
BINDINGS BINDINGS BINDINGS
A-B
C
D-G
H-N
O-S
T-Z
[
]
Gilt Vellum Binding with
the Papal Coat of Arms
[Tagliaferri, Johannes Baptista]. Manuscript on paper, in Latin. “De executiva et inspectiva ecclesiae potestatibus disputatio.” [Rome?: ca. 1831–44?]. Folio (32 cm; 12.5"). [7] ff., 371 pp.
$1275.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Gregory XVI (pope, 1831–46) was a fervent ultramontanist and so sought to strengthen the papal prerogatives and powers, and through them the religious and political authority of his papacy. This manuscript on the
executive and investigative powers of the Church, a topic dear to his heart, dovetails nicely with ultramontanism and was dedicated to him. Signed by Tagliaferri at the end of the dedication, it is written in a single easy-to-read hand on a single stock of high quality wove paper with a watermark bearing the date of 1822.
An extended text apparently unpublished, at least separately.
Provenance: Gilt supra-libros of Pope Gregory XVI. Circa 1930 acquired by John Howell, bookseller in San Francisco, and added to his personal library (bookplate on front pastedown). He later sold it to the Pacific School of Religion (bookplate on front pastedown; stamps).
Binding: Full vellum over boards, round spine, no raised bands; spine richly gilt using a variety of tools. Papal coat of arms in the center of each board. All edges gilt.
Binding as above, spine darkened as are the boards, front joint repaired; gilt faded but still attractive and “legible.” Small stamp on a blank page and another in upper margin of the first page of the dedication; charge pocket on rear pastedown.
An impressively bound copy of an interesting and very nicely produced manuscript. (35975)

A Classic of Italian Renaissance Literature
Bodoni
Super-Royal Folio Format Copy
Tasso, Torquato. Aminta favola boschereccia ... ora alla sua vera lezione ridotta. Crisopoli: Impresso Co' Topi Bodoniani, 1793. Folio extra (44.5 cm, 17.75"). xxxv, [1], 117, [1] pp.
$2500.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Bodoni's super-royal folio format edition of Tasso's best-known work. This folio extra is a reprint of the press's edition of 1789, with a handsome engraved headpiece done by Lucatelli; Brooks notes that this edition is found both with and without a frontispiece portrait, and the latter is the case here.
Binding: Contemporary brown calf, covers framed in blind fillets surrounding a wide blind roll, with large areas of blind-tooled arabesques in corners; covers with blind-stamped supra-libros (see below). All edges gilt.
Provenance: Covers with armorial supra-libros of Henry Welbore Agar-Ellis, 2nd Viscount Clifden (1761–1836), with his motto: “Non haec sine numine.” Front pastedown of deep blue with armorial bookplate and “C” shelf-list tag at one corner, front free endpaper with bookplates of Robert Wayne Stilwell and Brian Douglas Stilwell.
Brooks 514; Brunet, V, 673; Giani 46 (p. 48). Binding as above, rebacked with original spine laid down and recent gilt-stamped red leather labels; corners and lower edges rubbed. Bookplates as above. Free endpapers with offsetting from turn-ins. Pages notably clean clean and crisp.
A striking copy of this dramatic presentation. (40163)

A Classic of Italian Literature — Bodoni Printing — Exceptional Binding
Tasso, Torquato. Aminta favola boschereccia di Torquato Tasso ora per la prima volta alla sua vera lezione ridotta. Crisopoli: Impresso co' Caratterei Bodoniani, 1789. Large 4to (30.2 cm, 11.89"). [12], 14, [2], 142, [2 (blank)] pp.
$1500.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First Bodoni edition of Tasso's best-known work. This widely read 16th-century play, a pastoral set in the time of Alexander the Great, features a wedding at its conclusion — perfect for
this present printing done in honor of the marriage of the niece of a celebrated and influential noblewoman, Marchesa Anna Malaspina della Bastia. Bodoni dedicated the graceful production to the Marchesa, a devotee of his work. While it was subsequently reprinted in 1792 with a frontispiece bearing the original printing date of 1789, this example is identifiable as the first issue (with the small signature number on p. 13 of the preface, and the correct “novi lumi” on p. 38). Brunet cites this as “une des plus belles éditions” produced by the legendary printer-typographer.
Binding: Contemporary speckled calf, spine with gilt-stamped red leather title label and gilt-stamped strawberry compartment decorations; covers framed with a narrow gilt flower-and-diamond roll and panelled incorporating
unusual marbled calf onlays. Paneling of front cover demarcated using the border roll with a wider Greek key roll, and that of the back cover created using the flower-and-diamond roll in combination with a pattern of circles between fillets. Marbled endpapers, all edges gilt.
Provenance: Front pastedown with bookplate of private collector Brian Douglas Stilwell.
Brooks 379; Brunet, V, 673; Giani 11 (p. 39); Renouard, IV, 305. Binding as above, unobtrusively rebacked preserving original spine; light wear to joints and extremities, sides with small scuffs refurbished with a restrained hand. Bookplate as above; front free endpaper with pencilled reference annotations. The wide-margined, crisply printed and engraved pages are notably clean.
Distinctive for its occasion and and desirable for its lovely production. (40138)

Epic Artistry
Tasso, Torquato. La Gerusalemme liberata. Parma: Nel Regal Palazzo, 1807. Large 4to (30 cm, 11.8"). 2 vols. in 1. [18], 331, [3], 337, [1] pp.
$975.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Luxurious Bodoni edition of the great Italian Renaissance epic, with the text edited by distinguished scholar Abbot Pier Antonio Serassi. Bodoni first printed folio and quarto editions of the Gerusalemme in 1794, having previously published Tasso's Aminta in 1789. Giani and other sources consider the present grand quarto edition worthwhile as both a useful text and a generally faithful reprinting; it hews very closely to the 1794 quarto design, though the original Roman stanza numerals are here replaced by Arabic. The work was printed in two volumes — here bound as one — on laid paper.
Binding: Contemporary green textured calf, covers framed in gilt triple fillets with gilt-stamped corner fleurons, spine gilt extra with gilt-stamped leather author label. Board edges and turn-ins with gilt roll.
Textblock edges delightfully marbled in a bright, impressive, tour-de-force match to marbling of endpapers.
Brooks 1017; Brunet, V, 667; De Lama, II, 175; Giani 179 (page 72). Bound as above, rebacked with original spine sunned to brown reapplied; sides with scuffs (some showing signs of refurbishing) and with edges and extremities moderately rubbed.
A monument of both literature and typography in a very clean and handsome copy. (40192)

Birket Foster: “Green Grass Below, Green Leaves O'erhead
Green Banks on Either Side”
Taylor, Tom; Myles Birket Foster, illus. Birket Foster's pictures of English landscape. London: Routledge, Warne, & Routledge, 1863. 4to (26.3 cm, 10.4"). [74 (2 adv.)] pp.; 30 plts.
$1450.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition. One of the most popular artists of his day, Myles Birket Foster (1825–99) was famed for his idealized views of rural England. For this deluxe volume
30 of Foster's most accomplished illustrations were wood-engraved by the Brothers Dalziel. Among the Foster designs here are “The Green Lane,” “The Country Inn,” “Cows in the Pool,” “The Gleaners at the Stile,” “Old Cottages,” etc. Accompanying the plates are verses by the popular playwright, biographer, and critic Tom Taylor (1817–80) — with two of the poems, “The Smithy” and “At the Brookside,” signed “L.W.T.”: Laura Wilson Taylor (née Barker), Taylor's wife. Both text and plates are on heavy paper, mounted into this substantial volume.
Binding: Contemporary dark green morocco, covers framed and panelled in blind fillets surrounding central panel of fleurs-de-lis in latticework, upper corners of that panel with gilt corner fleurons, base of panel with gilt wreath (possibly of English elm leaves, referring to the “elm-branches” of the first poem in the volume); spine with gilt-stamped title, raised bands, and blind-stamped compartment decorations. Board edges with gilt-dotted roll, turn-ins with single gilt fillets defining three bands, of which the central band is brown leather rather than green; innermost edge with small gilt dentelle roll. All edges gilt; marbled paper endpapers.
Provenance: Front free endpaper with garter-encircled pressure-stamp of Manchester bookseller Edwin Slater; front fly-leaf with early inked gift inscription to Ellen I. Moscrop [?] “from her sincere friend, Arabella Ble[???].” Most recently in the collection of Hubert Dingwall.
Ray, Illustrator and the Book in England, 191. Binding as above, spine gently sunned; joints and edges mildly rubbed, corners somewhat more so. Stamp and inscription as above. Foxing/spotting variously, pages ranging from quite clean to bearing a few small spots to being more broadly affected, although the hue of this is generally light and the action is mostly confined to margins.
Quintessentially and delightfully Victorian: a lovely collection of some of this beloved artist's best work. (38851)

Up & Down
Pocklington Gardens Street
Hand-Colored Plates — Zaehnsdorf Binding
Thackeray, William Makepeace. Our street. London: Chapman & Hall, 1848. 8vo (18.7 cm, 7.4"). 54, [2 (adv.)] pp.; 16 plts.
$750.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition, illustrated with 16 hand-colored plates: Thackeray's second
Christmas book, published under the pseudonym “Mr. M.A. Titmarsh,” is a collection of trenchant observations on the follies of his neighbors, upper crust and lower class alike. The illustrations were engraved by Henry Vizetelly after Thackeray's drawings.
Binding: Oxblood morocco with covers simply framed in gilt double fillets, spine with gilt-stamped title and gilt-ruled compartments; board edges with double-rule fillet. Wide turn-ins with gilt roll, double-fillets, and dentelle roll; silk pastedowns and free endpapers. All edges gilt. Original wrappers bound in; binding
signed by Zaehnsdorf.
Provenance: From the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
NSTC 2T6768. Binding as above, spine sunned to a rosy tan color, extremities lightly rubbed. Old cataloguing affixed to front free endpaper verso (i.e., to paper, not silk). Small line of staining to upper margins of most leaves, pages and plates otherwise clean save for three instances of offsetting from plates.
A pretty little book; a nice thing in 1848 and a nice thing now. (38635)

First Edition Thackeray in
Riviere Dress
Thackeray, William Makepeace. The Virginians: A tale of the last century. London: Bradbury & Evans, 1858–9. 8vo (21.9 cm, 8.625"). 2 vols. I: Frontis., illus. t.-p., viii, 382 pp.; 48 plts. II: Frontis., illus. t.-p., [2], viii, 376 pp.; 22 plts.
$550.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First book edition following its issuance (1857–59) in 24 monthly fascicles. The British author's historical novel tells the tale of American-born twins who — after a lengthy period of dealing with troublesome relatives and financial issues — find themselves on opposing sides of the Revolutionary War. The work is a sequel to Thackeray's Henry Esmond. Each volume is illustrated with many plates and vignettes, all of which were drawn by the author himself.
Binding: Full red morocco with gilt lettering and five raised bands to spine; four of the panels with a gilt decoration of Thackeray (wearing his small, round glasses) in a jester's costume, holding the mask and a baton. Simple double-rule gilt border along board edges and gilt dentelles to turn-ins. Top edge gilt and endpapers marbled. Signed by
Riviere & Son.
Provenance: On the front pastedown of each volume, a charming bookplate of Alfred and G. Ivy Clark, the former (1873–1950) being the pioneer in music recording and cinema whose work with Thomas Edison produced the first “moving pictures” having continuity and plot; he also helped Emile Berliner with the development of the gramophone, and he assembled one of the most important collections of Chinese ceramics in the West.
Bound as above; spines slightly darkened, front joint of vol. II neatly and unobtrusively refurbished. Interiors age-toned, some offsetting to pages opposite illustrations, several leaves in vol. I pulling from the binding but still attached; in vol. II, small closed tear to frontispiece, the corner of one plate torn away not affecting illustration and laid in, small slim marginal waterstain to last few leaves.
HANDSOME. (38687)

Seaside Imagery
Theobald, John. A second light. Newark, VT: The Janus Press, 1977. 8vo (25.9 cm, 10.2"). [24] pp.
$700.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition of these poems from a professor at San Diego State University; the first piece is “La Jolla Shores.” This is one of
75 copies set in Gudrun Zapf's Diotima by Susan Johanknecht and printed on French-folded Fabriano paper, with the front cover being a portion of an original ocean-inspired
lithograph by Claire Van Vliet, done in blues, greens, white, and silver.
Fine, Janus Press 1975–80, 41. Publisher's navy cloth, front cover with illustration on paper as above; spine very slightly sunned, outer front corners showing most minimal wear.
Van Vliet's lithograph bright and beautiful. (32333)

Interpreting the Prophets
Theophylactus of Achrida; Lonicer, Jean (trans.). Theophylacti Bulgariae archiepiscopi In quatuor Prophetas enarrationes. Parisiis: Apud Iacobum Bogardum, sub insigni D. Christophori è regione gymnasij Cameracensium, 1549. 8vo (17.5 cm, 6.75’’). [8], 112 ff.
$875.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Theophylactus (1055–1107) was a Byzantine archbishop of Achrida, in Bulgaria, and an important theologian whose work was included by Thomas Aquinas in his Catena aurea. First published in Latin in the 1520s, his commentaries on the Scriptures were very influential to Erasmus’s exegetical work. This scarce Parisian edition, based on Bogard’s of 1542, was reprinted by his heirs in cooperation with Jean Macé; the title-pages of the two issues bear slight differences in the imprint information. The work features Theophylactus’s commentary on the Old Testament books of Habakkuk, Jonah, Nahum, and Hosea in Loncier's translation from the Greek, which first appeared in 1534; each chapter discusses their most important vaticinia with Theophylactus' interpretations following, with mention of early Christian heresies and doctrinal debates.
Binding: 16th-century polished calf expertly rebacked in slightly lighter leather; spine plain with raised bands accented by blind rules above and below each band. Covers blind-ruled with large gilt fleurons to corners and gilt floral centerpieces. All edges gilt.
Provenance: Contemporary inscription “Perrot” to title-page (possibly Charles Perrot, 1541–1608, a Protestant minister in Geneva who preached religious tolerance and so fell out of favor with Calvin); slightly later name “Langloir” also inked to same.
Small 19th-century photographic portrait of a military officer pasted to verso of front free endpaper. Most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Pettegree & Walsby record two copies, one in the U.S. (Harvard); WorldCat and COPAC find no copies with Bogard’s imprint.
Renouard, Imprimeurs & libraires Parisiens du XVIe siècle, 281; Pettegree & Walsby, French Books, 8834. Bound and rebacked as above, with onetime cracking to covers near joints also strengthened/refurbished with darkening to leather; minor repair to corners, and later endpapers. Text double-ruled in red, with occasional slight toning and a little foxing to the title-page and last three leaves; a slender waterstain to the upper blank margin of the last two leaves and a small repair to the outer blank margin of the last.
A very nice copy in an interesting binding. (40794)

Pickering–Chiswick Imitation — Signed Binding
Thomas, à Kempis. De imitatione Christi et contemptu mundi omniumque ejus vanitatum libri IV. Codex De-Advocatis saeculi XIII. Londini: Guil. Pickering (pr. by C. Whittingham at the Chiswick Press), 1851. 12mo (14.4 cm, 5.67"). xxii, 322, [2] pp.
$275.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Handsome Chiswick Press production of the enduring classic, here in an equally handsome signed binding. The Latin text opens with a prefatory “Life of Thomas of Kempis” (in English) by Charles Butler and is decorated with ornamental headpieces and capitals. While Pickering had previously published an Imitation of Christ in Latin in 1827, this is the
first Pickering edition printed by Whittingham at the Chiswick Press and “from the edition of Lambinet, with a strict adherence to the text “ (p. xv).
Binding: Signed binding, stamped by Charles Capé at foot of front pastedown: Very simple black morocco, spine with raised bands and gilt-stamped title, place of publication, and date; board edges with gilt rules, pastedowns with gilt dentelle rolls. All edges gilt.Provenance: Most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Kelly, Checklist of Books Published by William Pickering, 1851.9; Keynes, William Pickering (rev. ed.), p. 75. Binding as above, original silk bookmark present. Pages gently and evenly age-toned, otherwise clean and fresh.
A desirable copy. (40820)

“Come, Gentle Spring, Ethereal Mildness, Come”
Thomson, James. The poetical works of James Thomson: comprising all his pastoral, dramatic, lyrical and didactic poems and a few of his juvenile productions: with A life of the author. London: William Tegg & Co., 1850. 18mo (16.3 cm, 6.375"). lxxii, 681, [3] pp.
$125.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Handsome second edition of this collection of poetry by James Thomson (1700–48), writer of the British patriotic song, “Rule, Britannia!” and best known as author of “The Seasons” — a tetralogy of lengthy blank-verse celebrations of the countryside's landscape that influenced not only poets but artists such as Thomas Gainsborough, J.M.W. Turner, and Joseph Haydn.
Patrick Murdoch's short biographical piece on Thomson is included here, as well as a preface by James Nichols and notes from the editor.
Stunning engravings signed by English engravers John Gilbert and William Greatbach appear throughout, protected by tissue guards.
Binding: Dark teal(?) morocco darkened to black with beveled boards and intricate decoration in blind; gilt lettering and additional blind decoration to spine. Marbled endpapers, all edges gilt and gauffered. Binder's ticket of Poulter of Leamington on front pastedown.
Evidence of Readership: Two rather interestingly late-dated notes of reading completion (August and September 1942), in pencil in margins.
Provenance: Signature and initials of V.C. Turnbull on verso of front free endpaper; another owner's notes on place/price of purchase on the same page.
Bound as above, refurbished. Lacks half-title; frontispiece and several plates lightly foxed, offsetting to tissue guards from plates, and small, sparse spots of staining to several leaves. Pencillings as above plus one pencilled marginal rule.
A lovely collection, delicately detailed plates, and an excellent binding. (37350)

Prize Copy — Handsome Binding — A Victorian Treasury of Song
Thornbury, Walter, ed. Two centuries of song: Or, lyrics, madrigals, sonnets, and other occasional verses of the English poets of the last two hundred years. London: Sampson, Low, Son, & Marston, 1867. 8vo in 4s (23.7 cm, 9.3"). xii, 307, [1] pp.; 19 plts.
$275.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition of this gift book: a “carefully-culled and pleasantly-contrasted nosegay” of vers de société, or “poems written for refined circles of educated people,” with brief notes about the poets' lives and personalities. McLean notes that this volume's production was supervised by Joseph Cundall, calls it “an unusual [example] of mid-Victorian commercial book design,” and describes the letterpress machining (done by Richard Clay) as “superb.” Henry Shaw designed the color-printed borders for the text pages, as well as the engraved half-title and various other decorations for the book, which also features
19 engraved plates done by Orrin Smith, H. Harral, W.J. Linton, W.J. Palmer, and W. Thomas after designs by William Paton Burton, George Bouverie Goddard, Edmund Warren, Edmund Morison Wimperis,and Joseph Wolf (the acclaimed wildlife artist, here represented by a nice scene of a stork winging away from a fox on the prowl).
Binding: Contemporary green morocco, covers framed in gilt triple fillets with gilt-tooled corner fleurons surrounding a central foliate medallion, spine gilt extra. Turn-ins with gilt roll. All edges gilt. Signed binding: “Bain, Binder” small stamp in lower margin of verso of front free endpaper.
Provenance: Prize copy: front fly-leaf with inked inscription reading “Jno. Hy. Lloyd [/] Prize for proficiency in English and British History. July, 1872 [/] A.R. Abbott [/] Grove House”; beneath inscription, affixed paper label inscribed “George B. Lloyd.” Most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
McLean, Victorian Book Design, 68 & 146. Binding as above, showing light wear overall with joints, spine bands, and extremities rubbed, spine slightly darkened. Front fly-leaf with inscription and label as above. Fly-leaves and half-title foxed; a few faint spots of foxing scattered through pages.
A distinguished example of this quintessentially Victorian present. (38060)

BEWICK-Illustrated HERBAL
Thornton, Robert John. A new family herbal: Or popular account of the natures and properties of the various plants used in medicine, diet, and the arts. London: Richard Phillips (pr. by Richard Taylor & Co.), 1810. 8vo (24.1 cm, 9.5"). xvi, 901, [1 (adv.)] pp.; illus.
$850.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition: “A more complete and perfect herbal than has hitherto appeared . . . intended to unite the various advantages that have been derived to science from [Andrew Duncan's] 'Edinburgh New Dispensatory'” (p. vii). Compiled by an English physician and botanist remembered for his magnificent Temple of Flora, the present pharmaceutical treatise lists and describes the uses of 283 plants
illustrated with 261 wood engravings by Thomas Bewick. According to Johnston, this represents Bewick's “only attempt at botanical wood engravings,” based on designs by Peter Charles Henderson. Dr. Thornton was the author of A Grammar of Botany and The Philosophy of Botany, as well as The Temple of Flora,
In addition to the expectable lavender, chaste tree, burdock, lungwort, etc., also present here are discussions of Chinese smilax, coffee, tea, the Peruvian bark tree, ginseng, sarsaparilla, pimento (“Jamaica Pepper”), and tobacco.
Provenance: Front cover with gilt-stamped armorial device of Dr. Alfred Freer of Stourbridge, Worcestershire: out of a ducal coronet, an antelope's head.
NSTC T941; Hugo, Bewick Collector, 253; Johnston, Cleveland Herbal, Botanical, and Horticultural Collections, 745; Nissen 1954; Pritzel 9238; Rohde, Old English Herbals, 224 (listing Crosby ed. only). Contemporary calf, covers framed in blind roll and single gilt fillet, spine with blind-tooled compartment decorations; binding rubbed and scuffed overall, spine label now absent with traces remaining, repair work to splits in spine leather and to short tear from inner margin of front free endpaper, joints and extremities refurbished. Front free endpaper with inked ownership inscription (“C.M.W.”) dated 1912. Dedication tipped in. Pages gently age-toned with scattered foxing; small inkstain to upper fore-edge of first 30 ff., barely extending onto pages. One contents leaf with short tear (just touching text, without loss) and old repair in lower outer corner. A now solid, even rather distinguished-looking copy of a desirable pharmacopeia
exquisitely illustrated. (36043)
Printed in London — (Re-)Bound inTrenton
Toone, William. The chronological historian; or a record of public events, historical, political, biographical, literary, domestic, and miscellaneous; principally illustrative of the ecclesiastical, civil, naval, and military history of Great Britain and its dependencies, from the invasion of Julius Cæsar to the present time... Second edition. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, & Green, 1828. 8vo (21.8 cm, 8.55"). 2 vols. I: [1] f., ii, 664 pp. II: [1] f., 747, [1] pp.
$250.00
Second edition of this ambitious (if, necessarily, much-abridged) timeline of British history, originally published in 1826. Toone, who seems to have been greatly interested in the organization and summarization of information, also published The magistrate's manual, or, A summary of the duties and powers of a justice of the peace and A glossary and etymological dictionary, of obsolete and uncommon words, antiquated phrases, and proverbs illustrative of early English literature.Binding: Mid- to late-19th-century binding, with binder’s ticket of the True American Bindery of Trenton, NJ.
Half morocco with marbled paper–covered sides, spines with gilt-stamped titles and blind-stamped decorative devices; edges and sides moderately rubbed with a bit of paper skinned from cover of vol. II. Most pages with some degree of foxing. Handsome on shelf, solid in hand. (12431)

American WINE & More 1867
United States. Department of Agriculture. Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture for the year 1867. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1868. 8vo (23.5 cm; 9.25"). xix, [1], 512 pp., XXXVII plates; illus.
$225.00
Click the images for enlargements.
A presentation copy of Acting Commissioner John W. Stokes' report to Congress for the year 1867. The report includes reports and research on a variety of crops and domestic animals; steam and other cultivation, and rural construction; patents; agricultural clubs, schools, associations; also climate and meteorology. The authors include Thomas Antisell (chemist of the
department), Thomas Glover (entomologist), F.R. Elliott (on hardy fruit, especially apples), Walter W.W. Bowie (on tobacco), and Mrs. Ellen S. Tupper (winter bee keeping), to single out a
few.
Freethinker George Husmann (of Herman, Missouri) provided this cataloguer's favorite report, “American Wine and Wine Making.”
The excellent plates are divided between steel and wood engravings, with additional wood-engraved illustrations in some texts.
The presenter of the volume was R.T. McLain, chief clerk of the Department of Agriculture; the Hon. J. Gregory Smith, the recipient, was the president of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company.
Binding: A presentation binding of black morocco over boards with slightly bevelled edges. Covers with a gilt triple fillet border and a gilt floral vine inner “border.” Recipient's name in gilt in center of front board. Round spine, raised bands, gilt spine extra; gilt roll on board edges, different gilt roll on turn-ins. Pink endpapers of a textured paper, printed with an overall pattern of small gilt interlocking circles. Green silk place marker. All edges gilt.
A very nice example of a mid-19th-century presentation binding.
Binding as above, lightly rubbed at the joints (outside) and board edges. McLain's presentation card pasted to front pastedown, above Smith's bookplate.
A very good copy of a book that is, as we say here, “interesting for more than one reason.” (35244)

United BCP with a
Westminster Abbey Fore-Edge View
United Church of England and Ireland. Book of Common Prayer. The Book of Common Prayer, and administration of the Sacraments, and other rites and ceremonies of the Church, according to the use of the United Church of England and Ireland: Together with the Psalter, or Psalms of David, pointed as they are to be sung or said in churches. London: Pub. for John Reeves (pr. by W. Bulmer), 1802. 8vo (24 cm, 9.5"). vi, [694] pp.
$750.00
Click the images for enlargements.
There were minor differences between the Prayer Books of the Church of England and the Church of Ireland up until 1801, the year that the churches merged; the various 1801 BCPs were the first to use the “United Church” designation. John Reeves had been appointed king's printer in 1800, and edited his own version of the BCP, of which this is the second edition; the separate title-page following the preliminary matter is dated 1801. (That preliminary matter, offering historical and liturgical commentary, is extensive and interesting.)Fore-edge: This beautiful example bears a subtly shaded (and therefore hard to photograph)
fore-edge painting showing Westminster Abbey in the background behind a waterfront view with sailboats.
Binding: Full straight-grain dark olive green morocco, covers framed in elegant feather and pearl twist gilt roll, turn-ins with floral gilt roll. Stone-pattern marbled endpapers. All edges gilt.
Griffiths, Bibliography of the Book of Common Prayer, 1802/1. Binding as above, mild rubbing overall with some abraded areas consolidated, joints and extremities subtly repaired, aesthetically appropriate endbands supplied. Title-page with inked ownership inscription dated 1803, “The gift of my beloved husband.” Intermittent faint spots of foxing, mostly confined to early leaves. One inked marginal annotation in an early hand, three psalms (145–47) with small inked emphasis marks, pages otherwise clean. (28715)

Sumptuously Bound by DAVID for
Cortlandt Bishop
Uzanne, Octave. Son altesse la femme. Paris: A. Quantin, 1885. Small folio (27.5 cm; 11" ). [2] ff., [i]–xii, 312 pp., 21 illus. (part col.).
$1500.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Definitely this work was created by a bibliophile for fellow lovers of the book. When it appeared, Uzanne (1852–1931) was in full stride as a leader of the Paris circle of men and women interested in handsomely illustrated, printed, and bound works of literature. In 1880 he launched Miscellanées bibliographiques and, soon after Son altesse la femme appeared, he introduced the influential periodicals Le Livre, Le Livre moderne, and L'Art et l'Idée. In 1889, he took part in the creation of a publishing company, the “League of Contemporary Bibliophiles.” He counted among his friends the artists Jean Lorrain, Barbey d'Aurevilly, and Remy de Gourmont.
Son altesse la femme reviews most satirically the position of women in society from the medieval to the author's time. The chapters are Le vray mirouer de sorcellerie, La mie du poete, La précieuse, La caillette, La citoyenne française, Les galanteries du directoire, Sous la restauration, L'amour aux champs, La parisienne moderne, and Mulieriana.
The work was limited to 100 copies, all printed on Japan vellum. It has an engraved vignette on the black and red printed title, small illustrations or vignettes on 50 text pages, 11 vignette borders or headpieces (three of them in color, 10 of them in an
extra state), and 10 tipped-in color plates. The illustrations are by Henri Gervex, J.A. Gonzalès, L. Kratké, Albert Lynch, Adrien Moreau, and Félicien Rops.
Binding: Full red crushed morocco with five raised bands. Covers with a triple-rule gilt border; spine gilt extra with gilt beading on bands. Triple gilt fillet on board edges. Wide turn-ins richly tooled in gilt and with cream and blue leather inlays that are also gilt-tooled. Blue silk pastedowns and free endpapers. Marbled paper fly-leaves. All edges gilt.
Binding signed “David.”
Provenance: Red leather bookplate of Cortlandt Field Bishop, the famed collector of the early 20th century and, at one time, owner of the TWO most important auction galleries in NY/USA.
Original full-color wrappers bound in.
Vicaire, VII, 924. Uncut copy. Bound as above with original wrappers bound in; joints abraded and front one tender.
A luxurious production and very pleasing provenance. (26675)
For BOOKS IN FRENCH, click here.
For ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, click here.
For Books with SPECIAL PROVENANCE, click here.
For COLLECTED PRESSES & TYPOGRAPHY, click here.
For more of WOMEN's interest, click here.

TICE Illustrates
VOLTAIRE
Voltaire. Candide, or All for the best. New York: Bennett Libraries, 1927. 8vo (23 cm; 9.25"). 2 vols. in 1. 182 pp., [4] ff., color plates.
$725.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Sole edition illustrated by Clara Tice, the illustrations numbering ten, printed in color, and definitely of an erotic nature. This copy (no. 130) is one of 250 copies “on special deckle-edge Pannekoek paper.” The title-page, printed in black and red, announces this is an “Exact reprint of the earliest English text” and tells us that it was “printed in Holland by Joh. Enschede en Zonen for the Bennett Libraries, Inc.”
In the early decades of the 20th century, Tice was a sensation because of her provocative art and as the embodiment of bohemian Greenwich Village — gaining, indeed, the sobriquet “The Queen of Greenwich Village.”
Binding: Publisher's black goat, round spine with raised bands lettered in gilt and with a gilt-stamped female nude figure in center area of spine; front cover with two gilt-stamped reclining female nude figures reminiscent of those on big-rig mud guards! Elegant gilt turn-ins, top edge gilt and other edges deckle. Housed in a brown paper–covered open-back case.
Case rubbed but sound; binding as above with spine a little pulled, corners a little bumped, and front joint (outside) a little abraded. First leaves separated and tipped in; possibly, cancels? All illustrations eye-popping in several senses; all tissue guards present. (33447)

Walton, Illustrated
Walton, Izaak. The complete angler of Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton: Extensively embellished with engravings on copper and wood ... To which are added, an introductory essay; the Linnaean arrangement of the various river fish delineated in the work; and illustrative notes. London: John Major (pr. at the Shakspeare Press by W. Nicol), 1824. 8vo in 4s (19.7 cm, 7.76"). lviii, 416 pp.; 14 plts.; illus. [with the same author's] The lives of Dr. John Donne, Sir Henry Wotton, Mr. Richard Hooker, Mr. George Herbert, and Dr. Robert Sanderson ... To which are added, the autographs of those eminent men, now first collected; an index, and illustrative notes. London: John Major (pr. at the Shakspeare Press by W. Nicol), 1825. Frontis., xviii, [2], 503, [1] pp.; 10 plts., illus.
$550.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Classic combination: Major's nicely edited rendition of Walton's beloved treatise in combination with his collected lives of authors, the set (with Angler here in its stated second edition, Lives in the first)
charmingly illustrated with a total of 25 copper-engraved plates and numerous wood-engraved in-text vignettes. The Angler plates generally represent dashing young men — and a few young ladies — in the garb of Walton's day, while many of the in-text illustrations depict hooked fish; the Lives volume opens with a representation of the subjects' signatures within a decorative frame and includes, along with a portrait of each, ten renditions of important moments and locations in the subjects' careers as well as numerous smaller portraits, coats of arms, etc.
Bindings: Contemporary dark brown morocco, covers framed and panelled in blind surrounding embossed arabesque cartouches, spines with gilt-stamped titles and blind-ruled compartments, board edges with single gilt fillet, wide turn-ins with quadruple gilt fillets and corner fleurons. All edges gilt.
Provenance: From the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabels (“AHA”) at rear.
Bound as above; joints, edges, and spine extremities rubbed and refurbished, spines sunned. Back free endpapers each with bookseller's ticket of Hessey, Fleet Street. Minor offsetting from turn-ins to free endpapers; pages slightly age-toned, otherwise clean.
A desirable set, externally a bit worn, now exuding the promise of comfortable enjoyment. (40307)

Deluxe Angler — In a Zaehnsdorf Binding, with Proof Plates
Walton, Izaak & Charles Cotton; Harris Nicolas, ed. The complete angler or the contemplative man's recreation being a discourse of rivers fish-ponds fish and fishing ... and instructions on how to angle for a trout or grayling in a clear stream ... with original memoirs and notes. London: William Pickering (pr. by C. Whittingham), 1836. Large 8vo (27.3 cm, 10.75"). 2 vols. I: [16], clxiv, [4], [clxv]-ccxii, [2], 129, [1] pp.; 29 plts., illus. II: [4], [131]–436, [32 (index)] pp.; 38 plts., illus.
$4000.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition edited by Sir Harris Nicolas, and
the most lavish of all of Pickering's editions of this beloved treatise on fishing. In addition to the expected steel-engraved plates and in-text illustrations, this copy features
an extra set of proof plates printed on India paper, mounted on heavy paper, and bound in for all illustrations including the headpiece decorations, for
a total of 67 plates. Horne summed the work up as having been “illustrated by the foremost contemporary artists, produced by an excellent printer and issued by an outstanding publisher” — and it appears here in a binding that does justice to those qualities.
Binding: Signed 20th-century dark green straight-grain morocco, covers framed in quadruple gilt fillets with gilt fish motifs in corners, spines similarly decorated, board edges with gilt fillets, turn-ins with gilt fillets and roll. All edges gilt; green marbled endpapers. Bindings done by Joseph William Zaehnsdorf, with his stamp (dated 1914) on lower front turn-ins.
Provenance: Front pastedowns each with small silver “TJS” monogram label (unidentified); most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Keynes, William Pickering (rev. ed.), p. 94; Kelly, Checklist of Books Published by William Pickering, 1836.17; Ing, Charles Whittingham, 13; Horne, The Compleat Angler 1653–1967, 43. Bindings as above, spines gently sunned; front free endpapers stamped “Bartlett & Co, Boston” in upper outer corners. Occasional minor foxing/spotting; vol. II with mild waterstaining to lower outer portions, more pronounced to first few leaves and later ones.
An enduring classic, in a beautiful set. (40961)

Scarce Treatise: The Reformation in the
Netherlands
Water, Jona Willem te. Kort verhaal der Reformatie van Zeeland in de zestiende eeuwe; benevens eenige verhandelingen dienende tot ophelderinge van de historie der kerk-hervorminge aldaar ... Middelburg: Pieter Gillissen, 1776. 8vo (20.9 cm, 8.25"). [6], xviii, 117, [11] pp.
$875.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition of this history of the Dutch Reformed Church, written by a clergyman and professor at Leiden University. The title-page is printed in red and black.
Provenance: Covers gilt-stamped with the device of Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere.
Binding: Contemporary calf framed in gilt triple fillets and blind roll, rebacked preserving original spine gilt extra with gilt-stamped leather title-label; covers gilt-stamped with supra-libros as above. All edges marbled.
Uncommon: OCLC and NUC Pre-1956 find only six U.S. locations.
Bound as above; spine leather with small chips and cracks, sides with small unobtrusive areas of rubbing and light discoloration. Binding overall solid and still
attractive; interior clean and nice. (25320)

The First Colonial Folio: 20 Years' Worth of
Puritan Thought on the CATECHISM
Willard, Samuel. A compleat body of divinity in two hundred and fifty expository lectures on the Assembly's shorter catechism wherein the doctrines of the Christian religion are unfolded ... and a great light thereby reflected on the present age. Boston: Pr. by B. Green & S. Kneeland for B. Eliot & D. Henchman, 1726. Folio (35 cm, 13.75"). [2], iv, 3, [3], 666, 581–914, [2] pp. (pagination erratic, skips 160–76); complete as issued.
$2500.00
Click the images for enlargement.
First edition of the Rev. Willard's collected sermons on the Westminster Shorter Catechism, originally delivered as monthly lectures over 20 years' time. This posthumously printed volume opens with an account of the author, written by the Rev. Ebenezer Pemberton; Willard, one of the last of the great orthodox Puritan preachers of New England, was a clergyman noted for his
opposition to the Salem witchcraft trials and for serving as
acting president of Harvard between the tenures of Increase Mather and John Leverett.
Evans notes that this is “the first folio volume, other than Laws, and
the largest work up to this time printed in the United States.” This was a subscription printing, and includes Benjamin Franklin's father and brother, among other dignitaries, in its list of names; the sheets came from several different presses, and thus “it has fallen out . . . that the Pages for a considerable way, are numbered over again” (p. 666). The title-page is printed in red and black.
The binding features a very unusual 18th-century repair job: to reinforce the joints, an early hand stitched along either side of the front joint and part way down the back.
Provenance: Title-page with inked ownership inscription of T. White, dated 1726, and with inked presentation inscription to Susanna White, dated 1782. Front pastedown with inked inscription of Timothy Badger, 1782; also with 19th-century institutional bookplate and presentation inscription.
Evans 2828; ESTC W30456; Sabin 104075; Streeter Sale 675. Contemporary mottled sheep framed and panelled in blind fillets with corner fleurons, a blind roll around the central panel; small scuffs, extremities rubbed, joints cracked and fragile, with early sewn repairs as above. Front free endpaper partially separated. Inscriptions as above; preface with additional early inked inscription in upper margin and inked numeral in lower margin, a very slim “mag strip” in one gutter margin and no other institutional markings. Pages age-toned and offset with varying degrees of spotting and staining; some corners dog-eared. Three leaves each with short tear from upper margin, just touching text without loss; a few leaves crumpled without tearing. First portion of volume with intermittent early inked marginalia, one note partially shaved. A milestone of early American printing and an interesting copy. (31011)

Deluxe Comedic Production, Deluxe Binding
Wills, William Henry, ed. Poets' wit and humour. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1861. 8vo (22.8 cm, 9"). [8], 278, [1] pp.; illus.
$975.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First U.S. edition: “Illustrated with
one hundred engravings from drawings by Charles Bennett and George H. Thomas.” The work was edited by a friend and collaborator of Charles Dickens; from Chaucer to Swift to “Saint Anthony's Sermon to the Fishes,” Wills's comic selections are delightfully entertaining, and their wood-engraved illustrations equally amusing.
Binding: Publisher's deluxe black calf, covers and spine elaborately embossed and stamped in blind and gilt with central vignette of a cherub dressed as a jester and playing a lyre. All edges gilt.
The embossing plaque is signed with the designer's initials: “R.D.” Robert Dudley. This is an English publisher's binding, most likely done using the English sheets with an Appleton title-page.
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)

For a BINDINGS “shelf” emphasizing volumes
in handsome publishers' cloth click here.

Or, GO TO
OUR NEWEST ARRIVALS!

All material © 2021
The Philadelphia Rare Books & Manuscripts Company, LLC
 |
PRB&M/SessaBks |
 |
PLACE AN ORDER | E-MAIL US | GO (BACK) TO TOPIC/INTEREST TABLE