LITERATURE
A B Bibles C D E-F G
H I-K L M N-O P
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“Medieval Romance” from a
Notable (later)Woman of Letters
M., Mademoiselle de [Marie-Caroline de Murray]. Aventures et anecdotes françoises tirées d'une chronique du XIV siecle. Vienne: Fr. Ant. Schrämbl, 1800. 8vo (15.9 cm, 6.25"). Vol. I (of 2): 176 pp.
$100.00
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Scarce sole edition, first book only (of two) of a historical romance set in the 14th century. Several sources identify the author as Marie-Caroline de Murray, a.k.a. Caroline Murray, known as “la Muse Belgique,” amanuensis to the Prince de Ligne.
OCLC locates only one U.S. institutional holding of this novel.
Manne, Nouveau dictionnaire des ouvrages anonymes, 162; Le Mayeur, Les Belges, 340. Contemporary plain paper-covered boards, spine with hand-inked volume label; binding stained, spine rubbed with small insect hole. Vol. I only. Inner margin of title-page repaired with loss of first letter of publisher's information line. Faint spotting and staining; trimmed closely, often shaving pagination and signatures.
As interesting to see how this was produced, as it is frustrating to be unable to finish the story! (26937)

Armstrong Binding — Popular Illustrator — The HORSES Get the Last Word
MacGrath, Harold. The man on the box. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co., (1904). 8vo (19.2 cm, 7.55"). Frontis., [12], 361, [1] pp.; 6 plts.
$80.00
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First edition: A totally, TOTALLY silly (and very “period”) romance set in Washington, DC, and spiced with international intrigue as well as
challenges of horsemanship (met both in riding and, as per title, driving). The author was a Syracuse-born writer of novels, short stories, and screenplays; the illustrator was “American Girl” artist
Harrison Fisher, who provided a frontispiece and six plates.
This became, apparently, a Broadway play and then a film starring Charlie Chaplin's brother Syd Chaplin!
Binding: Signed binding by Margaret Armstrong: Publisher's blue-green cloth, front cover and spine pictorially stamped in light green, cream, and black, with “MA” on front cover.
Gullans & Espey, Checklist of Trade Bindings Designed by Margaret Armstrong,158. Binding as above, cocked; extremities and front panel mildly rubbed. Pages and plates clean.
An entertaining novel in an attractive presentation. (35662)

Illustrated Theatre Edition
Maclaren, Ian (John Watson). Beside the bonnie brier bush. New York: R.F. Fenno & Co., 1905. 8vo. Frontis., 258 pp.; 5 plts.
$85.00
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The earliest and best-known of all the tales of rural Scottish life published by “Ian Maclaren,” pseudonym of the popular author and preacher John Watson. This special illustrated theatre edition of the Rev. Watson's beloved work (originally published in 1894) features a photographic frontispiece of James H. Stoddart in the role of Lachlan Campbell, as well as five other scenes both comic and tragic. The final section of the volume is “A Doctor of the Old School,” a loving portrayal of stalwart practitioner Dr. William MacLure.
Binding: Publisher's tan cloth, front cover with double iris design stamped in green, white, and violet.
Binding as above, minimal rubbing only. Pages and plates clean. A beautiful copy. (28613)

Bodoni Homage to
Adam Albert von Neipperg, Duke of Parma
Maestri, Ferdinando. Elogio di S. E. il conte Alberto Adamo di Neipperg letto da Ferdinando Maestri agli uffici funebri celebrati nell'oratorio di San Quirino dalla ducale Accademia de' Filarmonici il 27 marzo 1829. Parma: Co' Tipi Bodoniani, 1829. 8vo (19.4 cm, 7.63"). 46, [2] pp.
$250.00
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Funerary tribute to the Austrian soldier and diplomat who became Duke of Parma following his marriage to Marie Louise, Napoleon's second wife. This is the first octavo Bodoni edition, printed in the same year as the press's folio version. A contemporary reviewer summed up this production as”Elegante edizione: elegante discorso" (Antologia, 1829).Provenance: Front pastedown with bookplate of Henry Tschudy, depicting an angel bearing a book.
Brooks 1305. Later morocco-backed pastepaper-style paper–covered boards, spine label of tobacco-colored leather with gilt-stamped author and title; very minor rubbing to extremities only. Pages with a few very faint spots of foxing, in fact
very notably clean and fresh. (40206)

A Metamorphosis Metamorphosis
Marino, Giambattista. L'Adone, poema del Cavalier
Marino: con gli argomenti del Conte Fortuniano Sanvitale, e l'allegorie di Don Lorenzo Scoto.
Amsterdam: No publisher/printer, 1680. 12mo (16.5 cm, 6.5"). 2 vols. I: [18] ff., 660 pp. (i.e.,
662). II: 658; 34 pp.
$600.00
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Giambattista Marino (Giovan Battista Marino, 1569–1625) was
Italy's greatest Baroque poet. His extravagant style became known as Marinism, or Seicentismo, inspiring a century of lyricists known as Marinisti. However the poet's reputation suffered in the 18th and 19th centuries when critics dismissed many fruits of the Baroque period as “all form no substance” (Guardiani, 74). It was not until the mid–20th century that Baroque literature was reevaluated and Marino's work was newly admired by scholars.
First published at Paris in 1623 and
placed on the Index in 1627, L'Adone is a
complicated narrative based on the myth of Venus and Adonis from Ovid's Metamorphoses,
combined with other myths and passages imitating Dante, Ariosto, Tasso, and French writers.
These elements are intertwined with novelties, including a lyrical autobiography modeled on
Ovid's (canto IX, 59–91), and a eulogy for Marino's contemporary
Galileo and his telescope
(canto X, 42–47). Composed of over 5,000 octaves in 20 canti — almost 41,000 verses,
Marino's complicated, ornate poem is
one of the longest epics ever written in Italian.
The edition in hand is printed in roman and italic, with factotum initials and a handful of
woodcut tailpieces. The title-page in the first volume is printed in red and black, and black only
in the second, with both volumes featuring the printer's device of an armillary sphere: mark of the
Elzevirs, who printed the 1678 edition in Amsterdam?
On Marino, see: DBI
online. Quarter calf over paper-covered boards, recently rebacked with
original spine leather laid down; spine tooled creating compartments accented with gilt center
ornaments, author and title gilt on black morocco spine in second one. Scuffed, chipped, and
soiled but sturdy; foxed throughout though never more than moderately; edges uncut.
(30910)
For BOOKS IN ITALIAN, click here.

EDIFYING STORIES for French Youths
[Marmontel, Jean-François]. L'école des peres, suivie de la mauvaise mere, contes nouveaux. Caen: P. Chalopin, 1788. 12mo (14.6 cm, 5.75"). 40 pp.
$250.00
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Scarce chapbook presentation of two moral tales, printed without attribution but taken from Marmontel's Contes moraux, a multivolume production originally published from 1755 through 1759. While the titles of both stories imply a focus on parenting (and both pieces emphasize the dangers of bad mothering), the major lessons here are that sons should avoid gambling, partying, and expensive mistresses — while taking care to fall in love with women who are virtuous and wealthy.A woodcut headpiece opens each story in this printing, which is now uncommon: WorldCat finds
only one U.S. institution reporting a copy (Princeton) and just a handful of other locations, all in France.
Provenance: From the children's book collection of Albert A. Howard, sans indicia.
Gumuchian 2337. Appropriate plain lilac paper wrappers not original to the chapbook, these a little worn and chipped; old stitching holes in gutter margins and one signature separated.
A clean, pleasing copy of a seldom-seen item. (40712)

Continental Blind-Embossed Binding
Martínez Villergas, Juan. Juicio crítico de los poetas españoles contemporáneos. Paris: Libr. Rosa y Bouret, 1854. 12mo (17 cm; 6.75"). [2] ff., 285, [1] pp., [1] f.
$200.00
First edition.
Binding: Full green calf, covers elaborately blind-embossed using the same plaque for both covers. Round spine with gilt ruling, gilt title, and gilt center devices in compartments; all edges marbled.
Palau 156283. Binding as above, a little rubbed, some loss of gilt; front free endpaper with a patch of abrasion. Signature on verso of title-page. The usual scattered foxing. (28726)

The “Philosophy of America” — First Edition, in a Signed Binding
Mason, Walt. Uncle Walt [Walt Mason]: The poet philosopher. Chicago: George Matthew Adams, 1910. 8vo (20.1 cm, 7.9"). Frontis., 189, [3] pp.; illus.
$85.00
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“Walt Mason's Prose Rhymes are read daily by approximately ten million [newspaper] readers,” according to the preface, making Mason “the Poet Laureate of the American Democracy.” This collection of his popular, often humorous short pieces comes “from the presses of the Caslon Press . . . Arranged and decorated by Will Bradley. Frontispiece by John T. McCutcheon. Illustrations by William Stevens” (per the colophon); this first edition is in a
publisher's binding signed “B” (for Bradley).
The type here is set within ruled borders, and the verbal vignettes' titles are set as shouldernotes; the “poetry,” set as prose, is
frank period doggerel and often the more fun for that, although many sentiments are also “period.”
Binding: Publisher's brown cloth, front cover and spine pictorially stamped in orange, black, and tan with an image of Uncle Walt holding forth; the orange title lettering is LARGE and the image fills the entire cover.
Bound as above; minor wear to black portions of front cover, extremities slightly rubbed. Dust jacket lacking, as is typical; page edges untrimmed. Text age-toned, otherwise clean and crisp. (41338)

La Culture de l'Esprit Public
Maury, Jean-Siffrein. Discours prononcés dans la séance publique tenue par la classe de la langue et de la littérature françoises de l'Institut de France, le mercredi 6 Mai 1807, pour la réception de Son Eminence Mgr. le Cardinal Maury ... premier aumónier de Son Alt. Imp. Mgr. le Prince Jérome Napoléon. Paris: L'Imprimerie de l'Institution Impériale des Sourds-Muets de naissance, 1807. 4to (25 cm, 9.9"). [2], 98 pp.
$200.00
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Remarks by Cardinal Maury on the state of French language and literature since the Revolution, with a response from M. l'abbé Sicard. Maury (1746–1817), who became Archbishop of Paris in 1810, was — as well as a clergyman — a writer and literary historian famed for the eloquence of his rhetoric; his
wit and insight are admirably showcased here. This is the
first edition, preceding several reprintings, and it is not widely held in libraries.
Sewn as issued, with pages untrimmed. Front fly-leaf with inked and pencilled numerals and with pencilled initials; lower corners bumped, upper corners of last few leaves creased, final text leaf with short tear from outer margin.
An interesting essay, in its unaltered original state. (37047)

Bodoni: Poems of “Armonide Elido”
Mazza, Angelo. Opere. Parma: Per Giuseppe Paganino, 1816–19. 8vo (21.4 cm, 8.42"). 5 vols. I: Frontis., xx, 182 pp. II: 192 pp. III: 206 pp. IV: 180, [2] pp. V: 198 pp.
$350.00
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Collected verse from a Parma-born scholar and poet. Mazza (1741–1817), who as a member of
the Academy of Arcadia used the name Armonide Elideo, was known for translating Dryden, Gray, and Thompson into Italian as well as for his own poems. This
Bodoni-printed five-volume set comprises two volumes of sonnets, two of “sciolti,” and one of stanzas and odes; it does not include the dedication found in the quarto edition printed at roughly the same time, but does feature the frontispiece portrait of the author engraved by Giovanni Rocca.
Bindings: Contemporary half calf and and marbled paper–covered sides, leather edges ruled in gilt, spines with gilt-stamped title and volume numbers, and with gilt-tooled raised bands and blind-tooled compartments, making a striking effect. All edges marbled; original silk bookmarks present and attached.
Provenance: From the collection of Brian Douglas Stilwell, sans indicia.
Brooks 1183; Brunet 16403. Bindings as above; minimal shelfwear overall, one spine head chipped. Vol. I: first few leaves with very light waterstaining across lower corners, not approaching frontispiece image or type; last few leaves with lightest imaginable waterstaining to lower halves . Vol. III: short tear in oute margin of one leaf. Vol. V: title-page with sprinkling of tiny spots; one page with small ink smear.
A clean and handsome set. (40203)

Bodoni: Poems of “Armonide Elido,” Large Quarto Edition
Mazza, Angelo. Opere. Parma: Per Giuseppe Paganino, 1816–20. Large 4to (12.75", 32.38 cm). 5 vols. I: xxii, 178 pp. II: 189, [1] pp. III: 204 pp. IV: 172, [2] pp. V: Frontis., 194 pp.
$400.00
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Collected verse from a Parma-born scholar and poet, in an edition of imposing size and elegance. Mazza (1741–1817), who as a member of the Academy of Arcadia used the nom de plume Armonide Elideo, was known for translating Dryden, Gray, and Thompson into Italian as well as for his own poems. This
Bodoni-printed five-volume set comprises two volumes of sonnets, two of “sciolti,” and one of stanzas and odes; it includes
a dedication not found in the octavo edition printed at roughly the same time, and features a frontispiece portrait of the author engraved by
Giovanni Rocca.
Brunet calls the author “un des plus beaux génies de l'Italie, au XVIIIe siècle,” and Brooks praises this set of his works as “magnificamente stampato.” The page edges of this copy are untrimmed.
Provenance: Front pastedowns each with bookplate of private collector Brian Douglas Stilwell.
Brooks 1182; Brunet, III, 1562. Original “Bodoni” orange paper–covered boards with printed paper spine labels, rubbed (notably at extremities) and dust-soiled with spines mottled; vol. II rebacked (supplying hand-inked facsimile of original spine label), and some volumes variously lacking free endpapers (vol. II front, vol. III both, vols. IV and V rear), vol. V with publisher's advertisement, including prices, on front pastedown. Old cataloguing slip laid in. Scattered, minimal foxing only; pages untrimmed and overall pleasingly clean.
A desirable quintet from this press. (40202)

A Good BAV Title — Macclesfield Provenance
Mela, Pomponius. Pomponii Melae De orbis situ libri tres, accuratissime eme[n]dati. Lutetiae Parisiorum: [Chrétien Wechel], 1530. Folio (34 cm; 13.25"). [14] ff., 196 p., [1] f., [28] ff. (without the fold. map, if one was actually issued with it).
$1450.00
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Mela's work De orbis situ libri tres (a.k.a., De chorographia) is, of course, a standard and famous work of ancient geography and, dating from the first century A.D., is the oldest surviving geographical text written in Latin. It enjoyed readership for centuries in manuscript and was first printed in 1471 with eight subsequent incunable editions, while in the 16th century to 1530 there was virtually a new edition every other year: Clearly, it was
a book of interest and importance for the Renaissance.
It is a short work; the Petit printing of it in 1513, for example, occupies only 60 pages. In this edition, however, Mela's text (printed in roman) is surrounded by
extensive commentary in italic by Joachim Vadianus (1484–1551), thus extending the whole to 196 pages. The volume ends with an appendix, “Loca aliquot ex Vadiani commentarijs summatim repetita, & obiter explicata,” consisting of Vadian's study of Mela's work and attempting to address inconsistencies and problems in it.
Printer Wechel has arrayed the commentary around the text here with
notable attractiveness, he has supplied quite a number and variety of attractive initials, and both his main title-page and the sectional one for the “Loca aliquot” are dramatically presented with the same
elaborate multipart woodcut title border.
Although Mela's work is solely concerned with the world as known by Greeks and Romans, one should remember that their world did encompass portions of Africa and a knowledge of India. Additionally the appendix, originally written in 1521 and first appearing in the 1522 Basel printing of Mela, has a coda consisting of a 1515 letter of Vadian’s to Rudolph Agricola, the younger, that briefly discusses
Vespucci (X5v) and the New World (Y1r) when discussing the Spanish empire.
This is the third edition of Vadian's Mela, taken from the second edition (1522), but only the second with Vadian's appendix. Graesse comments, “Second éd. . . . fort changée et corrigée sur des mss.”
Whether all copies of the work were issued with a map has been long discussed and is without resolution: What we do know is that some have a map, most do not.
Provenance: Macclesfield copy with the bookplate and handsome pressure-stamps.
Evidence of readership: Scattered minor (usually one or two words) marginalia.
Harrisse, BAV, 157; Renouard, Paris, 2210; Alden & Landis 530/30; Sabin 63958 (not calling for a map); Graesse, V, 401 (not calling for a map). 18th-century quarter vellum with blue-green paper–covered sides, author's name in old ink to spine. Title-page lightly soiled, light discoloration or inkstains in some margins, light occasional foxing; pinhole-type worming in text of some pages with no loss of text, and a corner of last leaf torn away without loss of text; on pp. 170–96, a light waterstain across upper gutter not touching text and another across upper outer corners impinging on it. As usual, without the map found in only a few copies. Macclesfield pressure-stamps and marginalia as above.
A good, sound, and soundly pleasing old folio. (34114)

TWO First Editions, One Bodoni-Printed
Melesigenio, Euforbo (pseud. of Tommaso Valperga di Caluso). Omaggio poetico di Euforbo Melesigenio P. A. alla serenissima altezza di Giuseppina Teresa di Lorena. Parma: Nel Regal Palazzo Co' Tipi Bodoniani, 1792. 8vo (19.2 cm, 7.55"). [4], 84, [12] pp. [bound with] Melesigenio, Euforbo (pseud. of Tommaso Valperga di Caluso). Libellus carminum. Taurini: Ex Typographia Regia, 1795. 8vo. 31, [1] pp.
$550.00
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Valperga di Caluso (1737–1815) studied physics, mathematics, theology, and philosophy as well as serving as a naval officer, mastering multiple languages (and writing First Lessons of Hebrew Grammar), teaching at the University of Turin, and publishing a number of both scientific and literary works. The present volume contains two first editions of his, the first of which is
a Bodoni printing of six pieces in poetic tribute to Marie Joséphine Thérèse de Lorraine, Princess of Carignano (1753–97), herself a writer, prominent salonnière, and member of the Italian literary circle that included Valperga di Caluso and Vittorio Alfieri; the final item of the six offers the
Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Italian inscriptions from the funerary monument of the princess's beloved pet dog. Brooks describes this Bodoni production as “libro molto grazioso con fleuron sul titolo” — referring to the refined typography and to the engraved vignette with a garland of roses enclosing the motto “Deh sia, se 'l canto men, l'ossequio accetto.”
Following the Omaggio poetico is the first appearance of Valperga di Caluso's Libellus carminum, 15 poems in Latin including one to his friend Alfieri, published (as was the former item) under the pseudonym the author preferred for his literary works.
According to Renouard's 1794 catalogue of Bodoni imprints, the edition of Omaggio poetico was limited to 210 copies; it is now relatively uncommon in the U.S., with the Turin-printed Libellus carminum even more so — a search of WorldCat fails to locate
any American institutional holdings of the latter.
Binding: Contemporary mottled calf; spine gilt-extra, with gilt-stamped red leather title-label, board edges with distinctive gilt roll. Stone pattern marbled paper endpapers; all edges carmine.
Brooks 458; De Lama, II, 74; Giani 28 (p. 44). Bound as above: spine with spots of worming and head chipped, these affecting appearance remarkably little; otherwise light wear, small scuffs. Front and rear free endpapers with pencilled bibliographical annotations. One leaf with paper flaw in outer margin, not touching text.
Of interest both for Bodoni's usual elegance in printing and for the contents' connections to some of the most eminent figures of Italian belles-lettres of the day. (40151)

Predicting an Enlightened Future: Pre-Revolutionary French Science Fiction
Mercier, Louis-Sébastien. L'an deux mille quatre cent quarante. Rêve s'il fút jamais; suivi de L'homme de fer, songe. Nouvelle édition avec figures. [Amsterdam: Changuion?], 1787. 8vo (19.7 cm, 7.75"). [4], 251, [5], 240, [6], 203, [3] pp.; 3 plts.
$700.00
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Mercier's utopian novel, originally published in 1771 and set in the far-off future of 2440, prophesies an advanced, progressive Paris (and indeed an entire world) in which slavery has been abolished and education, medicine, religion, politics, and the justice system have all been reimagined and reformed, while women have been cured of coquetry (along with the pains of childbirth and the desire to marry for love!). The “brave” Americans are particularly cited for having advanced the causes of liberty and republicanism, with
Philadelphia being praised among their “cités les plus belles, les plus florissantes" (III, 31).
An extremely popular work (it went through 25 editions after its first appearance in 1771), the work describes the adventures of an unnamed man, who, after engaging in a heated discussion with a philosopher friend about the injustices of Paris, falls asleep and finds himself in a Paris of the future.
Though condemned by French and Spanish authorities and
forbidden by the Inquisition, the work was nonetheless a roaring success in Europe, going through numerous editions in multiple languages — and serving as a groundbreaking, genre-defining example of a futuristic paradise set in a real-world location. The present example is an unidentified imprint of the greatly expanded three-volume text of 1786, followed by Mercier's allegorical L'homme de fer. Wilkie suggests that this “nouvelle édition avec figures" was printed by Changuion in Amsterdam; each of the three books of the main work opens with its own tipped-in engraved plate, making this
one of the earliest illustrated editions.
Wilkie, Mercier's L'An 2440, 1787. Not in Brunet, not in Graesse. Contemporary mottled sheep, spine with raised bands, gilt-stamped leather title-label, and gilt-tooled compartment decorations; spine and edges much rubbed, with spine extremities chipped. Front and back pastedowns with traces of red wax adhesions; endpapers with offsetting from turn-ins. Minor age-toning throughout; one page with early inked annotation. Though battered, a solid, early, nicely illustrated example of this landmark work. (38525)

SONGS of
Bogdan, Milosch, & the Fair Ikonia — Publisher's Copy
Meredith, Owen [pseud. of Edward Bulwer-Lytton]. Serbski pesme; or, national songs of Servia. London: Chapman & Hall (pr. by William Clowes & Sons), 1861. 8vo (17.3 cm, 6.8"). 142, [2] pp.
$200.00
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First edition of these loose translations of Serbian poetry, done by the British statesman and once-acclaimed author of the popular The Last Days of Pompeii and Lucile. In his introduction, Bulwer-Lytton compares the literary tradition represented here to “the sword of a Crusader in the scabbard of a Turk” (p. x); he notes that these renditions may be rough, but are his own firsthand impressions of the poems that “whether they be weeds or wild flowers, I have at least gathered . . . on their native soil, amidst the solitudes of the Carpathians, and along the shores of the Danube” (p. xxvi).
Provenance: Front pastedown with bookplate of Edward Chapman, head of Chapman & Hall.
NCBEL, III, 637; NSTC 2M24993. Publisher's violet cloth, front cover with blind-stamped frame and gilt-stamped decorative title in a lozenge, spine with gilt-stamped publication information; spine and board edges sunned to tan, extremities slightly rubbed. Mild age-toning and scattered light spotting. (39671)

Signed Binding — Decorative Designers
Merriman, Henry Seton. The vultures: A novel. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1902. 8vo (19.2 cm, 7.55"). vi, [2], 340, [3 (2 adv.)] pp.; 8 plts.
$30.00
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First American edition of this thriller-romance featuring international espionage, set largely in Poland and leading up to the events of 1881. The
binding is signed “DD” for Decorative Designers; the eight plates are unsigned.Provenance: Front free endpaper with ownership inscription of Theodore H. Swan.
Publisher's green cloth, front cover and spine stamped in dark brown and gilt; very slight rubbing to extremities, otherwise clean and fresh. Pages faintly age-toned. One leaf with chip in upper margin; one leaf with tear from upper margin, extending into a few lines of text without loss. A solid, pleasing copy. (41297)

A “Flowery” Perishable Press Production
Merwin, W.S. Chinese figures (second series). Mt.
Horeb, WI: Perishable Press, 1971. Tall 8vo (26.8 cm, 10.5"). [16] pp.
$200.00
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First edition: Interestingly textured Perishable Press printing of this poem by
Merwin, who has been the U.S. Poet Laureate and was awarded Pulitzer prizes in both 1971 and
2009. The piece was printed in tall, vertical format in handset Palatino in pale orange, blue, grey,
and black on “a pale Shadwell with thread activity,” and bound in “fern-leaf & vervain blossom
Shadwell” wrappers; this is one of 120 copies printed, of which 75 were for sale.
Two Decades of Hamady & the Perishable Press, 49. Publisher's paper
wrappers as above, with over-wrapper a little sun-darkened along spine. A fresh, unworn copy.
(30932)

Miller's Second Novel
Miller,
Henry. Black spring. Paris: The Obelisk Press, 1945. 8vo (19.2
cm, 7.56"). 269, [3] pp.
$150.00
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First post-war edition, the third edition printed by Obelisk, and the fourth overall,
of Miller's second published novel.According to Miller's bibliographers, the 1945 printing uses the same plates as the 1938
edition, explaining why the copyright reads “Reprinted October 1938,” confusing this with the
second Obelisk printing. “The actual date of publication is 1945 and is documented in a letter
Miller wrote to Ben Abramson in August of that year” (Shifreen & Jackson). Like the copy seen
by Shifreen and Jackson, the present copy's leaves vary in size, so that many are shorter than
others.
Jack Kahane founded the Obelisk Press at Paris in 1929 to publish illicit English-language books like this free from legal censure.
Shifreen & Jackson A12e.
Publisher's steel gray wrappers with white boxes lettered in black; faded and
shelf-worn, paper on the lower spine cracked to reveal quires beneath. Age-toning resulting from
poor paper quality, as usual for this edition; sewing brittle. Far from pristine; definitely showing
evidence of its readership. (30196)

The 99-Copy Blue Oasis First Edition — Signed by Miller
Miller, Henry. Order and chaos Chez Hans Reichel. Tucson, AZ: Loujon Press, 1966. 4to (25.2 cm, 9.95"). 101, [1] pp.; illus.
$450.00
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“Written in 1937–38 in Paris . . . gifted as a long intimate book letter to the painter Hans Reichel”: Miller's gathering of letters and sketches sent to his dear friend Reichel, here
with an introduction by Lawrence Durrell, in a beautifully designed, award-winning production including
text printed in black, blue, and red; facsimile reproductions of manuscript portions; two loose preliminary textured leaves, one with printed design; and a glossy photographic portrait of the author.
This is
one of 99 “Blue Oasis” copies signed by Miller (out of a total of 1524 printed); signature towards the back of the volume with a laid-in Loujon Press leaf noting that fact.
Publisher's quarter teal morocco and cream cloth–covered sides, spine with gilt-stamped title, in original dust jacket (printed on both sides) and printed cork–covered slipcase; slipcase with corners a little rubbed, jacket with spine and extremities chipped, volume's spine a tiny bit rubbed and sunned at extremities; the volume itself in all, fresh and lovely.
A nice copy of this remarkable first edition. (35851)

The
Book That Defined
Miller's Career
Miller,
Henry. Tropic of Cancer.
Paris: The Obelisk Press, January 1939. 8vo (19.3 cm, 7.6"). [1-6], 7-[318],
[2] pp.
$225.00
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Fifth Obelisk printing of the book that “afforded [Miller] his literary voice”
(Shifreen & Jackson).“I start tomorrow on the Paris book: first person, uncensored, formless — fuck
everything!” So wrote Miller to Emil Schnellock in 1931. Three years later, after some financial
difficulty, Jack Kahane published Tropic of Cancer at Obelisk in Paris with money Anaïs Nin
borrowed from a psychoanalyst. It is the story of Miller's first year in Paris, living hand-to-mouth
as a struggling writer.
This edition is the same as the fourth edition in all but wrappers (and the
same as the third in pagination, except for necessary variations on the copyright
page: “Fifth printing” and “Reprinted January 1939"); our
copy's
binding
is blue and white, lettered in black, not the light green wrappers
lettered in darker green called for by Shifreen & Jackson.
Jack Kahane founded the Obelisk Press at Paris in 1929 to publish illicit English-language books like this free from legal censure.
Shifreen & Jackson A9h.
Binding as above; wrappers faded and creased along the spine, upper joints
cracking. A copy that clearly was read more than a few times.
(30191)

Comely Shelf of Poetry Published by the
“Elzevirs of Britain”
THE FOULIS PRESS
Milton, John; Alexander Pope; & Others. Collection of English poets published by the Foulis Press. Glasgow: Robert & Andrew Foulis, 1769–74. Sm. 12mo (12.5 cm, 4.875"). 34 vols. [pagination below].
$6300.00
Click the images for enlargements.
In Western culture, the production of small, easily portable printed books of important or popular texts dates from the late 15th century and saw its first important and influential printer willing to dedicate his press to such productions with Aldus Manutius' issuing his series of standard texts in the early 16th century. In the 17th century the Elzevir family came to dominate that market. While the Foulis brothers and their press did not dominate the same way, in the 18th century, they did devote a goodly portion of their time to producing small, scholarly, handsome pocket editions of mostly British poets and essayists.
As a center of 18th-century learning, Glasgow was a happy fit for a printing house dedicated to quality productions made with exceptional type. Robert (1707–76) and Andrew (1712–75) Foulis, two leaders in the renaissance of British printing, are often referred to as the “Elzevirs of Britain.” They created hundreds of texts on a variety of topics and in several languages. Among their notable “firsts” were the first Greek text published in Glasgow and the first work of the English Divines published in Gaelic.
These uniformly bound poetry imprints date from the later years of the brothers' press before Robert's son took over the family business, which lasted until 1800. Their small format meant they could travel easily in the owner's pocket for enjoyment away from his library: while in a coffee house, tavern, or travelling. The collection in hand offers 14 authors represented in 21 different texts, 6 of which are the first or only appearance of the work from the Foulis Press, and includes the following:
*Dryden, John, translator. The works of Virgil. 1769. 3 vols. Variant according to Gaskell. *Thomson, James. The seasons. 1769. Variant according to Gaskell. *Addison, Joseph. Poems on several occasions. 1770. *Shenstone, William. The select works in verse and prose. 1770. *Gay, John. Poems on several occasions. 1770. 2 vols. Variant according to Gaskell. *Pope, Alexander, translator. The Iliad of Homer. 1771. 4 vols. *Prior, Matthew. Poems on several occasions. 1771. 2 vols. *Young, Edward. The complaint: or, night-thoughts on life, death, and immortality. 1771. 2 vols. *Young, Edward. Poems on several occasions. 1771. *Dryden, John, translator. Fables antient and modern. 1771. 2 vols. *Denham, John. Poems and translations. 1771. *Collins, William. The poetical works of Mr. William Collins. To which are added Mr. Hammond's Elegies. 1771. *Garth, Samuel. The poetical works of Sir Samuel Garth, M. D. 1771. *Akenside, Mark. The pleasures of imagination. 1771. *Gay, John. The beggar's opera. 1772. *Milton, John. Paradise lost, a poem in twelve books. 1771. 2 vols. *Milton, John. Paradise regain'd. 1772. 2 vols. *Pope, Alexander, translator. The odyssey of Homer. 1772. 3 vols. Variant according to Gaskell. *Parnell, Thomas. Poems on several occasions. 1773. *Thomson, James. Poems. 1774. *Thomson, James. Liberty, a poem. 1774.
A full list with pagination and illustration information as well as ESTC and Gaskell numbers is available on request.
All volumes uniformly bound in 18th-century polished calf, spines with raised bands, gilt ruling, and gilt lettering on leather labels; a beautiful “long shelf of short books” with spines slightly faded, slightest rubbing, occasional instances of a bit of leather lost to old worm along a joint or an abrasion to a spine or cover; all edges speckled red. Offsetting from turn-ins onto endpapers, pencil annotations in one volume, touch of ink at foremargin of three leaves of another; signatures trimmed closely on third volume of Virgil, first volume of Milton's Paradise Lost “bookmarked” with two paper scraps bearing manuscript annotations, skeleton frontispiece of Young's “Night Thoughts” with an inch-long internal, closed tear to background with no loss, and the maps to Pope's Iliad and Dryden's Virgil in excellent condition.
A handsomely bound, sturdy, and appealing representative collection of the Foulis Press. (35997)
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Milton, Illustrated
Milton, John; Richard Westall, illus. Paradise lost. A poem, in twelve books. London: Pr. for John Sharpe, 1816–22. 12mo (17.2 cm, 6.75"). 2 vols. I: Frontis., 8, [192] pp.; 6 plts. II: Frontis., [4] pp., [188 (7 blank)] pp.; 6 plts.
$225.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Westall's acclaimed illustrations — two frontispieces and one plate for each of the 12 books — were steel-engraved for this edition by Charles Heath, George Courbould, William Finden, and others. The present paired volumes, from the same 19th-century private collection, have been bound in different but complementary styles; the title-page of vol. I gives 1821 and the plates 1822, while vol. 2 is marked 1816 throughout.
Provenance: Front pastedowns with armorial bookplate of James Wiseman of Glasgow; most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabels (“AHA”) at rear.
Contemporary bindings, joints and extremities mildly rubbed, vol. II spine a little sunned; vol. I in pebbled dark red roan and vol. II in red morocco but with all tooling done to match — covers framed in gilt double fillets, spines with gilt-ruled bands, gilt-stamped titles, gilt rolls at head and foot, all edges gilt. Bookplates and labels as above; vol. II half-title with early pencilled ownership inscription. Mild to moderate foxing to plates (more noticeable to vol. I frontispiece and titlte.-page) and surrounding leaves.
Not quite a perfectly matched set, but rather fascinatingly close; an engaging and attractive pair with a pleasing provenance. (41049)
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A “Philadelphianum” (Published in Boston)
Mitchell, Silas Weir. The hill of stones and other poems. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1883. 16mo. iv, 98 pp.
$75.00
Click the image for an enlargement.
First edition: Romantic poems, including one Arthurian piece, written by a neurologist born in Philadelphia and known for his work on nerve injuries and erythromelalgia (“Weir Mitchell’s disease”).
An early hand inked neat responses to a few lines in “The Quaker Graveyard.”
Publisher's cloth, front cover black- and gilt-stamped, spine simply gilt-stamped, binding gently worn with minor spotting to spine and lower edge of front cover. Ownership inscription to front free endpaper. A nice copy. (2901)

Euphony Cacophony Versification & CompLit
Mitford, William. An inquiry into the principles of harmony in language, and of the mechanism of verse, modern and antient. London: Pr. by L. Hansard ... for T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1804. 8vo. xv, [1], 343 pp. (lacks the half-title).
$325.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Mitford (1744–1827), a historian of ancient Greece, sometime member of Parliament, and principally a gentleman of means, here presents the second edition of his study of versification in English — including Anglo-Saxon and Middle-English, and with comparisons to Classical Latin and Greek, French, Italian, and Spanish. There is even a chapter on Oriental and Celtic versification! First published anonymously in 1774 as An essay upon the harmony of language, intended principally to illustrate that of the English language, the work in this edition boasts “ improvement and large addition.”
Recent quarter calf, round spine; raised bands accented with gilt beading, gilt center devices in spine compartments, and two green spine labels. Combed-pattern marbled paper sides. Lacks the half-title, only; occasional light foxing. A very good copy of an interesting and now uncommon book. (22228)

Uncommon Poem Dedicated to
Pope Julius III
Modesti, Publio Francesco. P. Francisci Modesti Saludeciensis canonici arimini. De opificio dei opusculum. Rimini (Impress. in Inclyta urbe Arimino): in Officina Erasmi Virginei, 1552 [Iulli. III. Pont. Max. Anno. III.]. 4to (19.4 cm; 7.625"). 16 ff.
$750.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Dominican writer and later Archbishop of Saludecio's unfinished rhyming poem and numerous other poems dedicated to Pope Julius III, here taken from the larger collection of miscellaneous works titled Publii Francisci Modesti Saludeciensis canonici Arimini Christiana pietas. Ejusdem, de Dei opificio sesquiliber. Ejusdem, urbis Arimini elogium. Ejusdem, Lucerna. Modesti (1471–1557) is perhaps best known for his history of Venice titled Venetias.
This poem celebrating the works of God in the Creation is written in dactylic hexameter and employs much classical vocabulary, while at the same time showing the influence of liturgical Latin — not an uncommon stylistic combination at that time. The text is printed in roman with guide letters and the pages are lightly ruled in red; the title-page displays Pope Julius III's coat of arms surrounded by a Latin epigram.
Provenance: Charles Spencer, Third Earl of Sunderland, lot 8539 in the Sunderland Library sale (1882). Embossed stamp of the Theological Institute of Connecticut on final leaf; deaccessioned to Pitts Theological Library at Emory; deaccessioned again 1998; later in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Searches of COPAC, OCLC, and the NUC reveal
no U.S. libraries holding this fragment or the larger work.
EDIT16 CNCE 40108. Modern boards covered in a 16th-century leaf of Eusebius with text in Latin and Greek; gilt black leather spine label with misdate of 1521, new endpapers. Moderate age-toning with a handful of stains, provenance markings as above. (37825)

Words for an
Important Irish Poet
from an
Important Irish Press
Montague, John; & Liam Miller. A tribute to Austin Clarke on his seventieth birthday 9 May 1966. [Dublin: Dolmen Press, 1966]. Tall 8vo. 27, [1] pp.
$25.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition: One of 1000 copies printed of this Dolmen Editions homage to the Irish poet Austin Clarke. Contributing authors include Thomas Kinsella, Hugh MacDiarmuid, Padraic Colum, Ted Hughes, Anthony Kerrigan, Liam Miller, and others; a checklist of Clarke's works is provided.
Publisher's printed paper wrappers; spine and edges gently sunned, edges with minor shelfwear. Half-title with pencilled (relevant) annotations; pages crisp and clean. (29718)

Gascon Tales & Anecdotes
Montfort, François Salvat, sieur de. C, ou recueil des bons mots, des pensées les plus plaisantes, et des rencontres les plus vives des Gascons. Lyon: Antoine Boudet, 1708. 8vo (15.8 cm, 6.25"). [8], 482, [2] pp.
$400.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Compilation of wit and humor from the southwest of France, a region universally acclaimed for its douceur de vivre. This is one of two editions of 1708 (the first year of the work's appearance), the other issued in Paris; the collection was also issued under the title Gasconiana.
Barbier, Dictionnaire des ouvrages anonymes et pseudonymes, 915. Contemporary speckled sheep, spine gilt extra; overall rubbed, front cover with small nick to upper edge and short tear from joint now repaired, spine leather cracked with gilt rubbed yet still
very nice to look at. Front pastedown with printed paper label (owner's name in blackletter) affixed, front free endpaper excised. Intermittent light spotting and staining, some pages browned. (26907)

A Popular Tragedy, from the Bodoni Press
(A Discrepancy in States, the AUTHOR's Fault??)
Monti, Vincenzo. Aristodemo, tragedea. Parma: Dalla Stamperia Reale, 1786. 4to (27.3 cm, 10.74"). Frontis., [10], 130, [2 (blank)] pp.
$950.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition: Striking Bodoni printing of a classically inspired tragedy, limited to 160 copies and presented
very handsomely in large type with wide margins. Written in 1784, the play premiered at the Ducal Theater of Parma in the same year of this first publication. Although Giani suggests that there was one printing of 136 pages and another of 132 (not affecting the text, and without any plausible reason as far as he could tell), neither Brooks nor de Lama makes such a distinction — the discrepancy may be related to the author's having made numerous textual corrections right up until the last minute, perhaps reflected in the two cancel leaves in this copy.
The dramatic copper-engraved frontispiece was done by Barbazza after Mazzoneschi.
Binding: 19th-century dark blue and tan floral pastepaper–covered boards, gilt-stamped red leather title-label on spine; all edges gilt.Provenance: Pastedown and front free endpaper with bookplates of Brian Douglas Stilwell and Robert Wayne Stilwell.
Brooks 312; De Lama, II, 40; Giani 31 (p. 92); Graesse, III, 592. Bound as above, corners and spine extremities rubbed not reducing handsome effect. Title-page with light offsetting from frontispiece and light smudges in outer margin; otherwise, scattered spots of light foxing and a few small stains, some leaves with faint creasing.
A clean and attractive copy. (40131)

Bodoni Press & Dedicated to NAPOLEON
Monti, Vincenzo. Il bardo della Selva Nera poema epico-lirico. Parte prima. Parma: Co' Tipi Bodoniani, 1806. 8vo (21.6 cm, 8.5"). [4], viii, [2], 100, [2] pp.
$525.00
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First Bodoni octavo printing of this epic verse extolling Napoleon's military accomplishments. The poet (1754–1828) changed his colors several times during the course of his career, at first lauding the pope in a number of works before renouncing that conviction in favor of temporarily supporting first the French Revolution and then Napoleon (who rewarded him with a professorship at the University of Pavia), and, later still, after Napoleon's downfall, switching his allegiance from the French to the Austrians. Here, drawing not only on Neoclassical tropes but also on Ossian for literary inspiration, Monti describes Napoleonic triumphs including the Battle of Ulm, the Egyptian campaign, the coup d'état of 1799, and the Battle of Austerlitz.
In 1806, Bodoni printed the six existing cantos (the proposed second and third parts of the poem were never published) in three forms: folio, quarto, and octavo, with the present octavo example
nicely displaying the press's typical restraint and grace. None of the three Bodoni editions are common; only two U.S. institutions report holding copies of this octavo format (UC-Berkeley, Southern Methodist).
Brooks 999; De Lama, II, 171; Giani 176 (p. 71); Graesse, IV, 592. 19th-century treed paper–covered sides with red morocco shelfback, spine with gilt-stamped title and decorative bands; small scuffs to sides, spine with small chip and extremities/edges rubbed with edges lightly sunned; front hinge (inside) opening across paper in part but volume strong. Front pastedown with traces of paper adhesions.
An unusual Bodoni item, with pleasingly wide margins. (40190)

Napoleonic Bodoni . . . QUARTO
[Monti, Vincenzo]. Il bardo della Selva Nera Poema epico-lirico. Parte prima. Parma: Co' Tipi Bodoniani, 1806. Large 4to (30.6 cm, 12.06"). [4], viii, [2], 127, [3] pp.
$600.00
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Impressive Bodoni quarto edition — the first in this format — of this epic lyric poem.
In 1806, Bodoni printed the six existing cantos (the proposed second and third parts of the poem were never completed) in three forms: folio, quarto, and octavo, none of which are now common.
The unadorned text of the present version makes a still understated but real impact at this size.
Brooks 998; De Lama, II, 170; Giani 176 (p. 71). 19th-century brown calf–backed marbled paper–covered boards, spine tooled in gilt and blind with gilt-stamped coronet-surmounted coat of arms at foot (appears to incorporate the arms of Tobarra, Spain); moderate rubbing to spine, joints, and edges. Hinges (inside) with sections showing insect damage, but holding. Page edges uncut. A few instances of light foxing, confined to margins and less than might be expected.
An attractive example. (40189)

A Very Autobiographical Comedy
Moore, George. The coming of Gabrielle a comedy. New York: Boni & Liveright, 1921. 8vo (21 cm; 8.25"). 132, [1] pp.
$50.00
Click the images for enlargement.
First U.S. edition of this comedy about literary identity and the attentions paid to a successful author, based on a real-life incident in which a European baroness began to write to Moore following the appearance of his Evelyn Innes. This was a limited edition of 895 numbered copies, of which the present example is no. 351.
Publisher's quarter cream parchment paper and blue paper sides, front cover and spine with gilt-stamped leather title-labels, in original blue-gray paper dust jacket with black-stamped title and edition information; binding in beautiful condition, jacket with small edge chips and spine head splitting. Pages clean. A nice copy. (29707)

Irish Songs American Striped Cloth Binding
Moore, Thomas. Irish melodies and sacred songs. Boston: Re-printed by Munroe & Francis, 1849. 12mo (18.5 cm, 7.3"). [4], [ix]–xxxi, [5], 184 pp.
$250.00
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Later American edition of these celebrated Hibernian-themed lyrics from the author of “Lalla Rookh.” The front free endpaper bears a rather sweet early inked inscription: “For thee, A.E.” (with a small, difficult-to-decipher signature).
Signed binding: Publisher's striped cloth, predominantly seen in the 1840s and never common: Brown ripple-textured cloth thinly striped in light blue, covers each with blind-stamped frame and gilt-stamped harp and shamrock vignette, spine with gilt-stamped title and strapwork; front free endpaper with pressure-stamp of the Benjamin Bradley company. All edges gilt.
On binding cloth: Krupp, Bookcloth in England and America, 1823–50, Rip3. Binding as above, cocked, corners rubbed, spine extremities chipped, short stretch of insect damage in front joint; overall more attractive than these notes suggest. Front hinge (inside) tender. Pages gently age-toned; a few leaves of preface with light staining along inner margins.
A very popular work, here in an unusual and distinctive binding. (30344)

Lalla Rookh, the Irish Melodies, & More
Moore, Thomas. The poetical works of Thomas Moore including his melodies, ballads, etc. Paris: A. & W. Galignani, 1827. 8vo (23.3 cm, 9.1"). Frontis., [4], vi, [2], xxii, 383, [1] pp.
$200.00
Click the interior image for an enlargement.
First edition of this Parisian single-volume compilation of Moore's verse, with an engraved portrait of the author done by J.T. Wedgwood after Sieurac, and a biographical and critical sketch of Thomas Moore written by J.W. Lake. The volume opens, of course, with the beloved Lalla Rookh; and, though the publishers here were the Galignanis, it is noted on the back of the half-title that “Jules Didot, Senior,” was the actual printer.
Binding: Contemporary straight-grain black morocco, covers framed and panelled in gilt and blind, spine with gilt-stamped title and gilt-framed compartments, spine compartments blind-tooled in foliate designs, turn-ins with gilt double fillets. All edges gilt.
NCBEL, III, 264. Bound as above, edges and extremities with minor rubbing, bottom spine compartment with small crack, leather (only) starting at front joint (joint itself strong). Front pastedown with early inked ownership inscription. Moderate foxing, more pronounced to first and last few leaves; two pages with offsetting from dried plant matter laid in.
A lovely volume. (24906)

“No Plan, No Pattern Can We Trace” — Illustrated
(The Persuasive Power of Metaphor?)
[More, Hannah]. Turn the carpet; or, the two weavers: A new song, in a dialogue between Dick and John. London: Sold by J. Marshall, R. White, & S. Hazard, [1796]. 12mo (17.7 cm, 6.97"). [8] pp.; illus.
$200.00
Click the images for enlargements.
From the “Cheap Repository” series: Early, uncommon printing of this cheerful religious consolation in iambic tetrameter, signed “Z” (i.e., Hannah More). When one weaver grumbles about his hardships, the other turns the seemingly disordered threads of the unfinished carpet in their workshop into a metaphor for man's inability to comprehend the workings of the divine plan.
The ballad is here
illustrated with two handsome woodcuts: the title-page features a large vignette of Dick and John at their loom, and the final text page displays the patterned carpet itself.
Provenance: From the chapbook collection of American collector Albert A. Howard, sans indicia.
ESTC T052020. Disbound from a nonce volume, with early inked numeral in upper outer corner of title-page. Title-page foot with faint shadow of pencilled annotation; pages with very minor foxing. (41145)

First Edition Full of Facts & Fantasy
Mori, Ascanio de. Prima parte delle novelle di Ascanio De'Mori da Ceno. Mantova: Per Francesco Osanna, 1585. 4to (20.5 cm, 8"). [8], 139, [1] pp.
$3000.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Uncommon first edition: Short stories from a military man turned scholar, known for his Giuoco Piacevole. Kraus aptly notes the “novellae [sic] follow the example of Masuccio and Bandello, in that each is dedicated to a famous personage — and offers moral reflections on the examples provided by the stories, which combine historical facts with romantic fantasy,” although the Enciclopedia italiana (online) remarks dryly that some of the subjects “avuto migliore vita artistica da altri scrittori.” While the title claims this is a “Prima parte,” no more were printed, and indeed these stories were not reprinted until the 18th century.
An artful production, the text is printed in single columns using roman and italic type with head- and tailpieces, decorative initials, small in-text decorations, and a sizable printer's device on the title-page incorporating the phrase “virtute et labore.”
Provenance: Small signature in ink of J.E. McKinley, M.D., on title-page along top edge; most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Kraus, Italia, 192; EDIT16 CNCE 47029; Brunet, III, 1904; Graesse, Trésor de Livres Rares, IV, p. 608. Not in Adams. 20th-century full calf, spine with raised bands double-ruled in gilt with daisy stamps in compartments, covers framed in gilt double-fillets, all edges gilt; spine gently sunned. Light age-toning and staining with the occasional spot; of several different paper stocks with a few uneven fore-edges and later repairs. Provenance markings as above.
Attractive. (38107)

Epic French Legends — Inscribed by the Author — Printed by Firmin Didot
Morice, Emile; Joseph Adolphe Ferdinand Langlé. L’historial du jongleur. Chroniques et légendes françaises. Paris: A la Librairie de Firmin Didot, 1829. 8vo (23 cm, 9"). [8], cxxxvii (i.e., ccxxxvii), [3], 64 pp.; illus.
$250.00
Click the images for enlargements.
Gothic-decorated collection of French legends, including the tales “Le Droit de Nopçage,” “Le Jugement de Dieu,” “La Cour de Jussienne,” “Le Voeu du Faisan,” and “Le Dict des Crieries et Encombrements de Paris.” Didot printed the title-page in red and black and embellished the text itself with “ornées d’initiales, vignettes, et fleurons imités des manuscrits originaux,” several of which are colored in blue, green, red, pink, silver, or
gold, or combinations thereof. Two of the stories open with illustrated borders, and another one has a full-page illustration preceding the text; notes follow the stories to help readers better understand the “antique” text.
Provenance: Author’s inked inscription “A mon bon ami, Amand Lemire [/] E. Morice” on front free endpaper. From the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.
Printed paper over boards imitating 16th-century strap-work and panelling on covers, with gilt lettering on otherwise plain spine and four gold dots at the corners of the covers’ inner panels; rubbed with some paper chipped, front upper corner and hinge cracked, front free endpaper reattached with paste and chipped at bottom. Light to moderate age-toning and foxing throughout; colors and illumination remarkably bright.
A pretty little thing with plenty of charm. (37895)

“Sweet God, Souse Me in Literature!”
Morley, Christopher, ed. Ex libris. A small anthology, printed and bound (and sold) at the First National Book Fair sponsored by the New York Times and the National Association of Book Publishers. New York: New York Times, 1936. 12mo (20.2 cm, 7.95"). [64] pp.
[SOLD]
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Anthology of delightful quotations about books, bookselling, publishing, and reading. “This little scrapbook was put together during several rainy days, to be printed as a souvenir of the First National Book Fair in November 1936, a festival sponsored by the New York Times and the National Association of Book Publishers”; the passages, compiled by writer Christopher Morley (1890–1957), come from notables such as Aldous Huxley, Edgar Allan Poe, John Conrad, Pearl S. Buck, E.M. Forster, and many more.
Publisher's tan cloth, stamped in brown, terra cotta, and gilt, in clear light wrapper. Dust jacket lacking. Volume crisp, fresh, and clean. (40897)

Inscribed by the Founder of the
U.S. Church School Movement
Mühlenberg, William Augustus. I would not live alway, and other pieces in verse by the same author. New York: Robert Craighead, 1860 (© 1859). 12mo (18.9 cm, 7.4"). 66, [2] pp.
$100.00
Click the images for enlargements.
First edition: A clergyman and pioneering Christian educator's poems, including the titular hymn. The preface notes that the work was published for the benefit of St. Luke's Hospital, the hospital Mühlenberg founded in 1858 in New York City at 54th Street and 5th Avenue.
Provenance: Inscribed by the author: “To Richard Wood from W.A. Mühlenberg [indecipherable location] — Xmas 1856.” Beneath that is another early inked inscription, “L.A. Nichols, from Misses Wood.” Mühlenberg was at
the University of Pennsylvania at the same time as George Bacon Wood, son of Richard Wood and Elizabeth Bacon; the present inscription appears to be a dedication to the father of his classmate.
Publisher's brown straight-grained cloth, covers framed in blind roll, front cover with gilt-stamped title; minor wear to extremities, back cover with small light spots. Pages very faintly age-toned with occasional spots of light foxing.
A nice little book with nice provenance. (35366)

He Wrote Beautiful Latin & He Found Protection in the Vatican
Muret, Marc-Antoine [a.k.a. Muretus]. Variarum lectionum libri XV ... accesserunt hac editione hymni sacri, & varia eiusdem auctoris poëmata. Lugduni [i.e., Lyon]: Apud haered. Gulielmi Rovillii, 1594. 16mo (12.1 cm, 4.76"). 621, [67] pp., final leaf blank; 62, [26] pp., final leaf blank.
$700.00
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First edition of Muret's classical commentaries to include the Hymni. The Variae, first published complete in 15 books in 1580, include excerpts from and explanations of both Greek and Latin texts, especially Cicero. A separate title-page introduces the Hymni (verses recited on specific holy days), followed by poems about illustrious contemporaries of Muret's — e.g., Raphael — and an index to the previous 15 books.
The French humanist Muret (1526–85) has long been recognized as the best Latin prose stylist of the Renaissance, and his works were used as a model for students. Greatly admired for his excellent understanding and interpretation of classical texts, he was dubbed “le meilleur orateur du temps” in Italy and France by Montaigne, whom he tutored; and Scaliger mused that Muret “satirised the Ciceronians and at the same time expressed himself in a thoroughly Ciceronian style.” LIke most of Muret's published work, these Variae are based on his academic lectures; however the scholar Lambinus accused Muret of plagiarism, and indeed it seems Muret “borrowed” bits from his work without permission. (In retaliation, Lambinus published their personal correspondence.)
Muret's personal life was fraught with tribulation stemming from multiple accusations of homosexuality in various cities where he resided. From 1559 till his death, however, he lived in Rome under the protection of at least one cardinal and a pope.
The text is in Latin and Greek, printed in roman and italic, with decorative headpieces and floriated initials. A letterpress diagram on p. 547 shows the Greek alphabet corresponding to numerals.
Provenance: John Saltar (19th-century adolescent's signature, front pastedown); Henry Johns Gibbons, Rittenhouse (Philadelphia), 1923 (signature, front fly-leaf verso).
Adams M1971. On Muret, see: Sandys, History of Classical Scholarship, II, pp. 148–52. Contemporary vellum with evidence of four ties and trace of oval stamp to front cover center, ink title to spine and bottom edge; soiled, with worm to spine/ pastedowns, hinges (inside) cracked, textblock starting to loosen. Paper age-toned and foxed, with small holes from natural flaws on two leaves (and two others partially uncut); Hymni dampstained in lower inner portions (not horribly). A few early ink annotations present. (30146)
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