Firsts Online
The Virtual Rare Book Fair Winter Edition - 2022 February 24th - March 1
Buddenbrooks 21 Pleasant Street, On the Courtyard Newburyport, MA. 01950, USA Boston MA. 02116 - By Appointment (617) 536-4433 F: (978) 358-7805
Info@buddenbrooks.como r Buddenbrooks@att.net - www.Buddenbrooks.com
Newburyport - Boston - Mount Desert Island
First Edition Profusely Illustrated with Fine Engravings Battles of America by Sea and Land - 1878 Three Volumes - From Colonial Times through The Civil War 1 [America; War]; Tomes, Robert. BATTLES OF AMERICA BY SEA AND LAND With Biographies of Naval and Military Commanders. (New York: James S. Virtue, 1878) 3 volumes. First Edition Profusely illustrated throughout with engraved frontispieces, vignette title-pages, and full-page steel plate engravings including 21 in the first volume, 25 in the second volume, and 35 in the third volume. Large, thick quarto, very handsomely bound in period three-quarter polished calf over marbled paper covered boards, endleaves and edges marbled to match, the spines with raised bands gilt ruled and gilt stopped, compartments of the spines with gilt panels incorporating double and triple fillet lines, elaborate corner pieces, and tooling at the centers, all in gilt, two morocco lettering labels in contrasting colours of burgundy and black gilt. iv, 950; 632; 976 pp. A pleasing and handsome set, the text-blocks and plates in excellent condition, clean and bright, the bindings strong and tight, light wear or evidence of age, some rubbing to the foot of the spine panels, a very well preserved set with pleasant age. FIRST EDITION OF THIS VERY COMPLETE WORK. Volume I covers the Colonial and Revolutionary period of American history, Volume II the War of 1812, the naval battles in Tripolitan and Mediterranean waters, the battles against the Native Americans in the southern states and the Mexican Campaign, Volume III covers the period of the Civil War. The engravings are very finely rendered by important artists and engravers of the time including Chappel, Wageman, Godfrey, Stancliffe, Ridgeway, Armytage, Finden, Chapin, Darley, Brady, Rogers and others. The images depict iconic battles, scenes and moments in the history of the nation and stand alone in quality beside a vast amount of historical information presented throughout the volumes. There are also a good many portraits of the generals and officers most associated with the great battles and military engagements discussed in the volumes. A very complete American history through the Civil War period. $895.
Koberger’s Magnificent Incunable Bible - July 30, 1477 His Second Latin Bible - Beautifully Rubricated Superb in Impressive Contemporary German Binding 2 [Bible, in Latin]. BIBLIA LATINA [With the tractate of Menardus Monachus] (Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 30 July, 1477) Very Early Printing of the Bible and only the second Latin Bible printed by Koberger, 51 lines and headline, double column, canon marginalia in the Gospels. With manuscript headlines in red, a beautiful opening initial of 10 lines with elaborate flourishes that flow from the very top to very bottom of the page in red, blue and green, numerous 6 line initials in red and blue, some with much longer extensions or flourishes, a profusion of 3 line initials in red or blue, red paragraph marks and additional rubricating throughout primarily in red. Royal folio (375 x 265mm approx), in contemporary German blind-stamped pigskin over thick wood boards, (probably a Nuremberg binding), the boards center-paneled and decorated in blind with a central tool within multiple borders, remnants of brass catches on the fore-edge. Manuscript lettering to the spine with wide tall
bands. 468 leaves, complete. An unusually fine copy, especially well preserved and very handsome indeed. An important copy with full contemporary binding intact, and in great likelihood coming directly from Koberger’s workshop. A RARE AND EXTREMELY HANDSOME COPY, ESPECIALLY WELL PRESERVED. THIS BOOK REPRESENTS ONLY THE SECOND TIME THAT KOBERGER PRINTED THE LATIN BIBLE. This printing was issued in the second year after the first printing of 1475. Anton Koberger was for a number of years the leading publisher/printer of his time. The total list of his printings for the forty years from 1473 to 1513, when he died, comprises no less than two-hundred and thirty-six separate works, including fifteen impressions of the Biblia Latina, eight of which presented material differences of notes and commentaries which entitled them to be considered as distinct editions. “In the actual number of separate works issued, Koberger was possibly equaled by one or more of his contemporaries, but in respect to literary importance and costliness, and in the beauty and excellence of the typography, the Koberger publications were not equaled by any books of the time excepting the issues of Aldus in Venice” (Putnam II, p. 150). This printing of Koberger’s Latin Bible was printed again in1478 and is largely based on the Fust and Schoeffer edition of 1462. The tractate of Menardus is included which is a summary of the books of the Bible with a guide on how to best study them. It was first printed not after 1474. A beautiful example of the magnificent productions during the first generation of printed Bibles, the state of preservation and the impressive German binding making it all the more so. HC *3065; GW 4227; BMC II, 414 (IC. 7159); Goff B-552 $145,000.
The First Edition of Sonnets From the Portuguese A Handsome and Pleasing Set - Elizabeth Barrett Browning Two Volumes - 1850 - In Rare Contemporary Bindings Gilt 3 Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. [SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE] POEMS (London: Chapman & Hall, 1850) 2 volumes. New Edition. The FIRST EDITION of SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE. 8vo, handsomely bound in contemporary polished calf, the spines with raised bands gilt tooled, the compartments of the spines with richly gilt panels incorporating floral tools at their centers, two compartments with contrasting brown and maroon lettering labels gilt, board edges gilt tooled, tunovers fully roll tooled in gilt, marbled endleaves, all edges gilt. xii, 362, [1];viii, 480 pp. A handsome and pleasing and honest set in rare period binding, showing the small blind stamp to the verso of the front marbled free-fly of each volume, by Simms & Dinham Booksellers who were active in Manchester, England during the 1840’s and 1850’s. The calf bindings strong and very well preserved, slight rubbing to the extremities, the spines with light rubbing to the gilt from handling, one label slightly chipped, the other a touch rubbed at the base. The books are clean throughout with none of the foxing that is often present. RARE IN THIS CONDITION AND THE FIRST EDITION OF SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE, ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING’S MOST CELEBRATED POETRY. VERY UNCOMMON AND ELUSIVE. Barrett Browning was initially hesitant to publish the poems, believing they were too personal. However, her husband Robert Browning insisted they were the best sequence of English-language sonnets since Shakespeare’s time and urged her to publish them. To offer the couple some privacy, she decided to publish them as if they were translations of foreign sonnets. She initially planned to title the collection “Sonnets translated from the Bosnian”, but Browning proposed that she claim their source was Portuguese, probably because of her admiration for Camões and Robert’s nickname for her: “my little Portuguese”. The title is also a reference to Les Lettres Portugaises (1689). Her 1844 volume Poems had made her one of the most popular writers in the country, and inspired Robert Browning to
write to her. He wrote, “I love your verses with all my heart, dear Miss Barrett,” praising their “fresh strange music, the affluent language, the exquisite pathos and true new brave thought.” John Kenyon, a wealthy friend of the family and patron of the arts, arranged for Browning to meet Elizabeth on 20 May 1845 in her rooms, and so began one of the most famous courtships in literature. Elizabeth had already produced a large amount of work, but Browning had a great influence on her subsequent writing, as did she on his: two of Barrett’s most famous pieces were written after she met Browning, Sonnets from the Portuguese and Aurora Leigh. Robert’s Men and Women is also a product of that time. Elizabeth opposed slavery and published two poems highlighting the barbarity the institution and her support for the abolitionist cause: “The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point”; and “A Curse for a Nation”. In “Runaway” she describes an enslaved woman who is whipped, raped, and made pregnant as she curses her enslavers. Browning’s poetry was critically and publicly acclaimed while she was alive; she was considered Wordsworth’s successor as Poet Laureate upon his death. However, Browning’s very advanced ideas will appeal to readers of this generation. Browning was sympathetic to the ideas of Mary Wollstonecraft, politically progressive in her views and in the literary realm, transformed poetic style and content. Thus, her work is by no means a mere curiosity but rather representative of the highest literary and intellectual achievements. $8500.
Sir Richard F. Burton - A Very Pleasing Copy First Footsteps in East Africa - An Exploration of Harar Published in London in 1856 - Fine Colour Lithographs 4 Burton, Captain Sir Richard F. FIRST FOOTSTEPS IN EAST AFRICA or, An Exploration of Harar. Edited By His Wife, Isabel Burton (London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1856) First edition. With four color lithographed plates, two maps, and seven illustrations in the text. 8vo, handsomely bound three-quarter crimson morocco over dark-gray cloth covered boards, the spine with raised bands ruled in gilt, lettered in gilt in two compartments, top edge gilt, blind rules to the morocco corner pieces, marbled end-leaves. xli, 648. Appendices, Index. A fine copy, the binding in very pleasing condition, the text-block crisp and clean throughout, the plates and maps beautifully preserved. FIRST EDITION OF THIS HIGHLY IMPORTANT WORK. FIRST FOOTSTEPS IN EAST AFRICA is a seminal work of Africana recording Burton’s first expedition into Somalia. His purpose was to explore the forbidden Moslem city of Harar, “a city whose walls no European
had ever penetrated,” as well as to gather information about the headwaters of the Nile. He travelled in the same disguise that took him to Mecca, as Haji Mirza Abdullah, an Arab merchant. It was on this expedition that Burton was first joined by John Speke, at the suggestion of James Outram. Speke originally abetted Burton’s plans in Somalia, but differences quickly arose between the two, and Speke over the years became Burton’s great nemesis, taking credit for discovering the Nile and deprecating Burton’s efforts in every sphere. On this journey, despite the success of the primary objective, Lieut. Stroyan died and Burton received the famous spear wound to his face during an attack by Somalis while encamped on the beach at Berberah. Burton’s intellectual influence is far-reaching. His amazing grasp of languages and culture anticipates the globalism of the future. His geographical discoveries not only make him an interesting historical figure but also allowed for future exploration. The detail with which he wrote and his willingness to examine intimate aspects of daily life were precursors to modern ethnography. And his understanding and willingness to immerse himself in cultures that are still little understood by those in Western nation-states is enlightening on many levels. He was the first European to enter Mecca, first to explore Somaliland, and first to discover the great lakes of Central Africa. A prolific writer, he published 43 volumes on exploration and travel, two volumes of poetry, over a hundred articles and 143 pages of autobiography. He translated sixteen volumes of The Arabian Nights, six volumes of Portuguese literature, two volumes of Latin poetry, and four volumes of folklore (Neapolitan, African and Hindu). His occupations included; soldier, writer, explorer, foreign emissary, translator and linguist, sword fighter, ethnographer and archaeologist. Penzer pp. 60-61. $3250.
In the Most Rare Binding State - Extremely Scarce Sir Richard Francis Burton in West Africa A Very Pleasing Set in Original Cloth 5 [Burton, Richard F.]. WANDERINGS IN WEST AFRICA From Liverpool to Fernando Po. By a F.R.G.S. (London: Tinsley Brothers, 1863) 2 volumes. ‘Second Edition’, but most likely the ‘First Edition’ with the new slug added to the title pages for marketing and advertising purposes. With a folding map in Vol. I and frontispiece plate in Vol. II. 8vo, publisher’s original terra-cotta cloth lettered and ruled in gilt on the spines, with blind ruled borders on covers and central devices blocked in blind, top edges untrimmed. ACCORDING TO PENZER, THIS COPY IN THE MOST RARE BINDING STATE WITHOUT BURTON’S NAME OR F.R.G.S. TO THE SPINE PANELS. x, 303; vi, 295. A very handsome set, clean and very well preserved, text-block in each volume tight and crisp, hinges sound, light evidence of age to the extremities. SUCH WELL PRESERVED COPIES ARE SCARCE IN CLOTH AND COPIES IN THE MOST RARE BINDING STATE ARE NEAR UNOBTAINABLE. According to Penzer, Burton intended to suppress his name entirely from this work, and our copy has neither Burton nor F.R.G.S. on the spine panel. The rarest of the bindings, as ours here, has the suppression successfully made. And this is a very handsome and well preserved copy of this fragile book. THE SPINK CATALOGUE OF 1976 PRICED A COPY OF THIS ISSUE IN THE SAME BINDING, HIGHER THAN ANY OTHER COPY OF ANY EDITION OF THE TITLE. (Spink 28, 29, 30) Burton was appointed consul at Fernando Po in 1861 and he used his post to explore the contiguous areas of Nigeria and Sierra Leone, as well as Madeira and Tenerife. Fascinated by the high incidence of European mortality in West Africa, he
believed it possible to render the region “not more unhealthy than the East or West Indies.” Burton’s publication of the book anonymously as a “Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society” ( F.R.G.S) “may have been a slap at the Royal Geographical Society, for Burton was at odds with the organization’s leadership at the time over the Nile’s sources. The acerbic dedication was ‘to the true friends of Africa- not the “Philanthropist” or Exeter Hall’. Modern gold-mining in West Africa can be directly linked to this work. “Although it was well known that there was gold on the Gold Coast, nothing was done to develop it, and it was Burton who, in his “Wanderings in West Africa”, drew public attention again to this ancient gold-field. Penzer, p. 71; Spink Catalogue 1976 $4500.
Camden’s Britannia - A County by County Study The First Edition of Edmund Gibson’s Translation - 1695 The First Edition to Contain Morden’s Fine Engraved Maps Considered Among the Best Maps of the Period 6 Camden, [William]. CAMDEN’S BRITANNIA, Newly Translated into English; With Large Additions and Improvements. (Oxford: Edmund Gibson, 1695) First edition of Edmund Gibson’s translation and the first to include Morden’s maps, considered among the of the period. With 50 double-page engraved maps, including two fold-out, most by Robert Morden. 9 plates of coins or other antiquities, and numerous woodcut or copper engraved illustrations throughout, several of which are quite large including one nearly half page engraving of Stonehenge and with a frontispiece portrait of Camden. Folio, finely bound in full calf in contemporary style with blind paneled boards, the spine in correct period style with raised bands ruled in blind creating panels with a large central gilt tool, red morocco label boldly lettered in gilt and with gilt edge decoration. cxcvi, 1116, [44] pp. A very handsome and beautifully preserved copy of this scarce work, the text-block and maps and engravings in quite excellent condition, the leaves crisp and clean, occasional mild evidence of age, the binding in excellent, very fine condition. SCARCE FIRST EDITION WITH MORDEN’S MAPS AND THE FIRST OF GIBSON’S ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THIS MASTERPIECE ON BOTH TYPOGRAPHY AND THE ROMAN AND PREHISTORIC REMAINS OF GREAT BRITAIN. The work is a county by county break study in detail. The fantastic engraved maps by Morden are considered among the best of the period. In 1577, with the encouragement of Abraham Ortelius, Camden began his great work Britannia, a topographical and historical survey of all of Great Britain. His stated intention was “to restore antiquity to Britaine, and Britaine to its antiquity.” The first edition was published in 1586. The work, which was written in Latin, was very popular. Britannia is a county-by-county description of Great Britain. It is a work of chorography: a study that relates landscape, geography, antiquarianism, and history. Rather than write a history, Camden wanted to describe in detail the Great Britain of the present, and to show how the traces of the past could be discerned in the existing landscape. By this method, he pro-
duced the first coherent picture of Roman Britain. While the work itself is a masterpiece, the show-stealer of this edition is unquestionably the fine engraved maps by Robert Morden. Morden died in 1703, and this is the only edition of his most famous maps that were published in his lifetime. These maps are the first county maps to show roads ( based on Ogilby’s road maps ) and show three scales representing great, middle and small miles as different scales were used in different parts of the country. The extremely rare John Bill maps of the 1620’s were the first to carry latitude and longitude which Morden shows here too. Along with the county by county maps of England there are also maps of Scotland, Ireland and the smaller British Islands. Included also is a “Life of Camden”, Camden’s preface and other material. $7850.
Edward Earl of Clarendon - First Edition - 1702 History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England Large Paper Copies In Contemporary Bindings 7 Clarendon, Edward, Earl of. THE HISTORY OF THE REBELLION AND CIVIL WARS IN ENGLAND, BEGUN IN THE YEAR 1641. With the Precedent Passages, and Actions, That Contributed Thereunto, and the Happy End, and Conclusion Thereof by the Kings Blessed Restoration, and Return upon the 29th of May, in the Year 1660. (Oxford: Printed at the Theater, 1702, 1704) 3 volumes. First Edition, Large Paper Copies with all plate marks intact. With three fine engraved portrait frontispieces, beautifully engraved title-pages and very large exquisitely designed extra-illustrated head-pieces and cul-delamps throughout, 19 superb 10 line historiated, illustrated initial letters for each section, half-titles for each book present. Super Folio (445 x 290 mm.), in contemporary bindings of fine English paneled calf, the spine panels sometime restored to style, raised bands gilt ruled, black morocco lettering labels gilt, edges gilt tooled. [ii], xxiii, 557; [xiii], 581; [xxi], 603, [xxi index] pp. An especially fine and clean set of this rare and important work, the restoration skillfully accomplished, the text-blocks crisp and clean and unpressed, the hinges strong and the volumes all in good order. FIRST EDITION, LARGE PAPER COPY. Clarendon, who had risen to high office largely through his literary and oratorical gifts, was much admired by both Evelyn and Pepys. As an historian he occupies a high place in English literature, his works composed in the grandest of styles. THE HISTORY OF THE REBELLION... is considered his greatest work. DNB claims that Clarendon’s “History” is “the most valuable of all the contemporary accounts of the civil wars.” Clarendon was in an excellent position to write on the English Civil War having been active on both sides. On the onslaught he sided with the opposition, but being a firm Anglican he changed alliances in 1641 and became one of the chief supporters of the King. It was in exile with the Prince of Wales that he began work on his “History”. After the Restoration he became Lord Chancellor to Charles II and his daughter, Anne Hyde, was married to the future James II. Anne’s daughter with James would later be Queen Anne, to whom this edition of the “History” is dedicated. This first edition of Clarendon’s “History” was printed from a transcript under the supervision of Clarendon’s son. The
profits from its publication were presented to Oxford University from which a new printing house bearing Clarendon’s name was opened for the University Press. First editions of such an important work in English history are very scarce, to find such a handsome and clean copy in a contemporary binding is extremely fortuitous. DNB; Britannica; Harvey, 165. $3150.
Daniel Defoe - The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe Two Vols. - Limited Numbered Edition of 150 Copies Only 1882 - Illustrated and Very Handsomely Bound in Morocco Gilt
8 Defoe, Daniel. THE LIFE AND SURPRISING ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE OF YORK, MARINER. Edited by John Major (London: J.C. Nimmo & Bain, 1882) Large paper edition, limited to 150 numbered copies only, with proof etchings on Japanese paper. With a number of finely engraved illustrations by Mouilleron and portrait by Flameng, title-pages printed in red and black. 8vo, very handsomely bound and signed by Zaehnsdorf of England in three-quarter tan morocco over marbled paper covered boards, double gilt ruled lines to the covers, the spines with elaborate fully gilt tooled panels within compartments separated by gilt stopped raised bands, two compartments gilt lettered, top edges gilt, marbled endleaves. xxxii, 392; [xvi], 384 pp. An es-
pecially handsome and fine copy of this very scarce and limited edition. FIRST OF THE EDITION WITH THESE ILLUSTRATIONS, HANDSOMELY BOUND, LIMITED AND NUMBERED. ONE OF 150 COPIES ONLY. A beautiful production of Defoe’s great classic, only 150 numbered copies printed thus. Mouilleron, provided drawings in the finest tradition of his work. Beattie says of Defoe’s masterpiece; “It breathes throughout a spirit of piety and benevolence; it sets in a very striking light the importance of the mechanic arts...it fixes in the mind a lively idea of the horrors of solitude, and, consequently, of the sweets of social life, and of the blessings we derive from conversation and mutual aid; and it shows how by labouring with one’s own hands, one may secure independence...” $2500.
In Very Handsome Bindings of Fine Polished Tan Calf Gilt The Court and Reign of Francis the First, King of France Beautifully Illustrated Throughout - First Edition - J. Pardoe 9 [France]; Pardoe, Miss [Julia]. THE COURT AND REIGN OF FRANCIS THE FIRST. KING OF FRANCE. [With Numerous Illustrations on Steel] (London: Richard Bentley and Son, 1887) 3 volumes. The First Edition. With engraved frontispiece portraits in each volume, being; Francis I; The Embarkation of Henry VIII; and Diana de Poictiers, and with 15 other full-page engraved illustrations of personages as well as facsimiles of letters. Large 8vo, handsomely bound in London by Zaehnsdorf in contemporary fine polished tan calf, the spines fully gilt decorated with raised bands gilt ruled and tooled separating compartments elaborately gilt decorated with gilt
bordered panels, inner corners gilt tooled and with central gilt ornamental devices of the royal fleurs de lis, two compartments with contrasting maroon and dark-green morocco labels lettered and numbered in gilt, gilt rolled turnovers, all edges gilt, marbled end-leaves. [xxviii], 398; [xvi], 393; [xvi], 377 pp. A very fine and very bright set, unusually well preserved, clean and fresh internally with little evidence of use, the polished calf bright, the bindings with vivid gilt, a very handsome set indeed. AN EXCELLENT AND QUITE SCARCE BIOGRAPHY, VERY HANDSOMELY BOUND AND IN VERY PLEASING CONDITION. This is a much admired and extensive biography of a pivotal monarch. Francis was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father in-law Louis XII, who died without a son. A prodigious patron of the arts, he promoted the emergent French Renaissance by attracting many Italian artists to work for him, including Leonardo da Vinci, who brought the Mona Lisa with him, which Francis had acquired. Francis’ reign saw important cultural changes with the growth of central power in France, the spread of humanism and Protestantism, and the beginning of French exploration of the New World. Jacques Cartier and others claimed lands in the Americas for France and paved the way for the expansion of the first French colonial empire. For his role in the development and promotion of the French language, he became known as le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres (the ‘Father and Restorer of Letters’). He was also known as François au Grand Nez (‘Francis of the Large Nose’), the Grand Colas, and the Roi-Chevalier (the ‘Knight-King’) for his personal involvement in the wars against his great rival Emperor Charles V, who was also King of Spain. Following the policy of his predecessors, Francis continued the Italian Wars. The succession of Charles V to the Burgundian Netherlands, the throne of Spain, and his subsequent election as Holy Roman Emperor, meant that France was geographically encircled by the Habsburg monarchy. In his struggle against Imperial hegemony, Francis sought the support of Henry VIII of England at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. When this was unsuccessful, he formed a Franco-Ottoman alliance with the Muslim sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, a controversial move for a Christian king at the time. $1850.
Robert Johnston’s Historia Rerum Britannicarum Quite Scarce in Fully Contemporary State - 1655 10 Johnstono, Roberto [Johnston, Robert]. HISTORIA RERUM BRITANNICARUM ut et Multarum Gallicarum, Belgicarum, & Germanicarum, tam Politicarum, Quam Ecclesiasticarum, ab Anno 1572, ad annum 1628. (Amsterdam: Johann Ravesteyn, 1655) The first edition of the complete work. Woodcut device on title-page of the ravens commanded to feed Elijah, large (8 or 9 line) woodcut foliated initials throughout, woodcut head-or-talepieces throughout. Folio, in full contemporary continental vellum over boards, the spine lettered in manuscript. [ii]; 737pp., retaining the original blanks and original free-flies. A very sound and sturdy copy, still quite clean and fresh with just a bit of the expected age mellowing, a touch of very light staining to the lower margin of the first few leaves only, the original vellum binding with some mottling as would be expected, some light cosmetic separation at the head and tail of the upper hinge, the binding tight and strong and without repairs or restoration
$535.
of any sort. An authentic and honest period copy. Ownership signatures and dates of four owners dating through the centuries, to the initial free-fly. QUITE SCARCE, AND ESPECIALLY SO IN CONTEMPORARY VELLUM IN FULLY ORIGINAL STATE. The work comprises in twenty-two books a history of English and Scottish affairs between 1572 and 1628, as well as the relations with Ireland, France, Belgium, and the Germanic nations. Written by a Scotsman, Robert Johnston, it is an interesting study of perspective. Johnson describes his own country as holding a more prominent place in the history of the period than “that part of Great Britain called England.” From this Scotcentric position the author provides his general survey of European affairs. The first 3 books were published in his lifetime, but the work in its complete state would come off of Ravesteyn’s press in Amsterdam; published from the Latin manuscript left at Johnston’s death. Those parts of Johnston’s work dealing specifically with Scotland were translated into English by Thomas Middleton and published as “The History of Scotland during the Minority of King James”. Though biased, Johnson brings the English historians (such as Clarendon) to task for the injustice of their own prejudice to the weight and merits of Scotland. Johnston has been described as “the son of ‘an honest burgess of Edinbro’” He was born about 1567, either in Edinburgh or some part of Annandale. He was educated at Edinburgh University, and graduated M.A. there in 1587. He is called in later life a doctor of the civil and canon law, a degree which he obtained later in life. DNB; Burton, ‘The Scot Abroad’ p.251.
T.E. Lawrence’s Wilderness of Zin His First Work - An Archeological Tour de Force A Handsome Copy of the First Issue - 1915 11 Lawrence, T. E and C. Leonard Woolley. THE WILDERNESS OF ZIN, with a chapter on the Greek inscriptions by M. N. Tod. Introduction by Sir Frederick Kenyon. (Archeological Report) Annual 1914-1915. Double Volume (London: Palestine Exploration Fund, Published by Order of the Committee and Sold at the Offices of the Fund, 1915) First Edition of T.E. Lawrence’s first writings published in book form and his first printed work other than his contributions to Carchemish. Royal Empire Society records only 200 copies of the first edition, first issue, of which this is one. The first issue had a period after III on the spine. Profusely illustrated with 37 full-page plates printed on coated paper and protected with the original tissue guards, 58 illustrations in the text and with one folding plan and 2 maps. Crown 4to, publisher’s original cloth backed printed paper over boards lettered in gilt on the spine and printed in black on the upper cover. The original bindings for this work, as here, were all accomplished in England. xvi, 154, plates, (including 4 index) pp. A handsome copy well preserved, with some wear at the corners of the upper and lower boards and some expected evidence of age. IMPORTANT FIRST EDITION. Lawrence and Woolley launched their careers with this work, collaborating together and joining their knowledge and travel experiences to form a comprehensive view of the desert regions
surrounding Palestine. The work was originally published as the Annual of the Palestine Exploration Fund for 1914-1915, but in view “of the subsequent careers of its two authors, and of the literary merit which adds charm to the description of a country of no little biblical and historical interest, it seems to deserve a wider publicity than the proceedings of a learned society” [preface]. An excellent copy of Lawrence’s uncommon first work. O’Brien A004 (p. 9-10) $850.
Very Rare - No Copies in the Marketplace Eight Letters from T. E. L. (Lawrence of Arabia) One of Only Fifty Copies - First & Only Printing 12 [Lawrence, T. E.]. EIGHT LETTERS FROM T. E. L. (N.P.: Privately Printed [at the Corvinus or Westminster Press for Harley GranvilleBarker], 1939) LIMITED FIRST AND ONLY EDITION. One of only 50 copies printed after which the type was distributed. Small 4to, in the original gray paper wrappers, the upper cover lettered in black. 24 pp. A very fine copy, as pristine, of this rarely encountered publication. VERY RARE FIRST EDITION, ONLY 50 COPIES WERE PRINTED PRIOR TO THE TYPE BEING DISPERSED. These eight letters from T. E. Lawrence [of Arabia] were printed for Harley Granville-Barker at the Westminster Press. Granville-Barker provides a brief introduction. We are aware of no other copies currently on the market and only five copies have gone through public auction houses in the last 35 years. Of the eight letters included only one had been previously published, having appeared in David Garnett’s collection. $2250.
Authentic Narrative of the Death of Lord Nelson By His Attending Physician William Beatty - London - 1808 13 [Lord Nelson]; Beatty, William. AUTHENTIC NARRATIVE OF THE DEATH OF LORD NELSON: With the Circumstances Preceding, Attending, and Subsequent To, That Event; the Professional Report On His Lordship’s Wound, and Several Interesting Anecdotes (London: T. Cadelland W. Davies, In the Strand, 1808) Second Edition, published within months of the first and identical to the earlier issue. With a finely engraved portrait frontispiece of Lord Nelson, and engravings within the text. 8vo, handsomely bound in full crushed Regency blue straight grain morocco, the spine decoratively stamped in blind, gilt stopped bands separating the compartments, one lettered in gilt, the covers with blind tooled borders and inner frames surrounding an inner panel, endleaves marbled, all edges gilt, silk ribbon page marker. iv, 99, [1] pp. A handsome and very well preserved copy, the binding with a bit of age evidence, but very well preserved, tight and strong and without loss, the text-block clean and crisp.
WRITTEN BY THE SURGEON TO LORD NELSON AT THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR AND LATER TO THE CHANNEL FLEET. The narrative contains, in the words of the author, “an account of the most interesting incidents which occurred on board the Victory (Lord Nelson’s flag-ship) from the time of her sailing from England, in the month of September, till the day of battle inclusively: with a detail of the particulars of His Lordship’s Death the the mode adopted for preserving his revered Remains during the subsequent long passage of the Victory to England, and the condition of the Body when it was deposited in Greenwich Hospital. This short statement of facts is deemed a small but necessary tribute of respect in the memory of the disputed Hero, as well as a public document which the Public had a right to expect...” $850.
W. Somerset Maugham - First Issue - The Razor’s Edge The True First Edition - Signed by the Author - Very Fine Limited and Numbered and in the Original Slipcase 14 Maugham, W. Somerset. THE RAZOR’S EDGE (Garden City: Doubleday, Doran and Co., Inc., 1944) First Edition, First Issue, Numbered and Signed by Maugham on the limitation page. The True First Edition, published prior to the American trade issue and the first English edition which was released some four months later than the American printings. 8vo, publisher’s original salmon coloured buckram, with black spine label gilt lettered and decorated, blind stamped tooling to the upper cover, top edge gilt, others untrimmed, in the original coloured slipcase. (1), (6), 343 pp. An especially fine copy, essentially pristine in slightly aged slipcase. FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, SIGNED BY SOMERSET MAUGHAM. One of Maugham’s most sought after titles in first edition form. THE RAZOR’S EDGE tells the story of an American pilot traumatized by his experiences in World War I, who sets off in search of some transcendent meaning in his life. Maugham was remarkably prescient, anticipating an embrace of Eastern culture by Westerners almost a decade before the Beat writers were to popularize the culture in America. Toole Stott A63a $3850.
Fynes Moryson’s Travels and Itineraries One of the Great Works of the Genre - “Much Esteemed” First Edition - Folio in Full Calf - 1617 15 Moryson, Fynes. AN ITINERARY WRITTEN BY FYNES MORYSON GENT. First in the Latine Tongue, and Then Translated by Him Into English: Containing His Ten Years Travel Through the Twelve Dominions of Germany, Bohmerland, Switzerland, Netherland, Denmarke, Poland, Italy, Turky, France, England, Scotland and Ireland. Divided into III parts. (London: John Beale, 1617) 3 parts bound as one. FIRST EDITION. VERY SCARCE. Handsomely illustrated with 8 original woodcut engravings of Venice, Naples, Rome, Genoa, Paris, Constantinople, Jerusalem and the plan of a church. Also with extensive tables of coins, histories, genealogies, etc. Large and beautiful woodcut initials throughout along with elaborate engraved head and tail pieces. Folio, handsomely bound in full contemporary style calf, covers ruled in blind and blind paneled in center, spine with blind ruled raised bands, original gilt lettered red morocco lettering label. [14], 295, 301, 292 pp. Without blanks ¶1 and eeee8 as is usual. A handsome and well preserved copy of this valuable work. The binding is sturdy and strong and handsome, internally crisp and unwashed and unpressed. Some re-margining accomplished at the gutter areas of some initial leaves and to the outer edges of some leaves at the end of the volume. SCARCE FIRST EDITION REGARDED AS ONE OF THE MOST OUTSTANDING WORKS OF ITS KIND, ONE OF THE GREATEST CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN ACCOUNTS OF ITS PERIOD AND “A VALUABLE AND MUCH ESTEEMED WORK.” - Lowndes. Moryson,1566-1630, was one of the period’s most accomplished travellers. “’from his tender youth, he had a great desire to see foreign countries’, and in 1589 he obtained a license to travel... On 1 May 1591 he took ship at Leigh, near Southend,
and for the greater part of the six years following wandered about Europe. At the end of 1591 he reached Prague, where he dreamt of his father’s death on the day of the event. The news was confirmed at Nuremberg, and after a year’s leisurely tour through Germany he retraced his steps to the Low Countries in order to dispose of his modest patrimony. On the 7th of January, 1593, he entered himself as a student at Leyden University. He subsequently passed through Denmark and Poland to Vienna, and thence by way of Pontena and Chiusa into Italy in October 1593. After visiting Naples, he thoroughly explored Rome, where he paid visits to Cardinals Allen and Bellarmine. The former gave him every facility for viewing the antiquities. The cities of North Italy occupied him from April 1594 to the beginning of 1595. In the early spring of 1595 he had an interview with Theodore Beza at Geneva, and journeying hurriedly through France, caught a glimpse of Henri IV at Fontainebleau, and landed at Dover on the 13th of May in 1595. 0n the 8th of December of the same year Moryson started on a second journey, setting sail for Flushing. A younger brother, Henry, bore him company. Passing through Germany to Venice, they went, at the end of April 1596, by sea to Joppa, spent the first fortnight of June at Jerusalem, and thence went by Tripoli and Aleppo to Antioch. At Beilan, a neighboring village, Henry Moryson died on the 4th of July in 1596 at the age of 27 years. Fynes afterwards made for Constantinople, where the English ambassador, Edward Barton [, hospitably entertained him. He finally reached London by way of Venice and Stade on the 10th of July,1597. In April 1598 Moryson visited Scotland, but soon came home, and spent some time in the autumn with his sisters, Faith Mussendyne and Jane, wife of George Allington, of the pipe office. At the time his brother Richard was taking an active part in the government of Ireland, and strongly recommended him to seek employment there. On the 13th he reached Dundalk, where his brother was governor; on the same day George Cranmer, the chief secretary of Sir Charles Blount, the lord-deputy, was killed at Carlingford, and Moryson was at once appointed to his place. He found his new master all that he could wish, aided him in his efforts to suppress Tyrone’s rebellion, and remained through life a devoted admirer. After Lord Devonshire’s death in 1606, Moryson had spent three years in making an abstract of the history of the twelve countries which he had visited, but his manuscript proved so bulky that with a consideration rare in authors he destroyed it, and turned his attention to a briefer record of his experiences of travel. The first part supplies a journal of his travels through Europe, Scotland, and Ireland, with plans of the chief cities, ‘the rates of hiring coaches and horses from place to place with each day’s expenses for diet, horse-meat, and the like. The second part is a valuable history of Tyrone’s rebellion, with documents of state. The third part consists of essays on travel, geography, and national costume, character, religion, and constitutional practice. Moryson is a sober and truthful writer. He delights in statistics respecting the mileage of his daily journeys and the varieties in the values of the coins he encountered. His descriptions of the inns in which he lodged, of the costume and the food of the countries visited, render his work invaluable to the social historian.” -DNB. STC 18205 (description of pts. in Roman). Alden 617/109 ‘.a Spaniard is mentioned who, having contracted syphilis, went to America to learn its cure ‘from those who first infected the Spaniards therewith’; tobacco is also mentioned’. Lowndes 1621 ‘A valuable and much esteemed work’. Blackmer 1159. STC 18205, ESTC s115249, Lowndes 1621. Cox I87, Pine-Coffin 593-1. Taylor 1130. $6500.
In Very Handsome Bindings of Fine Polished Tan Calf Gilt Louis the Fourteenth and the Court of France in the 17th Century Beautifully Illustrated Throughout - First Edition - J. Pardoe 16 Pardoe, Miss [Julia]. LOUIS THE FOURTEENTH AND THE COURT OF FRANCE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. With Numerous Illustrations on Steel and Wood. (London: Richard Bentley and Son, 1886) 3 volumes. The First Edition. With engraved frontispiece portraits in each volume, being; Louis XIV, Madame de Montespan and Ninon de L’Enclos with 15 other full-page engraved illustrations of personages as well as facsimiles of letters, and profusely illustrated with woodcuts throughout the text by G. and W. Measom. Large 8vo, handsomely bound in London by Zaehnsdorf in contemporary fine polished tan calf, the spines fully gilt decorated with raised bands gilt ruled and tooled separating compartments elaborately gilt decorated with gilt bordered panels, inner corners gilt tooled and with central gilt ornamental devices of the royal fleurs de lis, two compartments with contrasting red and dark-blue morocco labels lettered and numbered in gilt, gilt rolled turnovers, all edges gilt, marbled end-leaves. [xx], 491; [xvi], 487; [xvi], 495 pp. A very fine and very bright set, unusually well preserved, clean and fresh internally with little evidence of use, the polished calf bright, the bindings with vivid gilt, a very handsome set indeed. AN EXCELLENT AND QUITE SCARCE BIOGRAPHY, VERY HANDSOMELY BOUND AND IN VERY PLEASING CONDITION. This is a much admired and extensive biography of a pivotal king. ‘Louis XIV was also known as Louis the Great (Louis le Grand) or the Sun King (le Roi Soleil). Hewas King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country in history. Louis XIV’s France was emblematic of the age of absolutism in Europe. The King surrounded himself with a variety of significant political, military, and cultural figures, such as Mazarin, Colbert, Louvois, the Grand Condé, Turenne, Vauban, Boulle, Molière, Racine, Boileau, La Fontaine, Lully, Charpentier, Marais, Le Brun, Rigaud, Bossuet, Le Vau, Mansart, Charles Perrault, Claude Perrault, and Le Nôtre. Louis began his personal rule of France in 1661, after the death of his chief minister, the Cardinal Mazarin. An adherent of the concept of the divine right of kings, Louis continued his predecessors’ work of creating a centralised state governed from the capital. He sought to eliminate the remnants of feudalism persisting in parts of France and, by compelling many members of the nobility to inhabit his lavish Palace of Versailles, succeeded in pacifying the aristocracy, many members of which had participated in the Fronde rebellion during his minority. By these means he became one of the most powerful French monarchs and consolidated a system of absolute monarchy in France that endured until the French Revolution. He also enforced uniformity of religion under the Gallican Catholic Church. His revocation of the Edict of Nantes abolished the rights of the Huguenot Protestant minority and subjected them to a wave of dragonnades, effectively forcing Huguenots to emigrate or convert, and virtually destroying the French Protestant community. During Louis’ long reign, France emerged as the leading European power and regularly asserted its military strength. A conflict with Spain marked his entire childhood, while during his reign, the kingdom took part in three major continental conflicts, each against powerful foreign alliances: the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War of the Spanish Succession. In addition, France also contested shorter wars, such as the War of Devolution and the War of
the Reunions. Warfare defined Louis’s foreign policy and his personality shaped his approach. Impelled by “a mix of commerce, revenge, and pique”, he sensed that war was the ideal way to enhance his glory. In peacetime he concentrated on preparing for the next war. He taught his diplomats that their job was to create tactical and strategic advantages for the French military. Significant achievements during his reign which would go on to have a wide influence on the Early Modern Era well into the Industrial Revolution and up to today, include the construction of the Canal du Midi, the creation of the Palace and Gardens of Versailles, the sponsorship and patronage of such artists and composers as Jean-Baptiste de Lully, Molière, and Hyacinthe Rigaud, as well as the founding of the French Academy of Sciences, among others.’ wiki $1850.
Plato’s Republic - A Scarce Fine Press Edition - Two Volumes Beautifully Bound in Full Emerald-Green Morocco Gilt An Important Book in a Fine Sangorski and Sutcliffe Binding 17 Plato, (427–347 BC). THE REPUBLIC OF PLATO. (In Ten Books. Translated from the Greek by John Llewelyn Davies and David James Vaughan). (London: Arthur L. Humphreys, 1898) 2 volumes. The First Edition of the Humphreys Fine Press printing. With the half-title to each volume and printed on the finest thick Humphreys paper. Title-pages in red and black and with handsome 5-line historiated and decorated initial-caps. Large, tall 8vo, beautifully bound by Sangorski and Sutcliffe in full emerald-green morocco, the spines with raised wrap around bands separating the compartments, a designed geometric panel formed by gilt ruling within the compartments, two compartments of each volume lettered in gilt, the covers very handsomely presented in a concentric geometric pattern of panels in gilt and blind, blind stops along one inner gilt rule, the innermost panels with the book’s title lettering in gilt, turnovers ruled in gilt in a geometric pattern, board and spine edges gilt ruled and stopped, all edges gilt. (4), 389; (4), 351 pp. A fine and very handsome copy, very bright and clean and in an excellent state of preservation, crisp throughout, the beautifully designed bindings in very fine condition, light mellowing to the spine panels as is typical with green morocco. SCARCE, FIRST EDITION OF THE PRINTING IN AN ESPECIALLY HANDSOME AND BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED BINDING BY SANGORSKI AND SUTCLIFFE. This is an important English translation of perhaps Plato’s most significant and certainly best-known dialogue, being an exposition of the principles on which an ideal state should be based. Humphreys produced a series of the most important works in the history of philosophical thought from throughout the world and from all time periods. His books were especially handsome and found their place on many great library shelves. The papers used were thick and well-textured and lent themselves to enjoyable reading and use while retaining an especially dignified appearance and feel. $2650.
“All The Wisdom of The Ancients” First Edition - First Issue - The Historie of the World - 1601 Philemon Holland’s Great Translation of Pliny - PMM 5 The Encyclopedia of All The World’s Knowledge 18 [Pliny] Plinius Secundus, C. (A.D. 23-79). THE HISTORIE OF THE WORLD, COMMONLY CALLED THE NATURAL HISTORY OF C. PLINIUS SECUNDUS. Translated into English by Philemon Holland, Doctor of Physick. (London: Adam Islip, 1601) 2 volumes bound in one. First Edition in English. First Issue with the Original Title-Page and Adam Islip as Printer. With handsome engraved title-pages to each volume. Folio, contemporary full calf, sometime rebacked, the spine panel with raised, one compartment lettered in gilt, the original covers refurbished with new leather along the edges as required, portions of the original clasps are still present, end-leaves replaced, Initial blank, Title,preface & table of contents 60 pp., 614, 42 index; [10, Second Title, To the Reader, Explanation of Words], 632, index, errata, final blank. Complete. A handsome and pleasing copy of this rare first edition, the endleaves renewed and the original binding refurbished at the edges and at the back, the first few leaves and the last few with some aging or toning and rubbing or time-wear to the edges, the textblock quite clean throughout, unpressed, sturdy and quite fresh, the binding with some general restoration as noted RARE FIRST EDITION OF PHILEMON HOLLAND’S GREAT TRANSLATION. The first full English translation of this important book. First published in Venice in 1469, “The ‘Natural History” of Pliny the Elder is more than a natural history: it is an encyclopaedia of all the knowledge of the ancient world. ...He was a compiler rather than an original thinker, and the importance of this book depends more on his exhaustive reading (he quotes over four hundred authorities, Greek and Latin) than on his original work. All the spare time allowed him by a busy administrative career was devoted to reading; he began long before daybreak, his nephew the younger Pliny recorded, and grudged every minute not spent in study; no book was so bad, he used to say, as not to contain something of value. When he died the ‘Natural History’ (the sole extant work out of one hundred and two volumes from his pen) was still incomplete. It comprises thirty-seven books dealing with mathematics and physics, geography and astronomy, medicine and zoology, anthropology and physiology, philosophy and history, agriculture and mineralogy, the arts and letters. He is scrupulous in his acknowledgment of his sources (you must, he wrote, with honest humility, declare those from whom you have profited), and the whole of the first book is devoted to the tables of contents and authorities which bear witness to his method. The Historia soon became a standard book of reference: abstracts and abridgments appeared by the third century. Bede owned a copy, Alcuin sent the early books to Charlemagne, and Dicuil, the Irish geographer, quotes him in the ninth century. It was the basis of Isidorets Etymologiae and such medieval encyclopedias as the Speculum Majus of Vincent of Beauvais and the Catholicon of Balbus. One of the earliest books to be printed at Venice, the center from which so much of classical literature was first dispensed, it was later translated into English by Philemon Holland in 1601, and twice reprinted (a notable achievement for so vast a text). More recently, scholars as various as Humboldt and Grimm have praised and acknowledged their debt to it. Over and over again it will be found that the source of some ancient piece of knowledge is Pliny. (PMM) The standard of reference for scholars since the 15th century, Holland’s translation made it available to the English speaking world for the first time. PMM 5. $18,750.
Two First Editions - The Jungle - One Autographed by Sinclair His Best Novel - First Jungle and First Doubleday Editions Both Volumes Well Preserved and Handsomely Boxed 19 Sinclair, Upton. THE JUNGLE (New York and New York: The Jungle Publishing Co. and Doubleday, Page & Company, 1906 both volumes) 2 volumes. First Edition, First Issue, First State with the “Sustainer’s Edition” label mounted to an initial blank, published privately by Upton Sinclair to both protect copyright and to guarantee publication of this great work of his and, First Edition, the First Trade Edition, published by Doubleday, Page in the same year and using the same binding and textual designs as the Sustainer’s Edition of the Jungle Publishing Company. The First Edition Doubleday printing SIGNED BY UPTON SINCLAIR ON THE FREE-FLY. 8vo, publisher’s original green cloth, lettered and pictorially decorated in white and black on the spines and upper covers. The Doubleday cloth colour a bit darker than that of the Jungle Publishing Co. The Sustainer’s Edition and the Doubleday decorations to the binding are the same except for the addition of the Socialist insignia stamped in black, of the globe with two hands joined across the image. Both volumes now housed in a morocco backed solander case with chemise for each volume. (8),413, (3 ads.); (8), 413 pp Both are very well preserved copies, the Jungle Publishing copy near as fine, the cloth in very pleasing state, the printing and illustrations on the upper cover well preserved and bright, the white printing on the spine panel somewhat mellowed away by age, the tips and edges all in quite pleasing condition; the Doubleday, Page copy showing a bit more of the white lost on both the cover and spine panel, the text-blocks, inner hinges and other aspects of the books are all very pleasing and in very good order. IMPORTANT FIRST EDITIONS OF BOTH ISSUES OF THE 1906 PRINTING AND PUBLICATION OF WHAT IS ARGUABLY UPTON SINCLAIR’S GREATEST BOOK. ONE OF THE TWO SIGNED BY SINCLAIR. One of the most influential American novels of all time: Sinclair’s nightmarish story of the immigrant Rudken family precipitated a series of very successful legislative measures under Roosevelt and the federal government regulating the food preparation industry. Dedicated to the workingmen of America, Sinclair famously attacks the meat industry while displaying sympathy for socialism and empathy for the working poor. This tale of an immigrant in pursuit of the “American Dream” shows the corrupt nature of American society and the human consequences of the impersonal forces of capitalism. An important work in the history of public policy, American history and literature. $3850.
The Wealth of Nations The First & Greatest Classic of Modern Economic Thought An Especially Early Copy - Remarkably Well Preserved 20 Smith, Adam. AN INQUIRY INTO THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF THE WEALTH OF NATIONS (London: for A. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1786) 3 volumes. An especially early printing, the fourth, only the second of the octavo editions, the last edition with any changes, includes a new preface never before printed, issued only 10 years after the first 2 vol. quarto edition. 8vo, beautiful three-quarter polished calf in fine antique style over marbled paper covered boards, red morocco lettering labels gilt, the spine in compartments separated by gilt bands, gilt central devices in the compartments. viii, 499 + errata; vi, 518, [5] Appendix + errata; v + errata, 465, (47) index + (1) ad pp. A remarkably fine and handsome set, the text blocks completely untrimmed and with the original deckled edges as issued from the printer. Bindings in excellent condition.
A BEAUTIFUL SET OF THIS EXTRAORDINARY WORK. Smith’s classic work was begun at Toulouse in 1763-64 where he had travelled as guardian of Henry Scott, the young duke of Buccleuch, and in the company of David Hume, historian and fellow professor at Glasgow University. The work took shape over the next ten years and was finally published in 1776. At one point during its composition, Hume wrote that Smith was “cutting himself off entirely from human society.” But his labors, however severe his methods, yielded the “first and greatest classic of modern economic thought” (Printing and the Mind of Man). “[I]t may be said that the WEALTH OF NATIONS certainly operated powerfully through the harmony of its critical side with the tendencies of the half-century which followed its publication to the assertion of personal freedom and ‘natural rights.’ It discredited the economic policy of the past, and promoted the overthrow of institutions which had come down from earlier times, but were unsuited to modern society. As a theoretic treatment of social economy, and therefore as a guide to social reconstruction and practice in the future, it is provisional, not definitive. But when the study of its subject comes to be systematized on the basis of a general social philosophy more complete and durable than Smith’s, no contribution to that final construction will be found so valuable as his” (Britannica). The fourth edition contains a special ‘advertisement’, first appearing here, in which Smith declares that he is now ‘at liberty to acknowledge my very great obligations to Mr. Henry Hop of Amsterdam. To that gentleman I owe the most distinct, as well as liberal information, concerning a very interesting and important subject, the Bank of Amsterdam’. Eighteenth century editions of Smith’s magnum opus are now becoming very scarce. Goldsmiths’ 3148; Kress B.1129; Vanderblue, p.3; not in Einaudi. $11,500.
The Innocents at Home - First Edition - Original Issue The Scarce Copyright Issue in Yellow Wrappers In an Exception State of Preservation - Very Bright & Fresh 21 Twain, Mark. THE INNOCENTS AT HOME (London: George Routledge & Sons, n.d. [1872]) Scarce First Edition, the British Copyright Edition and preceding the American edition of ROUGHING IT. 12mo, rare in the printer’s original yellow stiff paper wrappers, lettered and pictorially decorated on the upper cover in colours, printed in black on the spine and rear cover. 224, 2[ads] pp. An exceptional copy for such a delicate and uncommon item, typically found, if at all, in deplorable condition. The original decorated wrappers are bright and clean, the spine panel in rarely found excellent condition, the binding tight and the text-block clean and completely free of any spotting. FIRST EDITION OF THE BRITISH COPYRIGHT ISSUE, A UNUSUALLY WELL PRESERVED COPY. DUE TO THE SIMPLE AND INEXPENSIVE MANNER OF PRODUCTION THIS BOOK IS RARELY FOUND IN ANYTHING OTHER THAN POOR CONDITION. This scarce and delicate edition is the first printing of the final part of what would be published several days later in Hartford as “Roughing It”, it was
published in a very small number to secure the copyright. It also includes a very early reprint of “Mark Twain’s (Burlesque) Autobiography.” “Roughing It” was in Twain’s words a ‘personal narrative and record of several years of variegated vagabonding...its object being to help the resting reader while away an idle hour rather than to afflict him with metaphysics or goad him with science. There is an interesting episode in the history of the Far West about which no books had been written by anyone on the ground and in person... and this is the telling of the tale of the opening of the silver-mining fever in Nevada.’ There is much here--from the encountering of desperadoes on the plains to the encountering of Chinese in Virginia City--from the enjoyment of California’s women and the experience of an earthquake in San Francisco to the enjoyment of the frolicking girls of the Sandwich Islands and to the discovery of new places in the Hawaiian Islands. A Mark Twain masterpiece in a very scarce and uncommon format, this is a wonderful and treasured creation of the great American writer. Bal 3336. $1850. Price reduced, recently offered at $2050. Cover illustration is a detail from an illustration in item 8 All items are offered subject to prior sale. Prices are nett, shipping and insurance are extra. Contact us to place orders by phone, fax or email. All books are returnable within ten days, we ask that you notify us by phone or email in advance. Massachusetts residents are requested to include 6.25% state sales tax.