GENERAL MISCELLANY

Not in BAV — An Americanum Nonetheless

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•  The alliance of Louis XII, Pope Julius II, Maximilian I, and Ferdinand the Catholic in war against the Venetians was formalized in 1508, and history has given it the name of The League of Cambrai; it came to an end in 1529 with the signing of the peace of Cambrai. The neo–Latin language work offered here is a history of the origins and progress of the war as seen by a Venetian whose observations and comparisons are remarkably wide-ranging — as evidenced by his including a passage on leaf Q8 verso concerningbattles that the Spaniards were waging on the Island of Hispaniola and elsewhere in the Indies of America.

This volume, curiously, does not sport any of the expectable types of title-page that were common by its time. Instead, it simply reads: Andreae / Mocenici / P.V.D. / Bellvm / Came / racense. This bare title-page is printed in roman type, while all else is printed in a very bright, crisp italic. Several woodcut criblé initials are used in text.

Provenance:  Charles Spencer, Third Earl of Sunderland, lot 8534 in the Sunderland Library sale (1882); later part of the Theological Institute of Connecticut Library.

Evidence of Readership: Several notes and marked passages, in ink.

•  Not in Harrisse, Bibliotheca Americana Vetustissima; Alden & Landis, European Americana, 525/11; Adams M1518.   18th-century mottled English calf, raised bands and modest gilt tooling, all edges speckled red; hinges (inside) partially open with spine pulled at top and some leather lost at cover corners; holding. Marked as above, some bug-spotting on title-page; two pinhole wormholes in binding extending into lower margins of early signatures; limited waterstaining, typically marginal, and a few other pages with stains or soilings. Ex-library as above: paper shelving label on spine, inking and pencilling on endpapers, embossed institutional stamps on six leaves. A good and serviceable copy with a happy provenance.  (36660)

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Uncommon Poem Dedicated toPope Julius III

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•  Dominican writer and later Archbishop of Saludecio's unfinished rhyming poem and numerous other poems dedicated to Pope Julius III, here taken from the larger collection of miscellaneous works titled Publii Francisci Modesti Saludeciensis canonici Arimini Christiana pietas. Ejusdem, de Dei opificio sesquiliber. Ejusdem, urbis Arimini elogium. Ejusdem, Lucerna. Modesti (1471–1557) is perhaps best known for his history of Venice titled Venetias.

This poem celebrating the works of God in the Creation is written in dactylic hexameter and employs much classical vocabulary, while at the same time showing the influence of liturgical Latin — not an uncommon stylistic combination at that time. The text is printed in roman with guide letters and the pages are lightly ruled in red; the title-page displays Pope Julius III's coat of arms surrounded by a Latin epigram.

Provenance:  Charles Spencer, Third Earl of Sunderland, lot 8539 in the Sunderland Library sale (1882). Embossed stamp of the Theological Institute of Connecticut on final leaf; deaccessioned to Pitts Theological Library at Emory; deaccessioned again 1998; later in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.

Searches of COPAC, OCLC, and the NUC revealno U.S. libraries holding this fragment or the larger work.

•  EDIT16 CNCE 40108.   Modern boards covered in a 16th-century leaf of Eusebius with text in Latin and Greek; gilt black leather spine label with misdate of 1521, new endpapers. Moderate age-toning with a handful of stains, provenance markings as above.  (37825)

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“Early American” for THIS Sort ofChess Book

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•  First edition, not a modern reprint. Designed for the beginner and novice, this was published during the early days of interest in the U.S. in chess as a social event. The first American chess congress was held in New York in 1857 and that certainly helped expand interest in the game. (Oddly, the founding of the first chess club in America did not come until 1877.)

Provenance:  Ex-German Society of Pennsylvania Library, a German-American social organization.

•  Publisher's green cloth stamped in blind on covers and in gilt on spine (with a knight, bishop, and castle in addition to author and title); a little cocked and bottom edges worn. Front free endpaper separated and rear one chipped. Ex–social club library: call number on endpaper, rubber-stamp on title- and two other pages, no other markings. Clearly a book that was often read and consulted with some soiling and staining resultant; text not chipped though printed on inexpensive paper.  (26923)

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Ottoman Omnibus fromELZEVIR

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• Three Elzevir-printed treatises bound in one volume: A work on Turkish history compiled from various sources bound with Pierre Gilles's works on Constantinople and the Bosphorus. The trio open withhandsome engraved title-pages, the first showing a sultan on horseback; the second the Column of Constantine with a map of the city beneath; and the third Europa on the bull along with two vistas of the straits, that last done by Cornelis-Claezoon Duysend.

The present edition of the first work isrevised and enlarged with added material on Algeria. It should be noted that the second work is here in the “mieux imprimée et plus correcte” of the two editions printed in 1632 (according to Willems), while the third work is the first of its two 1632 editions (with the final line giving “LXV. menses”). All three were first printed by Elzevir in 1630.

Produced in Elzevir's typical compact style, the three together form a small but very thick omnibus.

•  Willems 416, 367, 366.   Contemporary vellum, spine with hand-inked title; light dust-soiling, traces of now-absent shelf label at foot of spine, upper corners bumped, and wormtrack to front endpapers not reaching/affecting title-page. Texts faintly age-toned with occasional spots of very light foxing, otherwise clean. A fine little fistful.  (41379)

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ILLUSTRATED! — Swedish Antiquities

•  First edition comprising both parts: French translation of Montelius’s Svenska fornsaker, an atlas of Swedish antiquities from the Stone Age through the Iron Age. The weapons, pots, jewelry, and other items are beautifully depicted in wood engravings by Karl Fredrik Lindberg, with accompanying descriptive text by Montelius, a prominent archeologist whose work on the chronological dating method known as seriation is reflected in the organization of the present volume.

•  Lipperheide, Katalog der Freiherrlich von Lipperheide’schen Kostumbibliothek, 285m. Contemporary quarter morocco with marbled paper–covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped title; joints and edges rubbed, joints cracked and leather chipped at spine extremities. Front free endpaper separated but present; front pastedown and free endpaper institutionally rubber-stamped. Pages clean. Absorbing.  (19549)

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Gascon Tales & Anecdotes

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•  Compilation of wit and humor from the southwest of France, a region universally acclaimed for its douceur de vivre. This is one of two editions of 1708 (the first year of the work's appearance), the other issued in Paris; the collection was also issued under the title Gasconiana.

•  Barbier, Dictionnaire des ouvrages anonymes et pseudonymes, 915.   Contemporary speckled sheep, spine gilt extra; overall rubbed, front cover with small nick to upper edge and short tear from joint now repaired, spine leather cracked with gilt rubbed yet stillvery nice to look at. Front pastedown with printed paper label (owner's name in blackletter) affixed, front free endpaper excised. Intermittent light spotting and staining, some pages browned.  (26907)

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A Popular Tragedy, from the Bodoni Press
     (A Discrepancy in States, the AUTHOR's Fault??)

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•  First edition: Striking Bodoni printing of a classically inspired tragedy, limited to 160 copies and presentedvery handsomely in large type with wide margins. Written in 1784, the play premiered at the Ducal Theater of Parma in the same year of this first publication. Although Giani suggests that there was one printing of 136 pages and another of 132 (not affecting the text, and without any plausible reason as far as he could tell), neither Brooks nor de Lama makes such a distinction — the discrepancy may be related to the author's having made numerous textual corrections right up until the last minute, perhaps reflected in the two cancel leaves in this copy. The dramatic copper-engraved frontispiece was done by Barbazza after Mazzoneschi.

Binding: 19th-century dark blue and tan floral pastepaper–covered boards, gilt-stamped red leather title-label on spine; all edges gilt.

Provenance:  Pastedown and front free endpaper with bookplates of Brian Douglas Stilwell and Robert Wayne Stilwell.

•  Brooks 312; De Lama, II, 40; Giani 31 (p. 92); Graesse, III, 592.   Bound as above, corners and spine extremities rubbed not reducing handsome effect. Title-page with light offsetting from frontispiece and light smudges in outer margin; otherwise, scattered spots of light foxing and a few small stains, some leaves with faint creasing. A clean and attractive copy. (40131)

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Bodoni Press & Dedicated to NAPOLEON

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•  First Bodoni octavo printing of this epic verse extolling Napoleon's military accomplishments. The poet (1754–1828) changed his colors several times during the course of his career, at first lauding the pope in a number of works before renouncing that conviction in favor of temporarily supporting first the French Revolution and then Napoleon (who rewarded him with a professorship at the University of Pavia), and, later still, after Napoleon's downfall, switching his allegiance from the French to the Austrians. Here, drawing not only on Neoclassical tropes but also on Ossian for literary inspiration, Monti describes Napoleonic triumphs including the Battle of Ulm, the Egyptian campaign, the coup d'état of 1799, and the Battle of Austerlitz.

In 1806, Bodoni printed the six existing cantos (the proposed second and third parts of the poem were never published) in three forms: folio, quarto, and octavo, with the present octavo examplenicely displaying the press's typical restraint and grace.   None of the three Bodoni editions are common; only two U.S. institutions report holding copies of this octavo format (UC-Berkeley, Southern Methodist).

•  Brooks 999; De Lama, II, 171; Giani 176 (p. 71); Graesse, IV, 592.   19th-century treed paper–covered sides with red morocco shelfback, spine with gilt-stamped title and decorative bands; small scuffs to sides, spine with small chip and extremities/edges rubbed with edges lightly sunned; front hinge (inside) opening across paper in part but volume strong. Front pastedown with traces of paper adhesions. An unusual Bodoni item, with pleasingly wide margins. (40190)

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Napoleonic Bodoni . . . QUARTO

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•  Impressive Bodoni quarto edition — the first in this format — of this epic lyric poem.

In 1806, Bodoni printed the six existing cantos (the proposed second and third parts of the poem were never completed) in three forms: folio, quarto, and octavo, none of which are now common. The unadorned text of the present version makes a still understated but real impact at this size.

•  Brooks 998; De Lama, II, 170; Giani 176 (p. 71).   19th-century brown calf–backed marbled paper–covered boards, spine tooled in gilt and blind with gilt-stamped coronet-surmounted coat of arms at foot (appears to incorporate the arms of Tobarra, Spain); moderate rubbing to spine, joints, and edges. Hinges (inside) with sections showing insect damage, but holding. Page edges uncut. A few instances of light foxing, confined to margins and less than might be expected. An attractive example.  (40189)

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Conspiracy!

•  First edition of this Royalist history, in which Montjoie attributes most of the responsibility for the French Revolution to the Duc d’Orléans, that “wicked prince,” who was allegedly aided by a group of Masonic conspirators.

Binding:  Contemporary treed calf; spines with gilt-stamped decorative bands and compartment devices, and with gilt-stamped leather title and volume labels. Edges gilt-rolled. All page edges stained yellow.

•  Bindings a little rubbed over joints and extremities, with a few instances of pinhole-type worming to back cover of vol. I; upper and outer edges dust-soiled. Some instances of light foxing. An attractive set.  (11404)

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Lalla Rookh, the Irish Melodies, & More

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•  First edition of this Parisian single-volume compilation of Moore's verse, with an engraved portrait of the author done by J.T. Wedgwood after Sieurac, and a biographical and critical sketch of Thomas Moore written by J.W. Lake. The volume opens, of course, with the beloved Lalla Rookh; and, though the publishers here were the Galignanis, it is noted on the back of the half-title that “Jules Didot, Senior,” was the actual printer.

Binding: Contemporary straight-grain black morocco, covers framed and panelled in gilt and blind, spine with gilt-stamped title and gilt-framed compartments, spine compartments blind-tooled in foliate designs, turn-ins with gilt double fillets. All edges gilt.

•  NCBEL, III, 264.   Bound as above, edges and extremities with minor rubbing, bottom spine compartment with small crack, leather (only) starting at front joint (joint itself strong). Front pastedown with early inked ownership inscription. Moderate foxing, more pronounced to first and last few leaves; two pages with offsetting from dried plant matter laid in. A lovely volume.  (24906)

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Cheap Repository — Quirky Copy

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•  A parable of travellers, some of whom focus on “the things above” and others on “the things below.” Following the first piece are four additional brief “Cheap Repository” items, with a shared title-page — “Dan and Jane; or, Faith and Works,” “The Execution of Wild Robert; Being a Warning to All Parents,” and “The Gin-Shop; or, a Peep into a Prison.” These are all complete, but jumbled together with pages curiously intermingled.

Each title-page features a wood-engraved vignette. All six pieces are signed “Z,” for Hannah More, the creator of and primary contributor to the “Cheap Repository.”

Provenance: From the chapbook collection of American collector Albert A. Howard, sans indicia.

•  Removed from a nonce volume. Latter portion misbound as above. Slightly age-toned, with scattered mild foxing. Each title-page vignette with a few dark spots apparently resulting from printer's over-inking; an interesting copy.  (41161)

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David & Goliath, Etc.

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•  Issued in the series “Whittingham's Cabinet Library” (although not identified as such internally), this edition opens with a memoir of the author and is illustrated with wood-engraved vignettesat the beginning of each story and on the title-page.

Binding: Contemporary half blue-green sheep with marbled paper–covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped title and floral compartment decorations.

Provenance:  From the children's book collection of Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear. Back pastedown with attractive 19th-century binder's label of J.B. Harding, Gosport.

•  Bound as above, rubbed overall; pages faintly age-toned with a very few instances of small spots of foxing. A solid, clean copy in a worn but elegantly designed contemporary binding.  (41649)

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“No Plan, No Pattern Can We Trace” — Illustrated
(The Persuasive Power of Metaphor?)

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•  From the “Cheap Repository” series: Early, uncommon printing of this cheerful religious consolation in iambic tetrameter, signed “Z” (i.e., Hannah More). When one weaver grumbles about his hardships, the other turns the seemingly disordered threads of the unfinished carpet in their workshop into a metaphor for man's inability to comprehend the workings of the divine plan.

The ballad is hereillustrated with two handsome woodcuts: the title-page features a large vignette of Dick and John at their loom, and the final text page displays the patterned carpet itself.

Provenance:  From the chapbook collection of American collector Albert A. Howard, sans indicia.

•  ESTC T052020.   Disbound from a nonce volume, with early inked numeral in upper outer corner of title-page. Title-page foot with faint shadow of pencilled annotation; pages with very minor foxing.  (41145)

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The More Things Change . . .

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•  Uncommon: Speeches objecting to “Government interference in the matter of education,” by Edward Baines, Jr., Bailie Duncan, the Rev. Andrew Thomson, the Rev. J.R. Campbell, Dr. Lindsay Alexander, Duncan McLaren, etc.

•  NSTC 2E4287.   Removed from a nonce volume. Title-page with small inked numeral in upper outer corner.  (17041)

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It WasNever Smooth Sailing . . .

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•  First edition:  Detailed examination of our foreign policy toward Great Britain and its troubled nature, especially during the Napoleonic era. Jefferson kept a copy of this work, generally ascribed to Morford, in his personal library.

•  Shaw & Shoemaker 10615; Sabin 34815; Sowerby 3353. Stitched in original blue-green paper wrappers with spine paper entirely gone and front wrapper reinforced; front wrapper with stamps and pencilled notation. Variable foxing, some staining and soiling also. Ex-Franklin Institute with a few stamps (including to title-page). Uncut copy.  (18652)

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The Latest Views, from the Explorers Themselves

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•  “New” findings on Central Asia and New Guinea: Vol. I, pt. 2 of the supplementary papers of the Royal Geographical Society, with a handsome folded map. The Royal Geographical Society was created to advance the geographical sciences, and after its founding in 1830 supported the expeditions of some of the foremost explorers. In this RGS publication, English translator Edward Delmar Morgan and English geographer and former Society president Clements R. Markham (both also renowned explorers) offered updates on their respective areas of study: Morgan (1840–1909) with additional notes to a report on a Central Asian expedition previously translated for the Society), and Markham (1830–1916) with discoveries on the New Guinea coasts, in a paper read at the Society in 1884.

“Part of Central Asia Showing the Territory between the Zarafshan and Amu-Daria Rivers,” thelarge folding map relevant to Morgan's paper, is included in the rear. Printed in in black and white with light color accents, it was drawn by the chief draughtsman for the Society, Henry Sharbau, and lithographed by British cartographer and engraver Edward Weller.

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

•  Original printed blue wrappers, front wrapper with center emblem; wrappers edgeworn and lightly discolored in spots, chipping to rear wrapper with minor loss, spine faded. Interior age-toned, light scuffs to two pages; very small occasional tears at creases of the map. A solid copy, with the attractive map.  (38056)

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First Edition — Full of Facts & Fantasy

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•  Uncommon first edition: Short stories from a military man turned scholar, known for his Giuoco Piacevole. Kraus aptly notes the “novellae [sic] follow the example of Masuccio and Bandello, in that each is dedicated to a famous personage — and offers moral reflections on the examples provided by the stories, which combine historical facts with romantic fantasy,” although the Enciclopedia italiana (online) remarks dryly that some of the subjects “avuto migliore vita artistica da altri scrittori.” While the title claims this is a “Prima parte,” no more were printed, and indeed these stories were not reprinted until the 18th century.

An artful production, the text is printed in single columns using roman and italic type with head- and tailpieces, decorative initials, small in-text decorations, and a sizable printer's device on the title-page incorporating the phrase “virtute et labore.”

Provenance:  Small signature in ink of J.E. McKinley, M.D., on title-page along top edge; most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.

•  Kraus, Italia, 192; EDIT16 CNCE 47029; Brunet, III, 1904; Graesse, Trésor de Livres Rares, IV, p. 608. Not in Adams.   20th-century full calf, spine with raised bands double-ruled in gilt with daisy stamps in compartments, covers framed in gilt double-fillets, all edges gilt; spine gently sunned. Light age-toning and staining with the occasional spot; of several different paper stocks with a few uneven fore-edges and later repairs. Provenance markings as above. Attractive.  (38107)

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Epic French Legends — Inscribed by the Author — Printed by Firmin Didot

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•  Gothic-decorated collection of French legends, including the tales “Le Droit de Nopçage,” “Le Jugement de Dieu,” “La Cour de Jussienne,” “Le Voeu du Faisan,” and “Le Dict des Crieries et Encombrements de Paris.” Didot printed the title-page in red and black and embellished the text itself with “ornées d’initiales, vignettes, et fleurons imités des manuscrits originaux,” several of which are colored in blue, green, red, pink, silver, orgold, or combinations thereof. Two of the stories open with illustrated borders, and another one has a full-page illustration preceding the text; notes follow the stories to help readers better understand the “antique” text.

Provenance:  Author’s inked inscription “A mon bon ami, Amand Lemire [/] E. Morice” on front free endpaper. From the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.

•  Printed paper over boards imitating 16th-century strap-work and panelling on covers, with gilt lettering on otherwise plain spine and four gold dots at the corners of the covers’ inner panels; rubbed with some paper chipped, front upper corner and hinge cracked, front free endpaper reattached with paste and chipped at bottom. Light to moderate age-toning and foxing throughout; colors and illumination remarkably bright. A pretty little thing with plenty of charm.  (37895)

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“Words are Meant to be Clothed, Not Buried”

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•  Eleven promotional pieces: prospectuses and other ephemera (including two sheets of printing-themed wrapping paper!) from the small Newtown, PA, press famed for its fine printing, particularly on the subjects of book arts and printing history. This collection of Bird & Bull items offers a nice overview of a variety of the press's favored fonts, illustration styles, and subject matters — and of proprietor Henry Morris's sense of humor as well.

The gathering comprises: Bibliophilic, Typographic and Politically Correct Bijoux. That's a wrap! [1996]. Nos. 2 & 3. [1] f. each. (folded); Chinese Handmade Paper. [1986]. [4] pp.; Chinese Decorated Papers. [1987]. [1] f.; The Etching of Figures. [1998]. [4] pp. (specimen laid into some copies of Dard Hunter & Son; this example including the mysterious “yellow image”); The First Fine Silver Coinage of the Republic of San Serriffe: The Bird & Bull Press Commemorative 100 Coronas. 1988. [4] pp.; Numismata typographica. [1992]. [1] f.; The Private Press-Man's Tale. [1990]. [1] f.; Swine Print. [1978]. [4] pp.; Three Early French Essays on Paper Marbling 1642–1765. [4] pp.; Trade Tokens of British and American Booksellers & Bookmakers. [1989]. [4] pp.

•  Items clean and unworn. Swine Print with crease from previous folding. An attractive, interesting gathering of uncommon ephemera.  (31235)

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“Guilford & Green May BeStrange Bedfellows”

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•  A curious and complicated volume. It is divided into two parts, each independent in almost every way of the other and each with a very formal sectional title: Part 1: A visit toHayle Mill [an English firm making fine artists' papers from 1808 to 1987], written from notes made during a visit to J. Barcham Green, limited, by H. Morris; part 2: Dear friend at home; letters written by Nathan Guilford on a journey to Kentucky [where he meant to establish a law practice] in 1814, with an introduction by W. Bell, Jr. The over-all title of this work is taken from the half-title-like leaf preceding the sectional title of part I; part I includes correspondence withWilliam Morris.

The production was limited to 210 copies, printed using Baskerville types. Part 1 is printed on Jack B. “Green's hand made Royal, and 'Hayle Mill' is printed on hand made 'Bird & Bull Royal” paper. Contained in a pocket of the dust wrappers is a sample of “the paper originally made for covering the sides of the book [but which] was found unsuitable.”

This is copy 152.

•  Publisher's quarter cranberry-colored calf with decorated paper over the boards, in a cream-colored paper wrapper. A fine copy.  (30522)

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All About Bath — With Maps — Including Its
Plants, Birds, & Insects

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•  Sole edition: “Presenting concisely and readily . . . the continuous history of an ancient borough rich in monumental evidence of varying fortune in changing times, and illustrating in that history the revolutions of race, the changes of manners, the progress of society, in no ordinary degree” (p. iii). The workopens with a tipped-in, black and white folding map of the country around Bath, and closes with a larger, color-printed geological map done by Horace B. Woodward (the latter map contained in a pocket on the back pastedown). One chapter covers the botanical attractions of the area, including a selection of interesting local plants (using scientific terminology and giving brief notes on the locations where they were observed), while another lists the rarer birds and insects to be found.

The “British Association” that visited Bath in 1888 was the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

Few U.S. institutions report holding physical copies of this work: WorldCat finds only eight American locations.

•  Publisher's pebbled blue cloth–covered limp boards, front cover with gilt-stamped title; spine cloth slightly darkened and bubbled, extremities rubbed. Pages and color map slightly age-toned, minor offsetting to upper and inner margins of first few leaves (around tipped-in map), overall internally clean.A nice copy of an interesting work.  (40375)

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Court of Chancery Reports forDublin

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•  First edition, with a list of subscribers headed by the Right Honorable Robert, Lord Baron Newport, Lord Chancellor of Ireland; as with most Reports, the reading illuminates human as well as legal history.

Provenance:  Title-page and several others stamped by the Birmingham Law Society; title-page with inked ownership inscription of Hamilton Stuart, dated 1755.

Evidence of readership: Several instances of corrections and marginalia in Stuart's hand, including two substantive annotations; occasional underlining.

•  ESTC T95792; Sweet & Maxwell 347.   Period-style quarter calf and marbled paper–covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label, raised bands, and blind-tooled compartment decorations. First leaf of contents with closed tear at center; one leaf with tear from outer margin, not touching text. Scattered spots of faint foxing, with varying degrees of age-toning; a clean copy. A solid and distinguished-looking copy, with additional interest in its evidence of readership.  (35368)

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Ancient DaysFORWARD

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•  First edition of this sought-after history of Normandy. Preliminary leaves include a dedication; publication statement; a sonnet, epigrams, and an ode to the history of Normandy; “Discours de la Normandie” (35 pp.); “De l'ancienne Normandie” (35–56 pp.); and a genealogy of the Dukes of Normandy. Rear matter includes an index (22 ff.) and a list (52 pp.) of the Lords of Normandy and other French provinces who took part in the conquest of Jerusalem under Robert Courte-heuze, Duke of Normandy, and Godefroy du Buillon, Duke of Lorraine.

An early owner has mounted on the title-page an armorial plate bearing an image of the two leopards of Normandy on a shield superimposed by a crown, the whole flanked by attendants holding long branches (palms? laurels?) in one hand and the shield in the other.

Handsomely decorated with engraved initials and tailpieces.

•  Brunet 24296.   Recent deep walnut full calf old style, by Grace Bindings (signed in blind at inner area of rear cover, lower turn-in); round spine with raised bands accented in gilt and with blind-tooled devices in compartments, oxblood leather gilt-lettered title-label, blind fillets extending onto covers from each band to terminate in trefoils and covers framed in double blind fillets. Ex–Mercantile Library of Philadelphia with stamps, mostly faint, including to title-page; title-page re-margined along top and inner edge with an interior hole filled also (no words affected). Title-page with early inked ownership initials; a few other instances of early inked notations within text. Some leaves chipped, others mildly to moderately waterstained; we have chosen to show pages bearing more waterstains rather than fewer. Armorial device mounted to title-page, as noted; we cannot be sure what this covers, but it is elegant!  (21215)

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The END TIMES, According to Muggleton

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•  First edition: Explication of Revelation, “proving” that Muggleton and John Reeve were God's “Last Messengers, and the Witnesses of the Spirit” (p. 165) as mentioned in Rev. 11:3 ff., with a divine commission to declare “the doctrine of the true God, and the right devil” (p. 161). Reeve and Muggleton were the prophets and leaders of the Muggletonians, a small Christian sect that denied the doctrine of the Trinity, believed that God would no longer interfere in human affairs after the revelation of their founders, and condemned prayer and preaching. In this, his first independent work following Reeve's death in 1658, Muggleton examines Revelation from a quirky, materialist, anti-Reason perspective, argues that God has a manlike, corporeal face and body, and discusses the failings of the “seven Churches . . . having no Commission from God” (p. 52): Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Presbytery, Independent, Baptist, Ranter, and Quaker.

Provenance:  Final blank leaf with inked inscriptions reading “Tho.s. Scupholme His Book 1740" and “Henery Collier His Book 1759.”

•  ESTC R267; Wing (rev. ed.) M3050; Smith, Anti-Quakeriana, 305.   Period-style calf, covers framed in blind double fillets, spine with gilt-ruled raised bands and gilt-stamped leather title-label. Pages age-toned and spotted; one leaf with tear from lower margin into text, sewn by hand some time ago.  (26004)

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Muhlenberg, Henry Melchior.  Erbauliche Lieder-Sammlung zum gottesdienstlichen Gebrauch in den Vereinigten Evangelisch-Lutherischen Gemeinen in Pennsylvanien und den benachbarten Staaten.... Germantaun: Michael Billmeyer, 1803. (17 cm, 6.6"). Frontis., [12], 602, [8 (index)] pp. [bound with] Helmuth, Justus Henry Christian. Kurze Andachten einer Gottsuchenden Seele, auf alle Tage der Woche und andere Umstande eingerichtet. Germantaun: Michael Billmeyer, 1803. 28 pp. [and] Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of Pennsylvania and the Adjacent States. Anhang zu dem Gesangbuch der Vereinigten Evangelisch-Lutherischen Gemeinen in Nord-America. Germantaun: Michael Billmeyer, 1803. 80 pp.
$375.00

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•  Third edition, following the first of 1786, of this German-American collection of Lutheran hymns, meant for use in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. Printed in black-letter, the volume has a woodcut frontispiece portrait of Martin Luther, done by F. Reiche; it includes only the hymns’ texts, without music. As often, the Hymnal is here accompanied by two other Lutheran devotional works printed by Billmeyer in 1803; the Anhang zu dem Gesangbuch is here in its first edition and the prayerbook Kurze Andachten in its third.

•  Shaw & Shoemaker 4172; Goedeke, Grundriss zur Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung aus den Quellen, 572; Arndt, First Century of German Language Printing in the United States of America, 1337. Andachten: Shaw & Shoemaker 4360; Arndt 1338. Anhang: Shaw & Shoemaker 4171; Arndt 1334. Contemporary sheep, spine with later and sympathetic gilt-stamped title and author labels, binding with brass and leather clasps (intact); leather rubbed and some chipped away with joints open though holding, and spine leather showing some cracking. Front pastedown, free endpaper, and fly-leaf with early inked ownership inscriptions; back pastedown with later pencilled notation; front free endpaper separated and back free endpaper lacking. Pages age-toned and spotted (as usual in German imprints of this period); some corners dog-eared. One leaf with portion of outer margin torn away, with loss of a few words. Condition actually rather typical, for this sort of volume!  (18243)

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Inscribed by the Founder of theU.S. Church School Movement

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•  First edition: A clergyman and pioneering Christian educator's poems, including the titular hymn. The preface notes that the work was published for the benefit of St. Luke's Hospital, the hospital Mühlenberg founded in 1858 in New York City at 54th Street and 5th Avenue.

Provenance:  Inscribed by the author: “To Richard Wood from W.A. Mühlenberg [indecipherable location] — Xmas 1856.” Beneath that is another early inked inscription, “L.A. Nichols, from Misses Wood.” Mühlenberg was atthe University of Pennsylvania at the same time as George Bacon Wood, son of Richard Wood and Elizabeth Bacon; the present inscription appears to be a dedication to the father of his classmate.

•  Publisher's brown straight-grained cloth, covers framed in blind roll, front cover with gilt-stamped title; minor wear to extremities, back cover with small light spots. Pages very faintly age-toned with occasional spots of light foxing. A nice little book with nice provenance.  (35366)

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Managing the WAR against the PLAGUE

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•  Marking an evolution in 18th-century thought on public health, this treatise — written by a non-physician — covers approaches to physical, spiritual, and civic well-being in times ofbubonic plague. A priest active in parish ministry, librarian to the Duke of Modena, and eminent scholar in many fields, the author (1672–1750) here addresses Italian law and politics regarding the handling of the disease, as well as the medical and religious procedures to be followed.

This is the uncommonexpanded  third edition, following the first of 1710 and the second of 1714. While the printing is workmanlike, the text is ornamented with several large woodcut tailpieces and decorative capitals, and the title-page bearsthe phoenix printer's vignette of Baptista Zappata.

Provenance: Front and back pastedowns with 19th-century inked name-doodling by Ruffane (“Ruffa”) Louis Michele, one inscription dated 1813; blank page at end of dedication with early inked inscription noting presence at the library of the Cappuccini di Ceva convent, lower margins of two text pages with “De Capuccini di Ceva” inked in early hand; lower margin of one page with early inked inscription “Camillo da Andoino.” Later from the residue of the stock of the F. Thomas Heller bookselling firm (est. ca. 1928).

•  Blake, NLM 18th Century, p. 316.   Contemporary mottled sheep, spine with gilt-stamped leather label reading “MVR” and gilt-stamped decorations between raised bands; leather scuffed, front joint starting from head, spine with areas of insect damage, front board bent some time ago and now slightly sprung. Front free endpaper lacking; inscriptions as above, title-page with inked-over inscriptions. A few leaves with spots of light waterstaining to upper outer corners or outer margins. A solid, very readable copy of this often-referenced work on public disease control, with interesting provenance.  (40682)

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School Text 1791 — “Muretus” a
  MODEL  for Students

•  Marc Antoine Muret (1526–85), better known by the Latin form of his name, Muretus, started his literary career in Paris as a member of the circle of young poets that also included Dorat and Ronsard, and in 1553 he published a French commentary on Ronsard’s Amours. He later moved to Italy, where he became one of the leading classicists of his day. He has long been recognized as the best Latin prose stylist of the Renaissance, and his works were used, as this textbook exemplifies, as a model for students. Vol. I of this work contains selections from his speeches, while vol. II contains letters. This particular collection of Muretus for students was apparently first published in 1739 and regularly republished during the 18th century. An engraved portrait of Muretus serves as the frontispiece for vol. I.

Rare.  No U.S. copies traced via NUC Pre-1956 or WorldCat.

•  On Muretus, see: Sandys, History of Classical Scholarship, II, 148–52. Contemporary half vellum over stencilled paper, spine with inked title; stained and paper torn with much chipping, especially on edges of covers. Ex-library with white-lettered call number on spines and, on title-pages, two different Catholic institutions’ rubber-stamps, plus the old inked ownership inscription of a Jesuit novitiate (Maryland). Ink scratches to frontispiece portrait (intentional?), and some inkstains in margins elsewhere. Lightly foxed. All edges speckled red.  (11574)

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He Wrote Beautiful Latin & He Found Protection in the Vatican

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•  First edition of Muret's classical commentaries to include the Hymni. The Variae, first published complete in 15 books in 1580, include excerpts from and explanations of both Greek and Latin texts, especially Cicero. A separate title-page introduces the Hymni (verses recited on specific holy days), followed by poems about illustrious contemporaries of Muret's — e.g., Raphael — and an index to the previous 15 books.

The French humanist Muret (1526–85) has long been recognized as the best Latin prose stylist of the Renaissance, and his works were used as a model for students. Greatly admired for his excellent understanding and interpretation of classical texts, he was dubbed “le meilleur orateur du temps” in Italy and France by Montaigne, whom he tutored; and Scaliger mused that Muret “satirised the Ciceronians and at the same time expressed himself in a thoroughly Ciceronian style.” LIke most of Muret's published work, these Variae are based on his academic lectures; however the scholar Lambinus accused Muret of plagiarism, and indeed it seems Muret “borrowed” bits from his work without permission. (In retaliation, Lambinus published their personal correspondence.)

Muret's personal life was fraught with tribulation stemming from multiple accusations of homosexuality in various cities where he resided. From 1559 till his death, however, he lived in Rome under the protection of at least one cardinal and a pope.

The text is in Latin and Greek, printed in roman and italic, with decorative headpieces and floriated initials. A letterpress diagram on p. 547 shows the Greek alphabet corresponding to numerals.

Provenance:  John Saltar (19th-century adolescent's signature, front pastedown); Henry Johns Gibbons, Rittenhouse (Philadelphia), 1923 (signature, front fly-leaf verso).

•  Adams M1971. On Muret, see: Sandys, History of Classical Scholarship, II, pp. 148–52.   Contemporary vellum with evidence of four ties and trace of oval stamp to front cover center, ink title to spine and bottom edge; soiled, with worm to spine/ pastedowns, hinges (inside) cracked, textblock starting to loosen. Paper age-toned and foxed, with small holes from natural flaws on two leaves (and two others partially uncut); Hymni dampstained in lower inner portions (not horribly). A few early ink annotations present.  (30146)

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Departures Were atFour A.M.

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•  At the top of this advertising broadside isa wood engraving of four horses in gallop pulling a stage coach. Included is information about departures from both terminuses, stops along the way, the tariff, and cost of excess baggage.

Not located via NUC, WorldCat, COPAC, or the OPAC of the Mexican National Library. Durango imprints are rare.

•  Printed on rose-colored paper, faded and tattered at edges; small fold tears, dog-earing, and an old tape stain in one margin. Faults noted, stilldisplayable/frameable!  (31472)

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Chicanery & Deception

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•  Nice reprint of a compilation of articles by Lotte Hellinga, Michael Treadwell, Michael Harris, Joseph M. Levine, Nigel Ramsay, Nicholas Barker, and Tom Davis, originally published in the famed St. Paul's Bibliography series following a conference in London in 1988 at which all authors were present.

The conference occurred without anyone attending knowing that, in the U.S., a major scandal relating to the forgery of Texas printed historical documents was just beginning to blossom!

•  New. Publisher's illustrated boards.  (27539)

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A Pretty Present Indeed

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•  First edition: This appealing and now uncommon children's book appeared as part of both Nelson's “Short Story” series and their “My Story Box” series. The front cover bears an affixedchromolithograph of a Greenaway-style young girl holding a posy; the title-page vignette was engraved by popular illustrators Bross and Bogart — as several subsequent images also appear to have been — and each text page features a large wood engraving, four done in silhouette style, with an accompanying paragraph telling a brief story or describing the moral to be drawn from the image. The subjects of the pictures include a poor sailor, a policeman, and a milkmaid as well as fashionably dressed children and a variety of pets and livestock. Overall, the stories stress perseverance, politeness, and kindness to animals.

Binding:  Publisher's cream paper–covered boards, front cover with mounted color-printed illustration of a young girl as above, back cover with black-stamped decorative design.

Provenance:  From the children's book collection of Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.

•  Binding as above, very lightly soiled, and interior with a few spots of light foxing only; a clean, lovely copy, apparentlyuntouched by childish hands (or only by awfully careful ones).  (40740)

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TO Part XXVI

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