
GENERAL MISCELLANY
Aa-Al
Am-Az
Ba-Bos
Bibles1
Bibles2
Bibles3
Bot-Bz
Ca-Cd
Ce-Cl
Co-Cz
D
E F
Ga-Gl
Gm-Gz
Ha-Hd
He-Hz
I
J
K
La-Ld Le-Ln
Lo-Lz
Ma-Mb
Mc-Mi
Mj-Mz
N-O
Pa-Pe Pf-Pn
Po-Pz Q-Rg
Rh-Rz
Sa-Sc Sd-So
Sp-Sz
Ta-Ti Tj-U
V-Wa Wb-Z
[
]
How Would
Expulsion “Go” in Portugal?
Seabra da Silva, José de.
Vorstellung der bedenklichen Umstände, in welchen sich die Portugiesische Monarchie befindet, seit dem die so genannte Gesellschaft Jesu aus Frankreichs und Spaniens Gränzen getrieben und verbannet worden ist ... Wittenberg und Zerbst: Zimmermann, 1770. Small 8vo. 116 pp.
$650.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Seabra da Silva (1732–1813) was a fidalgo and close ally of Pombal in his war on the Jesuits. The present work is a translation of his 1768 work in Portuguese of Petiçaö de recurso apresentada em audiencia publica a Sua Magestade, sobre o ultimo e critico estado desta monarchia, depois que a Sociedade chamada de Jesus, foi desnaturalisada e proscripta dos dominios des França e Hispana.
It is a study of the Society of Jesus and its expulsion from Spain and France and the consequences thereof, and it was presented to Joseph of Portugal so that he might anticipate similar consequences following his order of expulsion.
DeBacker-Sommervogel, XI, 1205. Contemporary vellum over paste boards. Blackened area on spine; bookplate. A clean copy. (20462)
For more 18TH-CENTURY BOOKS, click here.
For more JESUITANA, click here.
For more CATHOLICA, click here.
For more BOOKS IN GERMAN, click here.
Or for more TRANSLATIONS, click here.

“Neither Romance Nor Pure History” — The Pilgrims
& Their Departure from England
Sears, Edmund H. Pictures of the olden time, as shown in the fortunes of a family of the Pilgrims. Boston: Crosby, Nichols & Co.; Cincinnati: George S. Blanchard; London: Sampson Low, Son, & Co., 1857. 12mo (19.8 cm, 7.75"). viii, 342 pp.
$100.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition: Historical novel based on the author's genealogical researches, with chapters entitled “The Exile,” “The Adventurer,” and “The Pilgrim.” Sears later in the same year issued a now-rare private edition of this work which included a spurious pedigree of Richard Sears, not present here.
The Massachusetts-born Sears was a Unitarian minister and author of the words of the famous carol, “It Came upon the Midnight Clear.”
Wright, II, 2174; Sabin 78641. Publisher's brown cloth, covers blind-stamped with star-shaped design, spine with gilt-stamped title and blind-stamped decoration; binding cocked and rubbed, spine extremities chipped. Ex–social club library: 19th-century bookplate and call number on pastedown and fly-leaf, front free endpaper lacking, title-page pressure-stamped. No other markings. Pages faintly age-toned, otherwise clean. (26565)
For POST-1820 AMERICANA,
click here.
For LITERATURE, click here.
For RELIGION, click here.
For “GIFTABLES” mostly $150
& UNDER, click here.
Segneri, Paolo. Prediche dette nel Palazzo Apostolico, e dedicate alla santità di Nostro Signore Papa Innocenzo duodecimo. Venezia: Paolo Baglioni, 1694. 8vo (23.1 cm, 9.1"). a4A–I8K10; [4] ff., 160, [4 (index)] pp.
$650.00
Click the left and middle images for enlargement.
Sermons written by a Jesuit who preached “with an eloquence surpassed only by his holiness,” according to the Catholic Encyclopedia (online), which also refers to Segneri as “Italy’s greatest orator” after St. Bernadine of Siena and Savanarola.
A Roman edition also appeared in 1694, the year of the work’s first appearance; the present edition is more uncommon: We trace only one U.S. library copy of it.
DeBacker-Sommervogel, VII, 1079. Boards covered in music-printed paper from an 18th-century antiphonal, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label. Title-page and one other stamped by a now-defunct institution. Light spotting throughout, more pronounced to first and last few leaves; some corners dog-eared. (15453)

Polyglot Picture-Books for
Dutch Children
[Seidel, Heinrich]. Eenige voorstellingen van natuur– en kunstvoorwerpen; verrijkt met ophelderingen en toepassingen, ten dienste en naar de vatbaarheid der jeugd, in poëzij en proza. Met platen. Amsterdam: F. Kaal, [1826]. 16mo (11.8 cm, 4.64"). 2 vols. I: vi, 110, [2 (blank)] pp.; 10 col. plts. II: [4],117, [1] pp.; 9 col. plts.
[SOLD]
Click the images for enlargements.
Scarce Dutch edition of Seidel's Neuer Orbis Pictus, a work inspired by the Orbis Sensualium Pictus published by Comenius in 1658: the earliest widely used illustrated textbook for children. This updated version
features 19 excellently hand-colored plates, each plate offering four or five vocabulary words, with the captions given in four languages, e.g. “Huis / La maison / The house / Das Haus,” with the Dutch and German set in blackletter, French in italics, and English in roman, while the main body of Dutch text is set in roman. Topics described and illustrated in the two volumes include instruments, conveyances (stage-coach, sledge), clothing, household items, animals, etc.
red A search of OCLC finds
only one reported U.S. institutional holding (Princeton), with all other listed copies in the Netherlands.
Provenance: From the children's book collection of Albert A. Howard, small booklabels (“AHA”) at rear.
Publisher's printed tan paper–covered boards, volumes now housed in tan cloth–covered clamshell case with printed paper title-label (and pencilled author annotation added). Paper bindings variably darkened but entirely strong, edges and extremities lightly rubbed; free endpapers not present in either volume and possibly never present. One leaf in vol. I with small chip to upper edge; otherwise, text virtually pristine, with mostly unopened and pages and plates clean.
A beautiful, engaging production and a fine copy of it. (41236)
For BOOKS IN DUTCH, click here.
For CHILDREN / EDUCATION, click here.
For ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, click here.
For DICTIONARIES/GRAMMARS, ETC., click here.
For TRANSLATIONS, click here.

He Tried to Hold Back the Sea — Metaphorically Speaking
Sergeant, John. The method to science. London: Printed by W. Redmayne for the Author, and sold by Thomas Metcalf, 1696. 8vo (17.5 cm, 7"). [36] ff., 173, 222–52, 351–429, [1] pp. (i.e., [70], 429, [1] pp.).
$800.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Sergeant (1622–1707), a Catholic polemicist and disciple of Thomas White (alias Blacklo), was the author of three major works of philosophy: The Method to Science (1696), Solid Philosophy (1697), and Metaphysics (1700). These criticize what Sergeant termed “the idea,” that is, the grounded epistemology of the Cartesians and John Locke. In opposition to their methodology, he based his work on “Aristotelian foundations and utilized the earlier syntheses of Thomas White and Kenelm Digby to argue against those modern theorists and against any pragmatic replacement of certainty by probability as philosophy's goal. In this respect Sergeant can be seen as having tried to stem the tide of mainstream modern thought” (ODNB).
The appendix to this early work on the philosophy and methodology of science is “The grand controversy concerning formal mutation decided in favour of the peripatetick school” (pp. 374-429).
ESTC R18009; Wing (rev. ed.) S2579; Clancy, English Catholic Books 1641-1700, 891. Contemporary Oxford-style calf binding, recently and expertly rebacked; new endpapers. Occasional worming in margins. A damp-mottled and embrowned copy, still solid and complete. (39576)
For 17TH-CENTURY BOOKS, click here.
For CATHOLICA, click here.
For SCIENCE, click here.
For PHILOSOPHY, click here.

SCHISM “dis-arm'd” Sole Edition
Sergeant, John. Schism dis-arm'd of the defensive weapons, lent it by Doctor Hammond and the bishop of Derry. Paris: M. Blageart, 1655. 8vo (14 cm, 5.5"). AY8(-Y8, blank); [8] ff., 333, [1] pp.
$750.00
Click the images for enlargements.
John Sergeant (16221707) converted to Catholicism from the Church of England after researching the history of the early Church. He was ordained to the priesthood and undertook a career as a controversialist against Protestantism, writing many works. This one is a Catholic answer to Henry Hammond's (160560) Of Schisme, and John Bramhall's (15941663) Just Vindication of the Church of England from the Unjust Aspersion of Criminal Schism. Hammond and Bramhall were leading Anglican divines of the high-church party, and in attacking them Sergeant reveals the influence that that party still commanded, even at its lowest ebb under Cromwell. His argument is largely a defense of the Papacy against those who would assert the historical independence of the Church of England.
This is the sole edition of this important Recusant work.
This is a volume that shows such controvery was definitely not “dry”; we have photographed the start of Sergeant's explanation/defense of his personal animus against his antagonist, and also the “Stationer's” description of the polemical feast to come, this worked out as a menu or “Bill of Fare ”!
Provenance: On the recto of the second front fly-leaf is a presentation inscription: “For my honnord & best frind, Master John Bulteel.” The most likely John Bulteel is the one who was created M.A. at Oxford in 1661, and later served as secretary to Edward, Earl of Clarendon.
Wing S2589; ESTC R6168; Clancy, English Catholic Books, 16411700, 897. On Sergeant, see: The Dictionary of National Biography, LI, 25153. On Bramhall, see: DNB, VI, 203206. On Hammond, see: DNB, XXIV, 24246. Contemporary mottled calf, with remnants of modest double gilt rules on covers; rubbed and joints open, front cover detached. Browning from turn-ins on fly-leaves, last leaves, and fore-edge of title-page, as well as moderately to a few signatures, with a little occasional light waterstaining; otherwise, the expectable degrees of age-toning and spotting only. (7067)
(Seven Years War). Sem razaõ de entrarem em Portugal as tropas castelhanas como amigas, e razaõ de serem recebidas como inimigas. Lisboa, 1762. 4to (20 cm, 8"). [1] f., 55, [1 (blank)], 8, 6, 6, 4, 3, [1 (blank)], 3, [1 (blank)], 3, [1 (blank)] pp.
$400.00
During the Seven Years War, Portugal gave support to her traditional ally Great Britain, especially the use of her ports, and with the entry of Spain into the war, the Spanish tried to put a stop to it. First they tried diplomacy, and when that failed they invaded their neighbor, as is here documented. They were beaten off by the Portuguese with British assistance, thus reinforcing Portuguese distrust of their Castilian neighbors and their close ties with Great Britain.
Palau 307020. Wrappers stencilled in green with manuscript title on paper label affixed to front wrapper; all edges speckled red. Wrappers with a few tears and a little tattering. Small wormhole in front fly-leaf. A few pencil marks. Inked number on verso of front fly-leaf. (9044)

A Look at
THREE Fine Presses
Sewell, Brocard. Three private presses: Saint Dominic's Press, the Press of Edward Walters, Saint Albert's Press. Wellingborough: Christopher Skelton, 1979. 8vo (26 cm, 10.25"). 54, [2] pp.; illus.
[SOLD]
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition of this illustrated account, enlarged from the similarly titled 1976 exhibition catalogue. This is
numbered copy 213 of 250 printed, signed at the colophon by the author. Tucked into the pocket of the back pastedown is a facsimile copy of the marvelous color-printed, folding broadside invitation to the Ditchling Horticultural Society 98th Annual Show of 1920 that the Saint Dominic's Press originally produced.
Publisher's three-quarters green cloth, front cover with color-printed floral bouquet design on white paper, front cover and spine with gilt-stamped title. Very slight traces of wear to lower front edge, otherwise a crisp, clean copy. (34436)
For ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, click here.
For BOOKS ABOUT BOOKS, click here.
For COLLECTED PRESSES
& TYPOGRAPHY, click here.
For “GIFTABLES” mostly $150
& UNDER, click here.

Foremost Shakespearean Scholars — Handsomely Bound with Embroidered Onlays
Shakespeare, William; Samuel Johnson; George Steevens; Isaac Reed; & Mary Cowden Clarke. The complete works of William Shakespeare, from the text of Johnson, Steevens, and Reed. Edinburgh: William P. Nimmo, [1880s]. 16mo (17.5 cm, 6.875"). 2 vols. I: xxxviii, 841 pp. II: 919, [1] pp.
$75.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Two-volume set of Shakespeare's complete works edited by Samuel Johnson, George Steevens, and Isaac Reed, with a biographical sketch by Mary Cowden Clarke. The three editors were notable Shakespearean scholars; Steevens and Johnson edited a collection of Shakespeare's works together in 1773, an edition that Reed would later re-edit in 1803. Cowden Clarke, in addition to working on Shakespearean studies with her husband, published an invaluable Shakespeare concordance.
The first volume begins with a 16-page index to the characters in the plays and includes
an engraved frontispiece of Shakespeare, with additional small engravings on the title-pages and at the end of each work. The title-page vignette in vol. I is signed by J.M. Corner.
Binding: Brown (vol. I) and red (vol. II) morocco with beveled boards, five raised bands to spines and gilt lettering/devices in compartments; front covers with gilt tripled-rule borders, gilt lettering, blind-stamped corner decorations, and, within central oval frames defined by beaded gilt swags, compound recessed medallions each composed of a (faux?) tortoise shell oval surrounding and securing an inlaid silk panel embroidered with a
differently colored colorful wreath of flowers. Rear boards bear same borders and corner devices in blind, with a blind-stamped central quatrefoil medallion; all edges of both volumes gilt, with bookmarks of purple (vol. I) and green (vol. II) silk ribbon present.
While the bindings are clearly intended as a pair, the differing colors of the leather, bookmarks, and flowers in the insets make this an interesting sort of set.
Evidence of Readership: On verso of front fly-leaf of vol. I, a previous owner's neat pencil notes on purchase history. Small, marginal pencil marks throughout the middle section of vol. I.
Bound as above, rubbed; vol. II lacking tortoise frame on front board, leaving board underneath exposed and embroidery slightly soiled (although, usefully, this shows some of the area's underlying construction). Minor foxing throughout, with more severe foxing to title-page and frontispiece of vol. I; bookmarks with fading and loss at ends. Charmingly bound set; blemished, still pleasant and sturdy. (37361)
For SETS, click here.
For LITERATURE, click here.
For a bit more SHAKESPEARE, click here.
For ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, click here.
For FINE, ATTRACTIVE, & INTERESTING BINDINGS, click here.

SHAKESPEARE with Contributions from Two Leading Lights
of
English Humanities
Shakespeare, William. Shakespeare's comedy of The merchant of Venice. New York & London: Hodder & Stoughton (pr. by T. & A. Constable), [ca. 1910]. 4to (25.5 cm, 10"). xxxiv, 144 pp.; 36 col. plts.
$375.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Both handsome and eminently readable: One of the most debate-provoking of Shakespeare's comedies, here printed in large and legible type and illustrated with
36 particularly lovely, mounted, color-printed plates by Sir James D. Linton. This is the trade edition, rather than the numbered limited; it opens with Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch's prose retelling of the play's plot.
This example preserves the now-uncommon original publisher's box, with affixed color illustration.
Publisher's cream paper–covered boards with green linen shelfback, front cover with gilt-stamped title and vignette, spine with gilt-stamped title, in original publisher's box as above; box and lid worn with several corners split (now neatly repaired) and edge label chipped; volume with very faint traces of wear to spine extremities, otherwise notably fresh and clean. A beautiful presentation. (36008)
For LITERATURE, click here.
For THEATER/THEATRE, click here.
For a bit more SHAKESPEARE, click here.
For ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, click here.
For “GIFTABLES” mostly $150
& UNDER, click here.

Riccardi Press — Shakespeare's Sonnets
Shakespeare, William. The sonnets of William Shakespeare. London: Pub. for the Medici Society Ld. by Philip Lee Warner [Riccardi Press], 1913. 4to (23.1cm, 9.1"). [4], 78, [4] pp.
$150.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Attractive edition of the sonnets, produced with the Riccardi Press's attention to fine typography. The poems were edited by W.J. Craig, and printed by C.T. Jacobi in the Riccardi fount, with a
Kelmscott-style opening page.
This is
numbered copy 974 of 1012 printed (1000 on paper, 12 on vellum), this copy being on Riccardi handmade paper.
Publisher's light blue paper–covered boards with blue-grey cloth shelfback, front cover and spine with gilt-stamped title; top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed. Binding mildly sunned overall especially to spine and outer board edges, the latter also a bit dust-soiled; spine cloth worn at extremities and endpapers with offsetting, front endpapers smudged. Internally clean and crisp.
An elegant production. (36891)
For LITERATURE, click here.
For a bit more SHAKESPEARE, click here.
For COLLECTED PRESSES
& TYPOGRAPHY, click here.
For “GIFTABLES” mostly $150
& UNDER, click here.

Behind the Scenes: Shaw vs. Chesterton — Postcards Signed by Shaw
Shaw, George Bernard. ALS: Two postcards sent to Richard Mealand. Ayot St Lawrence: 1933. (14.2 x 9.2 cm & 11.3 x 8.8 cm). 2 cards.
$650.00
Click the images for enlargement.
Two handwritten cards from Shaw to Mealand, regarding “this proposed G.B.S. – G.K.C. page.” At the time, Mealand was editor of Nash's Pall Mall Magazine (owned by the National Magazine Company, to which these cards are addressed); G.K.C. was Gilbert Keith Chesterton, famously one of Shaw's favorite philosophical sparring partners and possibly his most beloved enemy. The first card, from 15 May 1933, takes a lightly ridiculing tone in stating that the author cannot possibly interrupt his “serious work” to engage in such commercial business unless paid “an enormous sum” — whatever Mealand is paying Chesterton, to be specific; the second, from 21 June 1933, notes that Shaw's reply to Chesterton has already run long and “too heavy for the occasion,” and suggests his plans for revising it.
Sent from Shaw's home in Ayot St. Lawrence and postmarked in Hertfordshire, both cards are
inscribed in Shaw's distinctive hand and signed with his initials.
Cards crisp and clean, one with pair of staple holes.
Delightful and characteristic Shavian ephemera. (37045)
For LITERATURE, click here.
For COMMERCE / TRADE /
FINANCE / ECONOMICS, click here.
For MANUSCRIPTS, click here.
For Books with SPECIAL
PROVENANCE, click here.

LEC: “Mad Shelley”
Shelley, Percy Bysshe. The poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Cambridge: The Limited Editions Club, 1971. 8vo (28 cm, 11"). xxvii, [1], 312, [4] pp.;
illus.
$150.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Handsome Limited Editions Club collection of Shelley's verse. Selected, edited,
and introduced by
Stephen Spender for the British poets series, the poems are here illustrated
with wood engravings by Richard Shirley Smith, in a volume designed by John Dreyfus and
printed at the University Printing House in Cambridge, using monotype Bembo on English wove
paper. The binding is quarter maroon goatskin with terra-cotta linen sides, the front cover
bearing
a black oval medallion embossed with a portrait of the author (matching the LEC's
other British poets offerings) and the spine a gilt-stamped title.
Numbered copy 1082 of 1500 printed, this is
signed at the colophon by the
illustrator. The appropriate LEC newsletter and prospectus are laid in.
Bibliography of the Fine Books Published by the Limited Editions Club, 443.
Binding as above, in original glassine wrapper and slipcase; wrapper with spine sunned and a few
small edge chips, slipcase with one small nick at upper edge and label lightly rubbed, volume
clean and fresh. A very nice copy. (30712)
For LITERATURE, click here.
For ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, click here.
For LIMITED EDITIONS CLUB books, click here.

A Micro-Carved Ivory Love Gift: Remember Me
Shen Zhong-Xing, artist. “Love Seeds”: Ivory micro-engraving. China: [ca. 1990?]. Small case (14.5 cm, 5.6").
$750.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Classical Chinese poetry in calligraphed format: This tiny rectangle of ivory (only about 4mm tall) is impossibly delicately etched with both the Chinese original and Fletcher's English translation of Wang Wei's Tang Dynasty-era poem “Xiang Si” (given here as “Love Seeds”). The xiang si bean (Abrus precatorius) is a Chinese symbol of love and longing; its small, shiny, red seeds were used as tokens of love, hence the reference in this poem: “The red bean grows in southern lands / With spring its slender tendrils twine / Gather for me some more, I pray / Of fond remembrance 'tis the sign.”
Additionally, both the Chinese and English texts are presented on a folded slip of paper, with additional commentary in Chinese characters only.
The ivory is mounted within a black frame affixed to a small square of gold paper, on red velvet, and contained in a beautiful, eminently displayable case covered in olive-green silk with a woven Asian-inspired knotwork pattern in bronze and blue, decorated with a Chinese-printed label on the front cover. The case closes with a fabric loop and white-painted wooden toggle.
Box as above, showing the faintest hint of rubbing to one corner, overall in excellent condition. Small compartment beneath presentation window seems to indicate a long slender item was at one point laid in, but it is difficult to say what that might have been. (30544)
For CHINA, click here.
For LITERATURE, click here.
For CALLIGRAPHY / WRITING, click here.

English REFORMATION Satire
Printed in the 19th Century ON VELLUM
[Shepherd, Luke, fl.1548]. [drop-title] John Bon and mast person. [London]: [colophon: J. Smeeton, Printer], n.d. [1807 or 1808]. Small 4to (27 cm; 10.5"). [5] ff.
$1950.00
Click the images for enlargements.
One of either 12 or 25 copies printed on vellum (as per Alston in the former case, as per Oxford cataloguer and a contemporary note on title-page in the latter). John Bon was originally printed by Daye and Seres in London in 1548 (STC 3258.5) and is here reproduced in letterpress facsimile from a copy formerly owned by Richard Forster
Attributed to Luke Shepherd by Halkett and Laing, this is a satirical poem, a dialogue in verse, on the Eucharist, and could even be seen as a short play. It is printed in gothic (black letter) type with
a large woodcut of a procession of the Eucharist on the title-page.
None of the copies reported to WorldCat, COPAC, or NUC are described as printed on vellum. The copy that Alston found at the British Library is not findable via the BL OPAC.
Provenance: Early 19th-century manuscript ownership on front fly-leaf: “Thomas Briggs Esq., Edgeware Road.” Most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Alston, Books Printed on Vellum in the Collections of the British Library, p. 35; Halkett & Laing (2nd ed.), III, p. 192; Halkett & Laing (3rd ed.), J21 (var.) l NSTC, I, S1667. Original dun colored boards with beige linen shelfback; rebacked, and binding discolored. “25 copies Printed on chosen Parchment” written in ink in an early 19th-century hand in lower margin of the title-page. Foxing, heaviest on last three leaves; last page (a publisher's note and colophon) lightly inked and so a little faint.
A nice find for the collector of printing on vellum, letterpress facsimiles, or reprints of rare 16th-century English tracts. (34699)
For 16TH-CENTURY BOOKS,
& “REFORMATION,” click here.
For RELIGION generally, click here.
For LITERATURE, click here.
For THEATER/THEATRE, click here.
For ENGLISH POLITICS, click here.
For Books with SPECIAL
PROVENANCE, click here.
For COLLECTED PRESSES
& TYPOGRAPHY, click here.
For BLACK LETTER, click here.
For PRINTING ON VELLUM, click here.

“A Glass of Fashion to the
Beau Monde”
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley. The school for scandal. Stratford-upon-Avon: Shakespeare Head Press, 1930. Folio (29.2 cm, 11.5"). xxvii, [1], 145, [1] pp.; illus.
$125.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Handsome edition of Sheridan's famed comedy of manners, decorated and illustrated with wittily pointed drawings by Thomas Lowinsky. R. Crompton Rhodes's lengthy,
informative introduction offers much background detail on the play's original costuming, language, stage business, etc.
This is
one of 475 copies on Batchelor's handmade Kelmscott paper; an additional seven were printed on vellum.
Publisher's half vellum with printed paper sides, spine with gilt-stamped title; dust jacket lacking as now seen with most copies, vellum dust-soiled with a little rubbing, paper slightly darkened and with two small chips., small chip to paper at bottom edge of front cover and one to lower outer corner of back cover. Internally clean and crisp.
Enjoyable. (34010)
For LITERATURE, click here.
For THEATER/THEATRE, click here.
For ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, click here.
For CLOTHING & FASHION, click here.
For COLLECTED PRESSES
& TYPOGRAPHY, click here.

“Three Singulars of One Individual Nature” — Combative Disputation on the Trinity
Sherlock, William. The present state of the Socinian controversy, and the doctrine of the Catholick fathers concerning a trinity in unity. London: William Rogers, 1698. 4to (20.5 cm, 8.1"). [12], 388 pp.
$575.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Sole pre-20th-century edition of this important entry in the first Socinian controversy in the Church of England, from a learned divine noted for his pugnaciousness in print. The author's earlier Vindication of the Doctrine of the Holy and Ever Blessed Trinity, intended as an attack on Socianism, had led to accusations of tritheism and heresy; here he defends more orthodox doctrine on the subject. The main text is in English, with extensive shouldernotes in Latin and Greek.
ESTC R8272; Wing (rev. ed.) S3325. Contemporary speckled calf, panelled with corner fleurons in blind, rebacked in similar calf, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and blind-tooled compartment decorations; sides acid-pitted, edges rubbed. All edges speckled red. Lower margin of title-page and lower (closed) edges institutionally rubber-stamped, no other markings. First few leaves foxed with scattered light spots elsewhere, last few signatures browned; one leaf with two small portions lost from outer margin; one outer corner torn away; one leaf torn across between header and text without any of this affecting text. A solid, tight, and dignified-looking copy. (35824)
For 17TH-CENTURY BOOKS, click here.
For RELIGION, click here.
For WING BOOKS, click here.

Condensed Chronology of
REVELATION
Sherwin, William. [drop-title] The Irenicon, or peaceable consideration of Christs peaceful kingdom on earth abridged, wherein are sometimes reprinted the most considerable matters, and sometimes the substance of others is pointed out in the latter printed parcels, with many useful additions and emendations, 1674. [London: 1674]. 4to (18.7 cm, 7.4"). 48 pp.
$500.00
Click the image for an enlargement.
Uncommon abridged version of the Rev. Sherwin's Eirenikon (first published in 1665). The WorldCat record indicates that this self-contained item was likely published as “one of the appendices, separately signed and paginated 'divers things,' annexed to the 1674 edition of Sherwin's Prodromos . . . but possibly also issued separately.”
In this densely composed gathering of “the Evidences of Christs [sic] Kingdom and Reign on Earth to come under or after the seventh Trumpet” (p. 24), Sherwin, who was ejected from the Church of England following the Act of Uniformity, offers an examination of
Apocalyptic prophecy.
WorldCat locates
only four U.S. institutional holdings under this title.
Halkett & Lang, III, 172. No record of this separate title in ESTC or Wing; 1674 Prodromos, Wing (rev. ed.) S3410. Removed from a nonce volume; sewing strong. Pages evenly age-toned with scattered small spots of foxing. Scarce. (37222)
For 17TH-CENTURY BOOKS, click here.
For RELIGION, click here.
For BIBLES, TESTAMENTS, *&*
BIBLE SCHOLARSHIP, click here.

“Not got a Bible!”?!
Sherwood, [Mary Martha]. History of Emily and her brothers. By Mrs. Sherwood. London: Houlston & Co. (pr. by R. Clay), [1847]. 16mo (10.1 cm, 3.97"). 30 pp. (frontis. incl. in pagination); col. illus.
$185.00
Click the images for enlargements.
In this charming chapbook a little girl named Emily raises money to buy a Bible for a poor old woman, teaching the reader about family values, math, and, of course, the Bible. First published in 1816, the text is here illustrated with
seven hand-colored woodcut vignettes. The frontispiece is affixed to the front wrapper (as issued), and the rear wrapper features a bookseller's advertisement, listing a number of other books by Mrs. Sherwood (Mary Martha Sherwood, 1775–1851), who was a beloved and prolific children's book author.
The title-page calls this the “twenty-second edition” (the date of publication given here is suggested by the Bodleian), and it is uncommon: a search of WorldCat finds
just four copies.
Provenance: From the children's library of American collector Albert A. Howard, sans indicia.
Opie A 211/3; Osborne Collection, p. 935 (for 1837 ed.). Original green printed paper wrappers, spine extremities slightly rubbed.
A notably clean, bright, unworn copy, with excellent hand-coloring. (41484)
For ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, click here.
For CHILDREN'S BOOKS,
many ILLUSTRATED, click here.
For BIBLES, TESTAMENTS, *&*
BIBLE SCHOLARSHIP, click here.
For RELIGION, click here.
For CHAPBOOKS, click here.
For “GIFTABLES” mostly $150
& UNDER, click here.

Early in the
FIRST English Annual Series — This Copy in Its Box
Shoberl, Frederic, ed. Forget me not;
A Christmas and New Year's present for 1828. London: R. Ackermann, [1828]. 12mo (14.4 cm, 5.75"). Engr. presentation leaf, engr. frontis., x, 418, 4 (advertisements) pp.; 14 plts. including presentation leaf and frontis.
$350.00
Click the images for enlargements.
An exemplar of an early and important English gift book series, one Faxon describes as “The first attempt to rival the numerous and elegant publications of the continent,”
in only its sixth annual appearance. This volume includes pieces by Mary Russell Mitford, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, and Felicia Hemans, among others. It is illustrated with a total of
14 engraved plates, including the beautiful embossed presentation leaf here in unused state. Several engravers, including E. Finden, S. Davenport, and A.W. Warren, modeled their work after various artists.
Binding: Publisher's glazed green paper–covered boards, pictorially printed in black, all edges gilt. Housed in publisher's cardboard slipcase with green glazed paper sides pictorially printed in black.
Owner's modification: The word “Pax” is neatly printed in black ink on the book's back cover, gently arced above the engraving; and “Roosevelt” has been similarly added to the back of the slipcase, with “Post Lux Tenebras” being artfully placed below the engraving.
Faxon 1303. Binding as above, back inside cover with brown silk pull-tab intact, joints very skillfully refurbished with long fiber and then toned; extremities gently rubbed. Front free endpaper pencilled with old bookseller annotations. Pages and plates generally clean with very occasional light foxing; guard leaves with predictable offsetting. Case somewhat rubbed with extremities chipped at corners but completely sound and with the described embellishments.
A lovely little gift book, with the original (and early for its kind) slipcase. (36042)
For GIFT BOOKS, click here.
For FINE, ATTRACTIVE, & INTERESTING
BINDINGS, click here.
For ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, click here.
For LITERATURE, click here.
For more of WOMEN's interest, click here.

The Catholic Church & Its Dissenters
Shoberl, Frederic. Persecutions of popery: historical narratives of the most remarkable persecutions occasioned by the intolerance of the Church of Rome. London: Richard Bentley, 1844. 8vo. 2 vols. I: [1] f., xvi, 349 pp. II: [3] ff., 393 pp.
$225.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Partially unopened copy of the first edition of Shoberl's indictment of the Catholic Church for the oppression of dissenters in the pre-Reformation era and of Protestants beginning with the Reformation. The chapters generally address one dissenting group each, and the history of the Church's reaction to it.
Binding: Publisher's light brown near-herringbone cloth, covers elegantly stamped in border-and-medallion style in blind, with spine quite interestingly embossed in blind in “compartments” and lettered in gilt.
Bound as above, spines sunned and upper corners bumped; tops of spines slightly discolored and each with slight tearing in same area. A few gatherings carelessly opened, in one case with upper outer corners torn across yet no actual loss. Ex–social club library, and each volume has: 19th-century bookplate, call number on endpaper, no other markings. A nice set. (28758)
For more RELIGION, click here.
For CATHOLICA (including “anti-,” click here.
For HUMAN RIGHTS, click here.
For
our shelves of (generally) inexpensive
GENERAL READING, click
here.
For more SETS, click here.

The E.P. Goldschmidt Copy, Bound for Julius von Thungen
(Sibyls’ Oracles). [two lines in Greek romanized as] Sibylliakon chresmon logoi okto. [then in Latin] Sibyllinorum oraculorum libri VIII. Basileae: per Ioannem Oporium, [1555]. 8vo (16 cm, 6.375’’). 333. [3] pp. [bound with] [Greek Comedy.] Ex veterum comicorum fabulis, quae integrae non extant, sententiae. Parisiis: Apud Guil. Morelium, 1553. [4], 147, [1] pp.
[SOLD]
Click the images for enlargements.
The E.P. Goldschmidt copy of a fascinating humanistic sammelband. The first work is the first Greek–Latin edition of the Sibyllinorum oraculorum libri viii, based on Birck’s Greek edition of 1545 as amended and translated by Sébastien Castellion (1515–63). These were short prophecies allegedly uttered by the ancient Sibyls, imbued with Greek mythology and the doctrines of Gnosticism, Hebraism, and early Christianity. The second work is the first Greek–Latin edition of a florilegium of ancient drama and poetry — including prominently Menander — which had survived in fragmentary form only. Like the oracles, these excerpts were interpreted allegorically by humanists as a gateway to disclose pagan insights into the coming of Christ. Present here is the Latin translation only, the Greek never having been bound in.
Binding: Exquisitely bound for Julius von Thungen, a German aristocrat, in contemporary polished French calf, spine with raised bands, devices in compartments, and identifying information gilt-tooled directly to spine (not on labels); covers gilt-ruled with gilt fleurons to corners and a gilt armorial supralibros at center, this incorporating in its wreath a gilt “G.W.” and “1558" that may be the binder’s signature and the year in which the book was bound. All edges gilt and gauffered; traces of a 16th-century manuscript used as rear pastedown. This is “an example of a German student’s binding made in some French university town, whether Paris, Bourges or Orleans” (Gothic and Renaissance Bookbindings, n .218).
Provenance: Armorial supralibros of Julius von Thungen (ca. 1558) on covers as above; bookplate of Anton Ruland (1874) and Goldschmidt’s gilt booklabel “E PH G” (ca. 1900) on front pastedown; modern label of G.J. Arvanitidi and autograph of Anton Ruland on front free endpaper; casemark label to rear pastedown. Most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
I: VD16 S6278; Graesse, VI, 398. II:: Pettegree & Walsby, French Books, 79713; not in Brunet. Binding as above. Joints and spine cracked but firm, with edges a bit rubbed and spine with leather lost at head, foot, and band ends; front free endpaper torn at lower outer corner. Text ruled in red, with an appended, unrelated gathering B entitled Phocylidis poema admonitorium
(from an unidentified 16th-century probably French edition) and two leaves of gathering F misbound; upper blank margin of title trimmed, edges a trifle dusty, the odd marginal spot.
Engaging content, an engaging physical copy, and a very engaging provenance. (40793)
For 16TH-CENTURY BOOKS, click here.
For GREEK & LATIN CLASSICS, click here.
For FINE, ATTRACTIVE, & INTERESTING
BINDINGS, click here.
For TRANSLATIONS, click here.
For LITERATURE, click here.
For THEATER/THEATRE, click here.
For PHILOSOPHY, click here.
For RELIGION, click here.
For OCCULT matters, click here.
For Books with SPECIAL
PROVENANCE, click here.
This book also appears in the GENERAL
MISCELLANY click here.
Sigonio, Carlo. Historiarvm de occidentali imperio libri XX. Bononiae: Apud Societatem Typographiae Bononiensis, 1578. Folio (30.6 cm, 12"). A–E6 F8 G–Z6 AA–ZZ6 AAa–EEe6 (EEe3–4 lacking); 564 (i.e., 568) pp., [24] ff. (of which 2 ff. lacking).
$975.00
Carolus Sigonius (Italian Carlo Sigonio or Sigone, 1524–84) was a professor at the University of Bologna and a leading humanist noted as being the first to apply “accurate criticism . . . to the chronology of Roman history” (Sandys). His history of the western Roman Empire covers the period from 284—the beginning of the reign of Diocletian, who divided the empire into east and west—until Justinian’s death in 565. In addition, Sigonius wrote a number of works in law and classical studies and a history of the kingdom of Italy from the Lombard invasion in 568 through the 13th century.
This is this history’s first edition and was followed by 1579, 1593, and 1628 editions. It is printed with a woodcut printer’s device on the title-page showing the goddess Liberty with two books labelled “Bononia docet” (“Bologna teaches”) at her feet. The text is enclosed in double-ruled borders and simply ornamented with a few woodcut initials, one of which shows Juno being pulled in her chariot by peacocks.
Adams S1117; Soltész, Catalogus librorum sedecimo saeculo . . . in Bibliotheca Nationali Hungariae . . . S524. On Sigonius, see: Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., XXV, 82; and Sandys, History of Classical Scholarship, II, 143–45. Full calf old style: Round spine with raised bands, accented in gilt beading; tan leather title label; fillets in blind extending onto covers from each band to terminate in trefoils with blind double fillets beyond. Pages lightly washed, clean, and crisp: a few instances of staining, not obscuring text; a few short notations in ink and occasional worming in the margins, neither affecting text; ink stain on p. 95 obscuring letters without loss of sense. Inked title on lower edge, old style. Three ink ownership stamps on title-page. EEe3–4, the last two leaves of the index, are lacking. (4561)

He Was a Member of
Sor JUANA's Circle
Sigüenza y Góngora, Carlos de. Parayso occidental plantado y cultivado por la liberal benefica mano de los muy catholicos y poderosos reyes de España, nuestros señores, en su magnifico Real Convento de Jesus Maria de Mexico. Mexico: Juan Ribera, 1684. Small 4to. [12], 206 ff., coat of arms.
$15,000.00
Click the images for enlargements.
“Polymath” is the term most often applied to Siguenza y Gongora (1645–1700), and indeed he was a cosmographer, philosopher, chronicler, poet, biographer, historian, cartographer, and priest.
Here he is wearing the hats of a chronicler and a biographer, as he, “an intellectual friend of Sor Juana [Ines de la Cruz] and at the same time a man of science and religiosity, [writes] the history of the convent of Jesus Maria and the biography of some of its notable nuns.” His Parayso occidental is “a classic example of baroque[-era] writing on the monastic life of nuns [in Mexico]” (both quotations from Lavrin, p. 205). As such, the volume is important; and even apart from its association with the Spanish world's Tenth Muse,” it is
a basic starting place for the study of nuns, the economics of nunneries, and the political life of the same.
As is increasingly the case with Mexican imprints of the 17th century, it is
little found in the marketplace.
Provenance: 18th-century ownership signature on title-page and first leaf of preliminaries of the Conde del Fresno de la Fuente.
Medina, Mexico, 1328; Palau 312973; Asuncion Lavrin, “Cotidianidad y espiritualidad en la vida conventual novohispana: Siglo XVII,” in Memoria del Coloquio Internacional Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz y pensamiento novohispano (1995). Late 19th-century Mexican quarter dark green morocco with mottled green paper sides; binding rubbed and abraded, front endpapers with an old paper label and remnants of one removed. Pencilling on front fly-leaf and title-page verso; top margins closely cropped occasionally costing top of letters of running heads and foliation. Worming, chiefly in margins but occasionally into the text, not costing words, sometimes repaired; first and last few leaves with old repairs to corners and margins and a bit of text restored in pen and ink. Withal, a good++ copy of important work that is not often on the market. (34203)
For 17TH-CENTURY BOOKS, click here.
MEXICO is one of our great specialties.
For our MEXICANA, click here.
For RELIGION, click here.
For CATHOLICA, click here.
For more COMMERCE / TRADE /
FINANCE / ECONOMICS, click here.
For ART REFERENCE, click here.
For ARCHITECTURE, click here.
For more of WOMEN's interest, click here.
For Books with SPECIAL
PROVENANCE, click here.
This appears in the HISPANIC
MISCELLANY click here.

Justice
COMING & GOING on These Covers
Silius Italicus, Tiberius Catius. Silij Italici, poetae clarissimi, De bello Punico libri septemdecim. Lugduni: Apud Seb. Gryphium, 1551. 16mo (13.3 cm, 5.25"), 430, [2] (the last leaf blank).
[SOLD]
Click the images for enlargements.
Silius Italicus (ca. 26 –c a. 101 A.D.), was a Roman consul, orator, and epic poet of the Silver Age of Latin literature. His only surviving work is this 17-book epic poem — Punica, as it is commonly known — about the Second Punic War. The longest surviving poem in Latin at over 12,000 lines, it is here edited by Franciscus Asulanus (d. 1546) and prefaced by a biography of the author from the pen of Pietro Crinitus (1465–ca.1504).
This Gryphius edition is in italic, except for the title-page and text headings which are in roman, and it is without woodcut initials.
Binding: Contemporary vellum over pasteboards, elaborately tooled in blind and with spine (only) sometime colored to imitate darker leather. Perimeter of the boards edged with a double rule, then a wide roll with repeating diamonds each having a center quatrefoil. At center of each board is a large blind-embossed figure in a frame: that on the upper board is of
Justice with a sword and that on the lower is of
Justice with scales. Each image of Justice has a different four-line caption.
Baudrier, Bibliotheca lyonnaise, VIII, p. 256; Adams S 1137. Bound as above, worn/rubbed with corners of boards bumped and lacking front free endpaper; spine with lowest compartment missing its vellum (exposing part of sewing structure), and a small area of front cover fore-edge with vellum torn (exposing pasteboard). Lower blank areas of title-page excised, apparently to remove signatures, leaving imprint information; a very few instances of old ink underlining or marginal annotation with more of these (still not many) in modern pencilling. Dust-soiling variously and occasionally a stray stain; a solid and interesting “used” copy of this
classic text from a classic press in an interesting binding. (41524)
For 16TH-CENTURY BOOKS, click here.
For FINE, ATTRACTIVE, & INTERESTING
BINDINGS, click here.
For GREEK & LATIN CLASSICS, click here.
For more of WOMEN's interest, click here.
For more of MILITARY/NAVAL interest, click here.
For COLLECTED PRESSES & TYPOGRAPHY, click here.

Flavian Epic, Georgian Scholarship
Silius Italicus, Tiberius Catius; Richard Heber, ed. Caji Silii Italici Punica. Londini: Gul. Bulmer (pr. by R. Faulder), 1792. 16mo (16.5 cm, 6.5"). 2 vols. I: xxiv, 240 pp. II: [4], 270, [2] pp.
[SOLD]
Click the images for enlargements.
Sole printing of Richard Heber's edition of this Silver Age epic Latin verse about the Second Punic War — so epic that it is now the longest known extant poem of Classic Latin literature, in fact. Heber (1774–1833), himself one of the most notably epic bibliomaniacs of the era, was just 18 when he tackled the project, as per the Bibliotheca Heberiana. He based his work on Arnold Drakenborch's. Dibdin found this a “useful little edition, which exhibits the text very elegantly printed by Bulmer.” Printed on wove paper.
Binding: Contemporary mottled calf, covers framed in beaded gilt rule, spines with gilt-stamped leather black and red title and volume labels, gilt-stamped crossed-arrow decorations in elegantly gilt-ruled compartments.
Provenance: Front pastedowns each with inked inscription: “George Sinclair, April 11th, 1805"; first two books of vol. I with early inked annotations in both Latin and English, no subsequent annotations. Later in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear of each volume.
Brunet, V, 383; Dibdin, II, 407–08; ESTC T147242; Schweiger, II, 956. Bound as above; minimal wear overall, vol. II with small scuff to back cover. Inscriptions and marginalia as above. Back pastedown and final 40 (approximately) leaves of vol. I with small area of pinhole worming to upper outer margins, not approaching text.
A handsome set of this uncommon Heberianum. (40254)
For SETS, click here.
For LITERATURE, click here.
For 18TH-CENTURY BOOKS, click here.
For GREEK & LATIN CLASSICS, click here.
For more of MILITARY/NAVAL interest, click here.
For Books with SPECIAL PROVENANCE, click here.
For FINE, ATTRACTIVE, & INTERESTING BINDINGS, click here.

By a
Bible Scholar & Church Historian
(Later, the Property of a Scholar Collector)
Simon, Richard. Histoire de l'origine & du progres des revenus ecclesiastiques... par Jerome a Costa. Francfort: Chez Frederic Arnaud [& Londres: Chez Jean de Beaulieu], 1684. 12mo (15.5 cm, 6.1"). [4], 346, [10 (index)] pp.
$600.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition of this pseudonymously published work on the history of Church finances, written by a controversial French Oratorian priest much attacked for his published arguments that Moses had not written the whole of the Pentateuch. Simon, an accomplished Hebrew scholar, was later lauded by the New Catholic Encyclopedia as the “father of Biblical criticism.”
Provenance: Signature on title-page of Howard Osgood, a prominent late 19th- and early 20th-century Hebrew scholar and noted collector.
Goldsmiths'-Kress 2558; Wing (2nd ed.) S3801B. Contemporary speckled calf, spine gilt extra with gilt-stamped leather title-label, board edges stamped with gilt roll; corners and spine extremities worn, front joint cracked and back joint starting, sewing holding. Front pastedown with small French bookseller's ticket and early inked numeral. Title-page with small early inked owner's name and with institutional pressure stamp, reverse with pencilled numerals. Pages clean. (19511)

Advances in Newtonian Calculus
Simpson, Thomas. The doctrine and application of fluxions. Containing (besides what is common on the subject) a number of new improvements in the theory. And the solution of a variety of new, and very interesting, problems in different branches of the mathematicks. London: John Nourse, 1776. 8vo (21.6 cm, 8.5"). xi, [1], 274, [2], 275–576 pp.; diagrams.
$1200.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Simpson (1710–1761) was the self-educated son of a weaver and originally made a name for himself as an astrologer/fortune-teller, dubbed “the oracle of Nuneaton.” After moving to London and becoming a professor of mathematics, he published his New Treatise Of Fluxions in 1737, and followed that in 1750 with The Doctrine and Application of Fluxions — a “vastly more full and comprehensive” textbook in which the principle matters “also to be met with in [the first] Treatise, are handled in a different Manner” (p. v); the DNB describes the latter work as “one of the best treatises on fluxions written in the eighteenth century.” This more mature, thorough treatment of the subject did not appear again until the present 1776 Nourse printing: the stated second edition, “revised and carefully corrected.” The chapters are illustrated with numerous in-text diagrams, and the second part has a separate title-page.
Provenance: From the residue of the stock of the F. Thomas Heller bookselling firm (est. ca. 1928).
ESTC T77585. On Simpson, see: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online). Period-style quarter speckled calf with marbled paper–covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped title and gilt-ruled raised bands. One leaf of advertising reported after the second title-page of some copies not present here (with no sign of loss or excision). First few leaves with upper outer corners worn; one tiny spot of pinhole worming to outer margins of first half of volume; a very few ink droplets and small spots of foxing, pages otherwise clean.
An important mathematical treatise, now uncommon on the market, here in a simple but elegant, distinguished, and solid binding. (39974)
For 18TH-CENTURY BOOKS, click here.
For SCIENCE, click here.
For MATHEMATICS, click here.

A Curious Combination of Whimsy & Morality
Sinclair, Catherine. Holiday house: A series of tales. Dedicated to Lady Diana Boyle. Edinburgh: William Whyte & Co., 1849. 16mo (16.4 cm, 6.5"). Col. frontis., xii, 346 pp.
$160.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Tremendously popular in its day, this children's book is often cited as one of the first pieces of juvenile literature to realistically depict youthful shenanigans — the preface describes our protagonists as “noisy, frolicsome, mischievous children . . . like wild horses on the prairies, rather than like well-broken hacks on the road” (p. vii).
Modern readers may well find themselves taken aback by the harshness of the punishments doled out by a stern governess to Harry and Laura for such unforgivable (and amusingly depicted!) sins as inviting friends over to tea, tearing their clothes, or breaking a plate — although occasionally the siblings' boisterousness leads to genuine crises like a fire in the nursery. In the end, while neither the severity of the governess nor the kindness of their grandmother and uncle serve to dampen the children's spirits, the loss of their beloved older brother transforms them from “merry, thoughtless, young creatures” to mourners convinced of the frailty of earthly joy and the necessity of religion (p. 345).
Sinclair was Scottish-born and this is an early Scottish edition (stated fifth thousand) of this work, following the London first of 1826 and the Edinburgh first of 1839. The frontispiece here features two engraved vignettes, done by Lizars Lithography of Edinburgh, both scenes with
early hand-coloring.
Binding: 19th-century half green calf, sides covered with veined and rippled marbled paper in shades of blue-green, cream, and gold, spine with gilt-stamped red leather title-label, gilt-dotted raised bands, and gilt-stamped floral compartment decorations. Marbled endpapers matching binding, with all page edges likewise marbled.
Provenance: Title-page with early inked inscription of Marian Rogers, Beawell Rectory; most recently in the children's book collection of Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Opie A 1081. For 1844 ed., see Osborne Collection, p. 304. Bound as above; spine sunned evenly to olive, spine label with small chip, joints and edges rubbed. Pages showing minor to moderate spotting and staining.
A landmark of children's literature, in a surprisingly formal, adult binding. (41232)
For CHILDREN / EDUCATION, click here.
For CONDUCT Books, click here.
For RELIGION, click here.
For LITERATURE, click here.
For Books with SPECIAL
PROVENANCE, click here.
For SCOTLAND & SCOTS, click here!

Signed First Edition — PASSIONS
Singer, Isaac Bashevis. Passions. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1975. 8vo (21.5 cm, 8.4"). [8], 312 pp.
$100.00
Click the image for an enlargement.
First edition: 20 stories incorporating some of Singer's favorite themes, many translated by Singer himself in collaboration with his nephew or with other authors and editors. This copy is
inscribed by the author on the half-title, dated 1975.
Publisher's quarter orange cloth and dark green paper–covered sides, spine with title stamped in silver, in original dust jacket; jacket with spine extremities lightly worn, edges of back panel darkened, upper inner front corner and upper back corner each with short tear. One page with light smudge to lower outer margin. A nice copy of a signed Singer first edition. (34092)
For LITERATURE, click here.
For TRANSLATIONS, click here.
For Books with SPECIAL
PROVENANCE, click here.
For a bit more JUDAICA / HEBRAICA, click here.
For “GIFTABLES” mostly $150
& UNDER, click here.

Signed by
Singer & Soyer
Singer, Isaac Bashevis; Raphael Soyer, illus.; Harry T. Moore, intro. The gentleman from Cracow / The mirror. New York: Limited Editions Club, 1979. 8vo (26.6 cm, 10.5"). xi, [1], 59, [5] pp.; 11 col. plts., 23 plts.
$200.00
Click the images for enlargements.
“The quintessence of Singer's genius”: two supernatural tales by the Nobel Prize winner, with an introduction by Harry T. Moore.
The stories are illustrated with 11 plates after watercolors by Raphael Soyer, and followed by 23 plates after Soyer's pencil sketches.
The volume was designed by Bruce Campbell and set in Centaur and Arrighi types, with the text printed by Hampshire Typothetae (under Harold McGrath's supervision) and the watercolors by the Princeton Polychrome Press; the binding was done by the Tapley-Rutter Company. This is numbered copy 1063 of 2000 printed, and it is
signed at the colophon by author and artist. The monthly newsletter and prospectus are laid in.
Bibliography of the Fine Books Published by the Limited Editions Club, 514. Publisher's grey-green marbled paper–covered boards with grey natural-finish buckram shelfback, spine with title stamped in silver, in original gray paper–covered slipcase; slipcase faded lightly on one side.
A fresh and attractive copy. (38939)
For ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, click here.
For LITERATURE, click here.
For LIMITED EDITIONS CLUB books, click here.

“Shakspearean” Inspiration? — A Special Copy
[Singer, Samuel Weller, ed.]. Shakspeare's [sic] jest book. Chiswick: A. & G. Way, prs., 1814. 8vo (20 cm, 7.875"). xxxii, 116, [2] pp.
$550.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First appearance of this cleverly marketed and in fact valuable Chiswick Press reprint of a humorous Elizabethan short story collection: Tales, and Quicke Answeres, Very Mery, and Pleasant to Rede from the edition printed by Berthelet around 1535. There were two subsequent volumes edited by Singer under the general title of “Shakspeare's Jest Book” and published in 1815 and 1816.
The introduction here explains the text's Shakespearean connection and origin story, with canvassing also of the editor's scholarly processes and his decisions to offer his tale with original orthography, in its full “licentiousness,” and with its original “moral reflections.” A short glossary of Elizabethan words is provided.
This is one of six copies printed on blue paper of an edition of 250 copies.
Provenance: Ca. 1930 bookplate of Henry Pennell Frank; most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Late 19th-century half black morocco and marbled paper–covered sides, spine lettered in gilt; blue endpapers; rubbed at corners and edges.
A testament to 19th-century Shakespeare mania. (40233)
For HUMOR, click here.
For LITERATURE, click here.
For a bit more SHAKESPEARE, click here.
For COLLECTED PRESSES & TYPOGRAPHY, click here.
For a bit more (mostly very mild!) EROTICA, click here.

“Shakspearean” Inspiration?
[Singer, Samuel Weller, ed.]. Shakspeare’s [sic] jest book. Chiswick: From the Press of C. Whittingham, 1814–15. 8vo (20 cm, 7.875"). xxxii, 116, [2], xi, [1], 26, [2], xxviii, 121, [3] pp.
$225.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Cleverly marketed and in fact valuable Chiswick Press reprint. of two humorous Elizabethan short story collections, first Tales, and Quicke Answeres, Very Mery, and Pleasant to Rede from the edition printed by Berthelet around 1535, and second A C. Mery Talys from John Rastell’s edition, printed about 1525. Singer had in 1814 issued the first title alone as Shakspeare’s Jest Book, believing it was quite probably a collection of facetiae drawn on for Much Ado about Nothing; then, in 1815, after a scholar had discovered the second work disguised within a pasteboard, he promptly
printed the two together to correct “the fallacy of our [first] gesture” — for, surely, the second was the referenced text!
This offering consists of the aforementioned two parts and
a supplement with 26 extra tales taken from a newly discovered (in 1815) edition printed in 1567 by H. Wykes of theTales, and Quicke Answeres. Each section has a separate title-page and introduction explaining its Shakespearean connection and origin story, with canvassing also of the editor’s scholarly processes and his decisions to offer his tales with original orthography, in their full “licentiousness,” and with their original “moral reflections.” A short glossary of Elizabethan words is provided, and the second preface is signed in type “S.W.S.,” i.e., Samuel Weller Singer.
Provenance: From the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
19th-century half black morocco and marbled paper–covered sides, spine lettered in gilt, with differently patterned marbled endpapers and black silk placemarker, top edge gilt; rubbed at corners and edges. Light age-toning with very occasional off-setting and a few spots, light pencilling referencing a 1925 Goodspeed’s price on title-page.
A testament to 19th-century Shakespeare mania and a resonant, even cautionary tale for scholars of any ilk in any era. (37850)
For HUMOR, click here.
For LITERATURE, click here.
For a bit more SHAKESPEARE, click here.
For a bit more (mostly very mild!) EROTICA, click here.
For “GIFTABLES” mostly $150 & UNDER, click here.

The Scottish . . . Machiavelli?
Skelton, John. Maitland of Lethington and the Scotland of Mary Stuart: A history. Edinburgh & London: William Blackwood & Sons, 1887. 8vo (22.3 cm, 8.77"). 2 vols. I: xl, [2], 336, [4 (adv.)] pp. II: x, 436, [2 (adv.)] pp.
$100.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition, attractively bound; and one of the first scholarly efforts to advocate for a more positive depiction of the character and accomplishments of Secretary Lethington, set in the context of his tumultuous era.
Binding: Contemporary half green morocco and gold-veined marbled paper–covered sides, spines with gilt-stamped leather title and volume labels; gilt-ruled raised bands, and compartments gilt extra.
Provenance: From the library of Robert L. Sadoff, M.D., sans indicia.
Bound as above, withspines evenly sunned to olive, joints and edges rubbed, some corners bumped, spine extremities chipped; front joint of vol. I cracked and partially separated. Pages lightly age-toned; stain to fore-edge of vol. I, extending slimly into a few margins, and two pages in vol. II with small area of spotting.
A dignified set, priced to allow for repair! (41200)
For SCOTLAND & SCOTS, click here.
For FINE, ATTRACTIVE, & INTERESTING
BINDINGS, click here.
For ENGLISH POLITICS, click here.
For SETS, click here.

19th-Century Electro-Metallurgy Techniques of Image Reproduction
Smee, Alfred; Edmond de Valicourt, ed. Nouveau manuel complet de galvanoplastie ou éléments d'électro-métallurgie contenant l'art de réduire les métaux a l'aide du fluide galvanique, pour dorer, argenter, platiner, cuivrer, etc. etc. Paris: La Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret, 1860. 12mo (15.3 cm, 6"). 2 vols. I: [4], 411, [1] pp.; illus. II: [2], 372 pp.; 2 fold. plts.
$100.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Treatise on electrotype (a.k.a. galvanoplasty), written by a surgeon and inventor. First published in French in 1843, following its original London appearance in 1840, this useful work on methods of reproducing illustrations went through a number of printings in English, French, and German; it appears here “entièrement refondue et mise au courant de toutes les découvertes nouvelles,” edited by de Valicourt as part of the Manuels-Roret series. The text, which includes a chapter on
daguerrotypes, is illustrated with in-text examples of wood-engravings copyable via the methods described, and the second volume features
two very long, fold-out plates displaying an array of equipment.
Provenance: From the residue of the stock of the F. Thomas Heller bookselling firm (est. ca. 1928).
Late 19th/early 20th–century half morocco with marbled paper–covered sides, spines with gilt-stamped author, title, and date; extremities and spine bands rubbed and refurbished. Upper edges stained red, with staining extending slightly into many upper margins; some pages trimmed closely. Light to moderate foxing and soiling. (40654)
For BOOKS IN FRENCH, click here.
For ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, click here.
For INVENTIONS, click here.
For SCIENCE, click here.

Captain John Smith in
the New World
Smith, John. The generall historie of Virginia, New-England and the Summer Isles with the names of the adventurers, planters, and governours from their first beginning An.o 1584 to this present 1624. Cleveland: World Publishing Co., 1966. Folio (33.5 cm, 13.1"). Engr. t.-p., [12], 248, [2] pp.; 8 plts. (2 double-page). Booklet: 14, [2] pp.
$275.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Beautiful facsimile of the London, 1624 edition, printed by offset lithography in Italy on specially made laid paper. The work is illustrated with reproductions of contemporary portraits and maps, and accompanied by a booklet containing a historical introduction by A.L. Rowse and bibliographical notes by Robert O. Dougan.
Binding: Publisher's vellum with cloth ties, front cover with gilt-stamped coat of arms of James I, spine with gilt-stamped title.
Bound as above, housed in a grey cloth–covered, felt-lined clamshell case with affixed printed paper illustration reproducing the engraved title-page; vellum very slightly sprung, case showing spots of minor discoloration and shelfwear. Very nice facsimile of this important work. (32214)
For PRE-1820 AMERICANA,
click here.
For VOYAGES, TRAVELS, & books on
“EXOTIC” PLACES, click here.
For FACSIMILES, click here.
For “GIFTABLES” mostly $150
& UNDER, click here.

Aiding AMERICAN Autodidacts, 1803
Smith, John. A Hebrew grammar, without points. Designed to facilitate the study of the scriptures of the Old Testament, in the original. Boston: Pr. by David Carlisle, for John West, 1803. 8vo. 56 pp.
$295.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition of Smith's grammar, which was “particularly adapted to the use of those who may not have instructors”; the author taught at Dartmouth.
A work held in appropriate libraries but uncommon on the market.
Provenance: Large semi-calligraphic signature of Albert G. Fenner on both pastedowns and the half-title. Small Library of Congress duplicate release stamp on verso of title-page.
Rosenbach, Jewish, 131; Shaw & Shoemaker 5067; Goldman, Hebrew Printing in America, 173. Not in Singerman, Judaica Americana. Contemporary quarter sheep with paper-covered pasteboards; heavily worn; joints open and covers detached. Three early ownership signatures as above and another signature torn from upper outer corner of title-page, taking upper parts of three printed title letters Interior with age-toning and foxing both as to be expected, only; otherwise clean and good.
A copy worthy of rebinding and priced to permit it. (2603)
For PRE-1820 AMERICANA,
click here.
For JUDAICA / HEBRAICA, click here.
For CHILDREN / EDUCATION, click here.
For DICTIONARIES/GRAMMARS, ETC., click here.

A Noble Book for
Your House in Tuscany?
(Smith's Patron Was the Second Earl of Warwick)
Smith, John. Italian scenery [i.e., Select views in Italy, with topographical and historical descriptions, in English and French]. [London: Printed by W. Bulmer and Co. for J. Smith, W. Byrne, & J. Edwards, 1817]. 4to. [1] f. (engr. dedication), [78] ff. (of letterpress), [72] ff. of plates, illus.
$2500.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Smith is remembered in art circles as a very accomplished water color artist and it was that work that attracted the attention of George Greville, second earl of Warwick. The earl became Smith's patron and sent him Italy where he produced such works as “Outside Porta Pia, Rome” (now in the Tate collection) and “Interior of the Coliseum” (now in the British Museum); “his Italian pictures . . . are considered Smith's best” (ODNB).
Toward the end of the 18th century (1792–1799), Smith produced the first edition of this work, laden with
72 engravings (by various artisans) after his original watercolors. This second edition of his Select Views in Italy was not issued with a title-page, although some copies have a copy (reprinting?, remainder sheet?) of the first edition's; it begins instead with a splendidly calligraphic
engraved dedication leaf reading, “Italian scenery. To the Queen's most Excellent Majesty this Collection of Select Views in italy is with Her Majesty's gracious permission Humbly dedicated by Her most obedient and devoted Servant, John Smith.” Dated in text 18 January 1817, the leaf was designed by Tomkins and engraved by Ashby; at its bottom, as on a title-page, is “London[,] J. Smith, W. Byrne, & J. Edwards.”
The text in this edition, bilingual in
English and French, is the same as that of the first edition; but it was entirely reset and the plates are restrikes of those of the first edition, with the original imprints removed and the numeration moved to the top of the plates. This is, therefore, a particularly interesting object to
set beside an example of its first edition!
Provenance: No bookplates or inscriptions, but spine with initials “G.O.B.” tooled at base.
20th-century cordovan-color sheep, covers framed in single gilt fillet with gilt-stamped corner fleurons; spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label, gilt-ruled raised bands, and gilt-stamped fleurons in compartments; spine sunned/lightened with darker streaks and patches evident, one spine compartment with small scuff, joints with excellent repairs and corners likewise well refurbished. Text with only an occasional age-stain or instance of foxing; plates remarkably unblemished. Blue silk placemarker. Overall indeed a
VERY NICE COPY. (33233)
For VOYAGES, TRAVELS, & books on
“EXOTIC” PLACES, click here.
For ILLUSTRATED BOOKS, click here.
For GREEK & LATIN CLASSICS
& the ANCIENT WORLD, click here.
For TRANSLATIONS, click here.
For BOOKS (usually entirely) IN FRENCH, click here.

The Ninth Time is the Charm?
Smith, Samuel. The great assize, or, Day of iubilee delivered in foure sermons, upon the 20 chapt. of the Revel. ver. 12, 13, 14, 15: whereunto are annexed two sermons upon the I. chapter of the Canticles, vers. 6, 7. London: Printed by Iohn Okes, and are to be sold by H. Blunden at his shop in Corn-hill neare the Royall Exchange, 1637.
8vo (14.1 cm; 5.625"). [6], 182, 185–307, [3], 309–88, 373–86. Lacks added engr. t.-p. & pp. 183–84.
$850.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Smith (1584–1665), an English clergyman and trusted mentor of theologian Richard Baxter (1615–91), produced several often reprinted publications, of which this is one. This edition of six sermons is advertised as “the ninth impression, corrected, amended, and and much enlarged,” but an interesting prefatory note from the printer claims it is the first truly correct edition as Smith was “dwelling far distant from the City, and having a Pastorall charge to attend upon, could not attend the Press” for earlier printings.
Provenance: Round armorial bookplate of Baronet Heathcote of Hursley on front pastedown; bookplate of Thomas Vernon of Hanbury (1654–1721) dated 1703 attached to title-page verso. Later in the Howell Bible Collection, Pacific School of Religion (properly released), with library bookplate tucked in front cover.
Copies of any early edition of this text are scarce, and
searches of NUC, COPAC, and OCLC reveal only three known copies, this copy one of only two in North America, and now deacessioned. Two other reported copies in COPAC are false. The other North American copy is described in the library's catalogue record as “Imperfect: leaves B4-B5, C3 and V7 lacking; faded and stained in places, spine broken; covers detached.”
ESTC S4905; STC (rev. ed.) 22849.7. On Smith, see: DNB (online). Contemporary calf, Cambridge–style binding with raised bands ruled in blind and gilt-lettered red leather spine label, covers double framed and panelled in blind, board edges rolled in gilt; rebacked, new endpapers, added engraved title-page and one leaf of text.lacking, covers rubbed with some loss of leather. Moderate age-toning with the very occasional spot;; two leaves with corners torn and loss of a letter or two but not sense, one with a small hole, another two repaired. Bookplates as described above, call numbers on title-page verso, rubber-stamp on title-page and one leaf of text.
Imperfect, but worthwhile. (36326)
For 17TH-CENTURY BOOKS, click here.
For RELIGION, click here.
For BIBLES, TESTAMENTS, *&*
BIBLE SCHOLARSHIP, click here.
For Books with SPECIAL
PROVENANCE, click here.

“I'd Go Cross the Tisza” & Other Songs — JANUS PRESS
Snodgrass, W.D. Traditional Hungarian songs. Newark, VT: Pr. for Charles Seluzicki by the Janus Press, 1978. 8vo (29.6 cm, 11.7"). [24] pp.; col. illus.
$100.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Sole edition: Eleven Hungarian folk songs translated into singable English, with the music and lyrics accompanied by masonite relief cuts done by Dorian McGowan and printed in rose. Snodgrass has supplied an afterword explaining the songs' origins and offering performance suggestions.
The volume was printed for Charles Seluzicki, a poetry bookseller in Baltimore, MD, by Claire Van Vliet and Victoria Fraser at the Janus Press. This is
numbered copy 236 of 300 printed (of which 15 were hors commerce), signed at the limitation statement by Snodgrass.
Offered with the prospectus.
Fine, Janus Press 1975–80, 43–44. Publisher's natural Zaan paper wrappers, front wrapper with mauve-stamped decorations; wrappers with a few tiny spots blending rather well into the paper's heavy texture. Pages crisp and clean.
A nice copy. (37268)
For MUSIC (& DANCE), click here.
For LITERATURE, click here.
For VOYAGES, TRAVELS, & books on
“EXOTIC” PLACES, click here.
For TRANSLATIONS, click here.
For COLLECTED PRESSES
& TYPOGRAPHY, click here.
For “GIFTABLES” mostly $150
& UNDER, click here.

An Ephemerum
Promising AID to Mothers & Children
Society for Helping Destitute Mothers and Infants. [drop-title] Destitute mothers and infants. The address of Miss Clarke, the Secretary of this charity, has been recently changed ... [Boston: Society for Helping Destitute Mothers and Infants, ca. 1890?]. 8vo ( 8.5"). [2] ff.
$115.00
Click the image for an enlargement.
The Society aimed at placing destitute and unwed mothers and their infants in service positions but made no promise of success or of the ability for the children to stay with the mothers. This brochure gives the names and addresses of the two women (Lillian F. Clarke, Mary R. Parkman) who did the interviewing and would supervise their lives, and lays down the strict rules regarding what is expected of the applicants.
Clearly this was written for the women seeking help and probably was widely distributed in Boston and the surrounding area.
As issued. (40356)
For POST-1820 AMERICANA,
click here.
For MEDICINE, click here.
For more of WOMEN's interest, click here.

Eight Comedias sueltas by
Antonio de Solis
Solis [y Ribadeneyra], Antonio de. Sammelband of 9 plays. [Valencia, Barcelona, Madrid: Various publishers, 1763–98]. 4to (21.1 cm, 8.3"). Various paginations.
$1200.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Antonio de Solis was a dramatist and historian whose Historia de la conquista de México, población y progresos de la América septentrional, conocida por el nombre de Nueva España remains a prose classic.
He is known to have written only ten plays: Eight are present here.
[drop-title] Comedia famosa. El doctor Carlino. [colophon: Barcelona: En la oficina de Pablo Nadal, 1798]. 4to (21.1 cm, 8.3"). 32 pp. “Num. 60" in the upper left corner of the first page.
[drop-title] Comedia famosa. Un bobo hace ciento. [colophon: Valencia: en la Imprenta de la Viuda de Joseph de Orga, 1763]. 32 pp. “N.60" in upper left corner of the first page and “Pag. I” in upper right.
[drop-title] Comedia famosa. Las Amazonas de escitia. [colophon: Valencia, en la Imprenta de la Viuda de Joseph de Orga, 1764]. 32 pp. “N.68" in upper left corner of the first page and “Pag. I” in upper right.
[drop-title] Comedia famosa. Amparar al enemigo. [colophon: Valencia, en la Imprenta de la Viuda de Joseph de Orga, 1765]. 32 pp. “N.85" in upper left corner of the first page and “Pag. I” in upper right.
[drop-title] Comedia famosa. El alcazar del secreto. [colophon: Valencia, en la Imprenta de la Viuda de Joseph de Orga, 1765]. 32 pp. “N.86" in upper left corner of first page, and “Pag. I” in upper right.
[drop-title] Comedia famosa. Erudice y Orfeo. [colophon: Valencia, en la Imprenta de la Viuda de Joseph de Orga, 1765]. 32 pp. “N. 89" in upper left corner of first page, and “Pag. I” in upper right.
[drop-title] Comedia. El amor al uso. [colophon: Madrid: en la Libreria de Quiroga, 1799]. 32 pp. “I” in upper right corner of first page.
[drop-title] Comedia famosa. El mayor triunfo de Julio César, y batalla de Farsalia. [colophon: Valencia, en la Imprenta de la Viuda de Joseph de Orga, 1770]. 36 pp. “N.162" in uppper left corner of first page and “Pag. I” in upper right.
The Spanish National Library attributes this title to Francisco de Alsedo Herrera, not Solis.
[drop-title] Comedia famosa. La gitanilla de Madrid. [colophon: Valencia, en la Imprenta de Joseph, y Thomàs de Orga, 1780]. 32 pp. “N.232" in upper left corner of first page and “Pag. I” in upper right.
Binding: Full dark caramel calf single-ruled in gilt around blind-ruled border, gilt board edges and blind-patterned turn-ins, spine gilt extra with two black spine labels lettered in gilt. Marbled endpapers and brown speckled edges, green ribbon place holder.
Provenance: 19th-century bookplate of Robert Henry Clive on rear pastedown.
On the comedias sueltas, see: Bergman & Szmuk, Comedias Sueltas; McKnight & Jones, Catalogue of Comedias Sueltas; Sullivan & Bershas, Comedias Sueltas. Bound as above; extremities rubbed with loss to gilt on board edges, joints starting but volume strong, boards with a few stains and scratches. Sticker on front free endpaper. Gentle age-toning and occasional cases of foxing, most noticeable in El amor al uso, otherwise
clean and crisp. (30950)
For 18TH-CENTURY BOOKS, click here.
For LITERATURE, click here.
For THEATER/THEATRE, click here.
For a collection of COLLECTIONS, click here.
This book also appears in the HISPANIC
MISCELLANY click here.

“On Pointed Spears They Lift Him High in the Air”
Somerville (a.k.a. Somervile), William. The chace. A poem. London: Printed for G. Hawkins, & sold by T. Cooper, 1735. Small 8vo (20.5 cm; 8"). [10] ff., 131 pp.
$185.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Somerville (1675–1742) was a country squire whose considerable landholding enabled him to pursue his two
favorite pastimes of hunting and writing poetry while serving occasionally as a magistrate.His “major poem was The Chace, published in 1735 and dedicated to Frederick, prince of Wales. In four books of blank verse he conveyed the excitement and dangers of the chase as well as its place in history” (ODNB).
This is the third edition, printed by William Bowyer for Hawkins, in an edition of 1500 copies, attesting to the poem's
great popularity. A fourth edition followed in the same year and it continued to be printed in the 18th century with an edition appearing as late as 1800, and yet others in the 19th century!
Foxon, English verse, 1701–1750, S564; ESTC T30392. Modern boards covered in a brown stone-pattern marbled paper. Clean and not close-trimmed; very good. (32765)
For 18TH-CENTURY BOOKS, click here.
For LITERATURE, click here.
For a bit more FISHIN' & HUNTIN', click here.
For NATURAL HISTORY, click here.
For ANGLO-AMERICAN LAW, click here.

Church History & Defense of Oral Tradition
Sormani, Nicolò. L'origine apostolica della chiesa milanese, e del rito della stessa provata colla tradizione immemorabile, e con documenti parte editi, e parte sin'ora inediti. Milan: nella Regia Ducal Corte, 1754. 4to (21.5 cm, 8.46"). [vi] ff., 372, [2] pp.
$575.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Only edition of this history of the Milanese Church, in Italian, by the prefect of Milan's Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Nicolò Sormani (d. ca. 1777); he affirms its apostolic origin, i.e., the legend of St. Barnaba, chiefly by way of a syllogism declaring the authority of oral tradition — that a tradition is true if it is antique and there is no reason to doubt it; that the legend of St. Barnaba's founding the Church is old and inscrutable; and that therefore her legend is true — though an appendix supplies the reader with original documents he nonetheless cites, and an editor's note observes that he himself translated many of them from Latin into Italian for the first time. With this publication, Sormani continued his quest to quell the belligerent hordes of sophists and provocateurs who questioned ecclesiastical traditions, having first published a treatise on the subject in 1740 (De origine apostolica ecclesia Mediolanensis a s. Barnaba apostolo deducta), as the first dissertation in a two-part volume; but this is the only production in the vernacular.
The Italian text is accompanied by citations and original documentation, which is in both Italian and, mostly, Latin; it is printed in roman and italic, with one large floriated woodcut initial and a decorative headpiece at the beginning of the first chapter. The final leaf contains the imprimatur and errata.
Searches of NUC Pre-1956 and WorldCat locate only two copies in U.S. libraries, one of which has been deaccessioned.
Contemporary vellum over boards with four laces visible on covers at spine extremities, gilt title in painted spine compartment, red marbled edges; binding somewhat soiled and bumped and a bit warped, with light worming not penetrating the leather. Title rubbed affecting a few letters; a light brown stain running along the gutter on two leaves and a crescent stain at the bottom of one other not affecting text; small tears at a couple of outer margins; and a handful of natural paper flaws, especially notable to two leaves that literally came up short in the press and therefore have “deckle” lower edges. Old pressure-stamps to title-leaf and a few others, a five-digit accession number stamped in two places, old library pencillings, indications of removed bookplates and card pocket; minor dampstaining, foxing, and age-toning throughout, most notable in the first and last two gatherings. Recital of faults and “library features” makes this sound much less appealing than it is.
This is a sound, attractive, pleasing book. (29568)
For 18TH-CENTURY BOOKS, click here.
For BOOKS IN ITALIAN, click here.
For CATHOLICA, click here.

A Bowery
“B'Hoy” Makes Good
Southworth, Mrs. E.D.E.N. Capitola's peril. New York: A.L. Burt & Co., [ca. 1890]. 12mo (19.2 cm, 7.55"). [2], 246, [6 (adv.)] pp.
$125.00
Click the images for enlargements.
The exciting conclusion of The Hidden Hand, Southworth's most popular novel. “Madcap” scrappy Irish-American tomboy Capitola, rescued from street life in New York City and removed to a Virginia plantation, embarks on further adventures before settling down to her happy ending. The entire work was originally serialized and then printed in book form under the Hidden Hand title, and subsequently often published in two volumes as The Hidden Hand and Capitola's Perils. This is an early if not the first printing of the latter as a separate item, now uncommon as such, with the present copy being
in the publisher's original dust jacket.
Binding: Publisher's light yellow cloth decoratively stamped in maroon and dark green, front cover with color-printed pictorial paper onlay, in color-printed dust jacket as above.
Cover and jacket sport three-quarter portraits of a charming, intelligent-looking young woman of the period; not the SAME girl, however!
This ed. not in Wright; see Wright, III, 5090 for single-volume first ed. Bound as above, volume slightly shaken, edges and spine extremities rubbed, tiny spots of insect damage to front joint; jacket
darkened with spine head chipped and lower portion of spine torn away. Pages evenly age-toned, otherwise clean. (41299)
For POST-1820 AMERICANA,
click here.
For LITERATURE, click here.
For more of IRISH interest, click here.
For more of WOMEN's interest, click here.
For “GIFTABLES” mostly $150
& UNDER, click here.
PLACE
AN ORDER | E-MAIL
US | PRB&M HOME