Signed binding: Contemporary half tan morocco with marbled paper–covered sides, spine with raised bands each accented above and below with single gilt rule and single black rule; gilt-stamped title, spine compartments framed in gilt with gilt dots in each corner and each with gilt center device. Front free endpaper stamped “Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe.” Top edge gilt; silk ribbon place marker.

•  Binding as above, spine slightly sunned, corners and extremities showing minor rubbing. Front pastedown with private collector’s armorial bookplate. Pages clean. (19752)

This particular edition has long been a mystery, but a fine cataloguer at the University of Salamanca has worked out what many others have not: This printing of Raquel, is a “separada del vol. I. de las “Obras poéticas” de Huerta, editadas por Sancha en 1778–79,” and this is why it seems complete by the pagination and signature collation, but yet seems to lack a title-page. It doesn't: One was never printed for it.

•  Aguilar Piñal, IV, 862; Herrera Navarro, Autores teatrales, 205; Palau 99106; Rodríguez Moñino, Antonio Sancha, 162.   Contemporary acid-stained sheep (“pasta espanola”), spine label lost. Light foxing and old staining. Upper margin of the plate closely cropped, taking upper portions of all letters of first line of caption but not rendering reading impossible. A nice copy.  (34987)

Binding:  Publisher's quarter white linen with blue-green paper sides, printed paper label on spine; the variant binding without the embossed medallion on the front cover and bearing instead a paper label that gives full publication details and describes the book as in “imperial 8vo” costing “two guineas net.” Top edge gilt, others deckle.

•  Bound as above, without the d/j. A very good copy.  (34706)

•  Renouard, Alde, 73.9; Brunet, II, 1523; Adams G344; Graesse, Trésor de Livres Rares, III, p. 45; Schweiger, Handbuch der classischen Bibliographie, II, p. 376; on Egnazio, see: Contemporaries of Erasmus, pp. 424–25.   18th-century vellum over boards with red and green gilt leather spine labels, one edge with one very small chip to vellum; fore-edge of title-page repaired, light age-toning, a few words in old ink to front endpapers, some unevenly trimmed pages with the occasional (chiefly light) marginal stain or spot. “A. Gellius” in old ink to fore-edge of volume. A worthy Aldine.  (37243)

There is, to us, a surprising and very interesting section on grapes and wines. The first part of our caption delights partly in discovery that maize, the “corn” of the U.S., is here called “turkey wheat” — with further note that you can make bread of it, but that the result is pleasing only to “barbarous” tastes! The entry as a whole showsGerard at his characteristic best, at once scientifically systematic and engagingly discursive.

Provenance:  Neatly lettered name of “W. Younge” at top of title-page; it is tempting to attribute this to William Younge, physician of Sheffield and Fellow of the Royal Linnean Society, whose online correspondence shows him to have been an eager collector of botanical books.

•  STC (rev. ed.) 11752; Alden & Landis, European Americana, 636/25; Nissen, Botanischebuchs, 698n; Pritzel 3282n; Johnston, The Cleveland Herbal, Botanical, and Horticultural Collections, 185; Woodward, Gerard's Herball: The essence thereof distilled (London, 1964). On the source of the blocks, see: Hunt Botanical Catalogue and Bowen, K. L., & D. Imhof, The illustration of Books Published by the Moretuses (Antwerpen, 1997). For “Turkey Wheat, “ see: Gerard, p. 81; for polenta, p. 71.   Late 17th-century English calf, plain style; rebacked professionally in the 20th century, later endpapers. As usual, without the first and last blank leaves. Three leaves with natural paper flaws in blank margins. A very good copy.  (34500)

A volume of modest production values, this begins nicely with a handsome title-page bearing an engraved vignette by Johann Wilhelm Meil (1733–1805) that sets the tone for the contents: lyricism in an idyllic setting.

•  Leemann-van Elck, Salomon Gessner, 584.   Slightly later green paper–covered boards, rubbed and abraded but volume sound. Early leaves lightly soiled and with light foxing, all edges red.  (34204)

Provenance:  Ownership inscription in the top margin of leaf [pi]2r, in Latin, dated 1500 of Matthew Schach, the Carthusian Prior at Prüll, and “tit. Bp. of Salona (Dalmatia), suffragan Bp. of Freising” according to Paul Needham's Index Possessorum Incunabulorum; mid-19th-century ownership signature on title-page of A. De Welles Miller, Charlotte, North Carolina, a Doctor of Divinity, but we do not know of which denomination. He was a devoted collector of early printed books. (Sincere thanks to Eric Johnson [Ohio State University Library] and Eric White [Princeton University Library] for assistance with the Shach provenance note.)

Evidence of readership: Early marginalia next to chapters (or their morals) 15, 16, 28, 33, 36, 43, 47, 55, 72, 80, 91, 92, 106, 111, 125, 128, 135, 144, 164, 173, and 178. A correction to the moral of 115 and an interlinear addition to moral 55.

•  Goff G-296; GKW 10902; BMC I, 146 (IB. 1928); ISTC ig00296000.   Recent ebony-brown calf old style: Round spine with raised bands accented by gilt rules, cream leather title label, fillets extending onto covers from each band to terminate in trefoils; a vertical blind-tooled “rope” to covers beyond the trefoils and covers framed in blind double fillets. Title-leaf stained and with old repairs, pencilling, and ownership indicia as above; very old bookseller's description glued to same not approaching type or inkings. Variable waterstaining throughout; pinhole-type worming, minor and not costing letters; leaf l4 torn in upper margin extending into text with loss a very few words in the top two lines of one column on each page of the leaf. Lacks the final blank (only). A significant book, and a handsome incunable in a very interesting copy.  (39525)

•  Publisher's textured navy paper wrappers, in original brown paper envelope printed in red; envelope corners slightly worn. Wrappers and pages clean and crisp.  (31228)

•  NSTC 0458171.   Later full navy morocco, spine with gilt-stamped title; spine gently sunned. Top edges gilt. Two pages with small spots of faint staining, overall gentle age-toning. A nice example of the Roxburghe Club'simpeccable publication standards.  (33492)

Provenance: Christmas gift inscription reading, “For my friend Cecile from Barbara Young, Christmas, 1926.” Barbara Young was the pen name of Henrietta Breckenridge Boughton, an American art and literary critic in the 1920s and a poet; she served as Gibran's secretary from 1925 until his death, revised and published his book The Garden of the Prophet, and published a study of his life (This Man from Lebanon).

•  Publisher's black cloth; gilt faded, top of spine pulled with small loss. Corner of one leaf torn away. Else a very nice copy ofa book not often found inscribed, and with a provenance that goes straight back to the inscriber.  (40911)

•  Publisher's printed paper wrappers, in original printed dust wrapper; dust wrapper partially split along front outer fold and nicked at corners. Pages age-toned.  (28931)

•  Gill (second ed.) 37.   Publisher's pink paper wrappers printed on front in blue, housed in matching pink and blue paper envelope. Pamphlet in fine condition; envelope with bumped edges and corners and a few spots of smudging.  (35362)

Provenance:  Front pastedowns each with bookplate of Robert Wayne Stilwell.

•  Brooks 1063; De Lama, II, 187; Giani 189 (p. 74).   Modern full crimson morocco, covers framed in single gilt fillet, spines with gilt-stamped title and volume numbers, gilt-dotted raised bands, and gilt-stamped floral decorations in compartments, in a matching cloth slipcase; original paper spine labels for the four volumes affixed to front pastedowns. Page edges untrimmed; one leaf in vol. I with chip out of lower margin and with signature 2 (pp. 9–16) bound in twice. A very few scattered small spots to first three volumes, fourth volume slightly more noticeably so affected, pages overall clean and crisp. A handsome set. (40196)

•  Hatch, Mosher, 688; Bishop, Mosher, 313.   Publisher's quarter tan paper and blue paper–covered sides, spine with printed paper label; spine moderately sunned, with extremities rubbed and one tiny fleck to one compartment. Back hinge (inside) cracked, front hinge tender, volume yet holding firmly; as usual, without the dust jacket or the slipcase. Overall, a very good copy ofan interesting book and an attractive Mosher production.  (34463)

•  Brooks 818; De Lama, II, 145; Giani 141 (p. 66).   Contemporary marbled paper–covered boards, spine with hand-inked paper label, rubbed and fadedl; front joint cracked with spine wanting to pull away from text block although still attached. Back pastedown with small inked annotation and pencilled collation note. Scattered minor foxing, two pages with light offsetting from now-absent laid-in item, pages overall clean with untrimmed edges. An uncommon Bodoni production.  (40185)

This is numbered copy 801 of 2000 printed, signed at the colophon by the artist. The appropriate Club newsletter is laid in.

•  Bibliography of the Fine Books Published by the Limited Editions Club, 500.   Binding as above, in publisher's green paper-covered slipcase. A handsome copy.  (31987)

•  Publisher's green cloth binding, front cover stamped in black and gilt; bright and clean, with cloth showing only very minor wear to corners and extremities. All edges gilt.  (14437)

Binding: Bound by Hayday in green pebbled morocco, spine with raised bands; two compartments with title and author and four with rich and elaborate gilt decoration; wide gilt composite borders to boards, board edges with gilt hatching, gilt zig-zag design on turn-ins. All edges gilt.

•  Bound as above; light rubbing particularly to spine-head, one slim scrape to front board and several to rear one. Endpapers lightly foxed, silk placemarker present with end a little frayed, old pencilling to verso of front free endpaper. Interior and illustrations clean and unmarked. A very good presentation copy of this classic.  (37320)

•  Publisher's teal cloth, front cover and spine with gilt-stamped title and decorative floral motifs; back cover and corners showing very slight scuffing. Back hinge cracked and front hinge starting; front free endpaper excised. Still, an attractive copy.  (18393)

•  Creased with slight soiling along crease, edges slightly ragged, otherwise in good condition; now in a Mylar folder. Tipped onto a blank leaf bearing a watermark of 1826.  (6523)

The little volume also offers astriking wood-engraved frontispiece in orange and black by Jean Gabriel Daragnès (1886–1950) who additionally provided the wood-engraved headpieces, and the colophon notes the item was printed by Ducros, Lefèvre, & Colas.

•  Red and black printed cream wrappers, gently worn around edges; light age-toning with a few occasional spots, frontispiece offset onto title-page. A very nice copy.  (36392)

Printed in double-column format, roman type, this has headlines in italic and offers woodcut headpieces and initials.

Binding:  Late 19th- or early 20th-century mottled calf, spine brightly gilt extra with author and title gilt on red leather label, speckled edges. Binder's label of Jaime M. Alves, Lisbon.

Provenance:  Contemporary ownership signatures of Ruy Gago and Cristobal Martinez at top of title-page; 20th-century bookplate of Alfonso Cassuto.

•  Palau 108157.   Bound as above, a little scuffed with boards lightly bumped at corners and spine still notably shiny. Bookplate “Biblioteca Alfonso Cassuto” on front pastedown and small embossed stamp of same to main title-page and section titles. Some sections browned or with foxing, and with light, limited waterstaining in others; last section and a few other places with generally marginal worming that can or cost a few letters; lacking the prologue leaves of part II. Short closed tear in bottom margin of one leaf from a natural paper flaw; last leaf with corner repaired. A solid, handsome volume though not quite complete, offering a text of great repute and importance.  (32627)

ESTC lists no publication prior to this occurring in Newport-Pagnel.

•  ESTC T44132; NCBEL, II, 598.   Uncut copy and stitched as issued. Title-page with rubber-stamped numeral and internal tear touching the first line of title without loss; first and last pages dust-soiled, fore-edges chipped and slightly ragged. Not pristine, but a desirable example of this uncommon piece in its original state.  (29490)

Sickness is a theme here

The volume is illustrated with a total of three wood-engraved depictions of New England buildings.

•  Publisher's pebbled terra cotta cloth, front cover and spine with gilt-stamped title; spine darkened and worn with gilt rubbed, sides with small spots of discoloration, cover gilt nice and bright. Some light smudging to margins, pages otherwise clean. All edges gilt.  (27649)

•  Original wrappers, all edges stained red. Spine slightly cocked and lightly rubbed, covers with a little faint creasing. Mildly age-toned. No tears, internally clean. Very good.  (7179)

Binding:  Rich green morocco, spine stamped and lettered in gilt with compartmental fleurons, covers framed and panelled in blind double fillets with gilt decorative corner stamps, board edges with single gilt fillet, turn-ins with decorative gilt rolls, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Signed binding by Capé, name camouflaged in lower front turn-in.

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

•  EDIT 16 CNCE 47120; Adams G1358; Gamba, Serie dei testi di lingua e di altre opere importanti nella italiana letteratura scritte dal secolo XIV al XIX (4th ed.), 687; Brunet, I, 1737.   Bound as above, moderately rubbed especially corners and spine. Light pencilling on endpapers and one blue crayon mark over a numbered stamp with another stamp at back; provenance as above, old oval rubber-stamp (imperfect) on two leaves of text. Two small marginal paper flaws; leaves with a few instances of light marginal waterstaining or the occasional spot and light age-toning generally. An elegant production, an attractive volume.  (37997)

Provenance:  Manuscript purchase note on front pastedown: “Emp. 20 stuf. 30 a Junii 1592"; 17th-century ownership signature on title-page of H. Van Etten (possibly the compiler of Recreation mathematiques); unidentified bookplate of circa 1890. 20th-century collation note of Quaritch.

•  Palau 110191; Grendlere, Schooling . . . 1300-1600, 300-4.   Contemporary calf, very worn and scuffed, with a 17th-century rebacking and pasteboards showing at corners and edges; spine with modest gilt ruling and lettering and covers panelled with three sets of blind rules embracing an outermost acanthus-leaf border in blind and a central black-stamped lily, black corner fleurons accenting the lily's panel. Worming to inside area of rear board and two leaves opposite, and also to leather of front cover in lower outer corner; text block unwormed, untattered, and clean.  (41499)

•  EDIT16 CNCE 22234; Palau 110317; USTC 835287. Not in Adams.   Contemporary limp vellum, evidence of ties now gone; spine with some sections chipped away, remnants of blue and white printed label, and inked title; binding stained, rubbed, and worm tracked with title-page, last two leaves of text, and endpapers also tracked. Interior overall rather nice with age-toning, intermittent foxing or faint marginal waterstaining, and a few leaves creased along corners. Otherwise a few flawed leaves, probably from paper manufacture, and pagination erratic; provenance indicia as above, front free endpaper with early inked annotation in Italian, and one marginal accent in ink Sound, despite noted binding flaws, and an interesting work.  (39705)

Binding:  Decorated publisher's binding: blue cloth with “silver”-stamped lettering and fleur-de-lis decorations to front board and spine, front cover with large “silver”-stamped vignette of a medieval gentleman holding a cage with two owls. “Silver” work actually aluminum and very bright!

Provenance:  On front free endpaper, two ownership stamps of Sarah E. Lembeck.

•  BAL 6747 (state A imprint, state A binding).   Bound as above; spine cocked and extremities and joints lightly rubbed. Stamps as above. Crease to p. 42; interior otherwise unspoiled. A handsomely medieval-esque production.  (37506)