamped leather title-label; boards scuffed and worn. Title-page with inked inscription as above (and in same hand, “Illuminat mentem Lectio.” First two leaves creased; first and last few leaves with light to moderate waterstaining. A very few marginalia in a tiny, neat, early inked hand. (20639)
“New
Literary Connexions
inAMERICA”(English
Literary Periodical). The monthly magazine, and British register,
part I. 1798. From January to June, inclusive. Vol. V. London: R. Phillips, 1798.
8vo (22.5 cm, 9"). Frontis., [8], 552 (i.e., 554; lacking 499–504, 120 used
twice in pagination, 521–28 numbered 321–28) pp.
natural
history and voyages or travels; wedding, bankruptcy, and death
notices; remarks on pictures, or on theatrical and musical performances; and
assorted free-floating anecdotes and witticisms, as well as original poetry
and reviews of contemporary publications. The preface notes that “by means
of some new literary connexions in america,
we shall possess peculiar advantages in presenting to our Readers, accounts
of the most interesting circumstances belonging to the United States”—and
it was an American reader, in fact, who owned the present example.
This volume’s oversized, folding frontispiece shows the front facade
of the “new East India House now building in Leadenhall Street”;
there is also one in-text engraving of Lethington House in East Lothian, residence
of the Maitland family.
Provenance:
Front pastedown with inked ownership inscription of Joshua Gilpin,
a Quaker from Philadelphia who established the first paper mill in Delaware,
in 1787.
• Disbound with front cover, front free endpaper, and frontispiece separated; back cover lost, and signature sewing exposed/going, with many leaves loose. Now contained in a simple, acid-free phase box. Edges untrimmed. Minor offsetting and a few stray marks; mostly clean.
More
Varia . . .(English
Literary Periodical). The monthly magazine; or, British
register...Vol. XIX. Part I. for 1805. London: Richard Phillips, [1805]. 8vo (22.5
cm, 9"). [2], 719, [1 (blank)] pp. 
A preface to another volume in this series notes that “by means of some new literary connexions in america, we shall possess peculiar advantages in presenting to our Readers, accounts of the most interesting circumstances belonging to the United States”—and it was an American reader, in fact, who owned the present example.
Provenance: Front pastedown with armorial bookplate (bearing the motto “Factis dictisque simplex”: Make what you say simple) of Joshua Gilpin, a Quaker from Philadelphia who established the first paper mill in Delaware, in 1787.
• Paper-covered boards, worn and chipped, covers all but off, leather lost over spine; sewing going, with many signatures loose. Edges untrimmed, some signatures uncut; occasional offsetting or small spots, with pages mostly clean. Now housed in a simple, acid-free phase box.
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