Cooper, James Fenimore.
The Pathfinder: Or, The Inland Sea. Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1840. First edition. 8vo. 2 vols. Publishers original plum cloth, paper title labels rubbed away on spine, boards soiled, spines sunned, some minor corner bumping, minor foxing mostly to endpaperss. Vol.1 with modern ink note of author on title, both vols with contemporary old owners ink on first paste-down. Overall, text is clean and binding is tight, an excellent copy of a scarce and important set. In protective mylars. “In 1831, James Fenimore Cooper told his publisher that he wanted to write a story set on Lake Ontario. The book was accepted, but with no hint that it would feature Natty Bumppo from the well-established Leather-Stocking Tales. The Pathfinder (1840) revisits Natty’s military service, extending a story begun in The Last of the Mohicans, and introduces the complications of love against the backdrop of the French and Indian War. Wayne Franklin’s introduction describes the personal and financial circumstances that led to Cooper’s resurrection of his most popular character, underscoring the author’s aim to offer Natty as a Pathfinder for a nation he feared had lost its moral bearings.” [-Harvard Univ. Press]. BAL: 3892. Wright I:656. Frontier. War. Indians. Romance. Natty Bumppo. Americana. DP25955 $450.00
Brothers, Richard. Nathaniel Brassey Halhed.
A Revealed Knowledge Of The Prophecies And Times. Book The First... First Sign of Warning For the Benefit of all Nations... Restoration of the Hebrews to Jerusalem by the year 1798. [With:] Second Book: Particularly of the Present Time, The Present War, and the P[r]ophecy Now Fulfilling the Year 5913. [With:] Testimony of the Authenticity of the Prophecies of Richard Brothers and of His Mission to Recall the Jews by Halhed. [With:] A Calculation on the Commencement of The Millennium... by Halhed. Philadelphia: Robert Canpbell, 1795. First edition. Very rare. 8vo. 4 books in 1. v, 6-84, 137, v, 6-47, 28p. Modern antique calf with blind rules to boards, gilt lined spine with title in gilt. Old owners signature to second blank, “Andrew Munro”, “Elizabeth Downer, born 1778” at verso of Last blank with interesting contemporary pencil note “This book is the engenious labors of our Prophet”. First few leaves with minor edge wear and chipping, p178. 13-20 (four leaves) with lower inner margin tears, some letters affected. Light foxing, browning, and soiling throughout. Complete. Very rare. Richard Brothers (1757-1824), self proclaimed apostle of a new religion, and “Prince of the Hebrews”, and “Nephew of the Almighty”. Believed prophet in gathering the Jews back into Palestine, particularly the Jews in Great Britain. Brothers claimed he would rule over Israel until the return of Jesus Christ. He was followed by many as a prophet. He was arrested in 1795 for treason, prophesying the death of the King and the end of the monarchy, he was imprisoned for being criminally insane. Nathaniel Brassey Halhed, a Brothers disciple plead the case to Parliament and Brothers was moved to a private asylum in Islington, while there he wrotes a variety of prophetic pamphlets and gained many more members. His books were consumed and went through many editions, few of the originals survive. Our first edition containing all four books by Brothers and Halhed (as issued) is one of the rarest of all the publications. ESTC: W21958 (all 4 books in 1, as issued). Evans 28536. Testimony of Authenticity: ESTC: W28282. Evans 28791. Calculation Millennium: ESTC: W37655. Evans 28789. Occult. Cult. Jews. Hebrew. Prophets. Prophecy. Religion. Bible. DP20214 $850.00
Bruyn, M. Corneille le. [Cornelis de Bruyn]. Done into English by W.J.
A Voyage to the Levant: Or Travels In The Principal Parts Of Asia Minor the Islands of Scio Rhodes Cyprus &C. With An Account of the Most Considerable Cities of Egypt Syria and the Holy Land. Enrich’d With above Two Hundred Copper Plates... London: Printed for Jaob Tonson and Thomas Bennet, 1702. First English edition. Folio. [6], 288, [8]p. Modern antique calf in Cambridge style with gilt rules and gilt shell corners. Full floral gilt design to spine with gilt rules and title to red label. Edges gilt. New endpapers lacks original blanks. +Fine binding. B1 with some fox spotting at top. A few leaves with minor clean tears at outer margin, repaired, no affect. 3Y1 with tiny burn hole at top affecting only one letter of text. Last several leaves with some browning at the very bottom edge, no affect. 22B folding plate with small corner repair, no affect, folding obeliscus plate with clean tear at middle, repaired with old stamps to verso, folding Bethlehem with minor repair at inner margin and folding plate 203 with outer margin repair. The folding plate of ‘Aleppo’ has been professionally laid down on thick matching paper. Overall a nice copy of this beautiful work with just a few minor flaws. The plates are amazing. With frontispiece, portrait, folding map and over 200 engravings on 98 plates, many of them folding and double-page. Includes huge folding map of Constantinopolis at 75 inches. Fine panoramic views of Constantinople, Scutari, Smyrna, Aleppo, Palmyra, Rhodes, Chios, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and more. Also plates of Egyptian pyramids and an obelisk. Numerous fine text illustrations as well. “The rich illustrations of his work made it extremely popular. De Bruyn is the first traveller to have depicted the interior of the pyramids in Egypt, Palmrya in Syria and Persepolis in Iran, as well as everyday “snapshots” of his journey.” [- Travelogues Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation]. “Cornelis de Bruyn (1652-1726), Dutch artist and traveler. He made two large tours and published illustrated books with his observations of people, buildings, plants and animals... His drawings of Persepolis a city destroyed by Alexander the Great caused a sensation. The mayor of Amsterdam Nicolaes Witsen and a member of the Royal Society probably asked him to draw the city famous for its 40 columns. For a century they were the best prints available to western scholars.... De Bruyn who had read every Greek and Latin source he had been able to obtain, displays a convincing knowledge of subjext, at times going into the humorous.” [-Wikipedia].Provenance: from the personal estate of Linda Loring (1920-2019), devoted wildlife advocate and Conservationist. Established the Linda Loring Nature Foundation in 1999. ESTC: T128612. Atabey 160. Cobham-Jeffrey p7. DP20436 $6000.00 Travel. Voyages. Exploration. Natural History. Fine binding. Illustrated. Levant. Egypt. Syria. Middle East. Asia. Turkey. Pyramids. Holy Land.
Curtius Rufus, Quintus. Daniel Heinslus, ed.
Historiarum libri. Amsterdam: Lowijs & Daniel Elzevier for Officina Elzevier, 1660. 12mo. *6, A-P12. [12], 338, [20]p. Contemporary mottled calf, gilt spine, worn at edges, lacks f.f.e.p., small hole in t.p. with stain. Engraved title page port. of Alexander in text, folding map (repaired on verso). Curtius Rufus wrote this history of Alexander the Great under Claudius or Vespasian. "The author is an excellent story-teller and makes the most of many thrilling or picturesque incidents in the Asiatic expedition..."[-OCCL]. STCN 166012. Willems 1257. Schweiger 1,320. Rahir 1290.
Classics. Latin. History. Alexander the Great. DP20160 $250.00
Coltellini, Lodovico.
Due Ragionamenti . . . Sopra Quattro Superbi Bronzi Antichi E Due In Specie, Un Creduto Candelabro Cioè, Ed Una Statuetta Puerile, Copn Inserizioni Etrusche Molto Pasrticolasri, Trovati Di Fresco Nei Contorni Di Detta Città. Edizione Arrichita Di Tavole In Rame E Dedicata A Sua Eccel. Sig. Cavaliere Gaetano Antinori Consigliere Di Stato, e Di Reggenza, E Segretario Di Guerra Di Sua Maesta Cesarea, In Toscana. Venice: Giambatista Albrizzi q. Girolamo, [c1750]. First Edition. 8vo. *4, A-K8, L4. [10], 168p. Contemporary vellum, title label, minor wear to edge, a fine crisp copy. 4 foldout engravings, various smaller ones throughout the text. With a chart.The Museo Dell'Accademia Etrusca: In 1727, due to the initiative of three brothers, Marcello, Ridolfino and Filippo Venuti, the Etruscan Academy was born. The Grand Duke of Tuscany, Giangastone dei Medici gave them the use of some of the space in Palazzo Casali where the members could meet. The availability of this space then made it possible to install the Academy museum and library, which was and has continued to be the hub around which studies and research promoted by Cortonese institutions continue to rotate. The museum and the library in fact, were born when one of the members Onofrio Baldelli (1667-1728), an uncle of the Venuti's, donated to the Academy a number of statues, idols, inscriptions, urns, pateras (drinking dishes), cut gems, lanterns, votives and other precios things, to which he added a collection of rare books and antique manuscripts which he had collected during the course of his life as a scholar. [-Cotona on the web]. Borroni, 5117. Cicognara 2565. Morazzoni 223. OCLC: 17642027. Art. Antiquities. Classics.Etruscan. Bronzes. Cortona. DP20145 $200.00
Birch, Peter.
A Sermon...January 30, 1694. London: Tho[mas] Nott, 1694. First Edition. 4to. A2, B-D4, E1. Later paper wraps, end-pages browned from wraps, first leaf (dedication) chipped at top corner. no affect, wide margins. Birch, Peter (1651/2-1710), Church of England clergyman. "Birch's published works consist of several sermons, some of which were preached before the House of Commons. The most prominent of these was preached on 30 January 1694, the sermon for the fast day appointed to commemorate the execution of Charles I. The sermon applied David's lament over the fall of God's anointed, Saul, to the death of Charles (2 Samuel 1: 21). The sermon, which affirmed the divine right of kings, seemed to bring into question the legitimacy of William III and Mary II. The sermon caused considerable controversy... " [-Oxford DNB]. Wing B2939. ESTC: R2701.
Theology. Religion. Politics. Divine Right. DP20149 $100.00
Aristotle. Immanuel Bekker, ed.
De Re Publica Libri Octo. Berlin: George Reimer, 1855. 8vo. [2], 265, [1]p. Full polished blue calf, prize binding of the "Academia Jacobi VI, Scotorum Regis Edinensis," gilt and blind rules, center gilt stamp, spine gilt, title label, edges marbled, minor shelf wear. Bookplate of Geddes MacGregor. Bekker (1785-1871) important textural critic of Greek literature whose fame rests principally on his critical editions of Plato and Aristotle.
Classics. Greek. Philosophy. Binding. DP20146 $100.00
Bekker, Balthasar. Johann Moritz Schwager, trans. Johann Salomo Semler, notes.
Bezauberte Welt. Leipzig: Weygand, 1781-2. First Semler Edition. 8vo. 3 vols. [18] 464; [14], 474; [12], 716p. Contemp. German paste-paper boards, paper title labels, light rubbing, edges red, old dealer's stamps on paste-downs, signature of owner on t.p.s; light dampstain to outer edge in the third volume. Engraved port. of Bekker on t.p., folding plate in volume 3. "He [Bekker] was the last of the Dutch thinkers from Johan Weyer to Grevius who had kept Holland free from the abuses of the witch hunters... In 1691... he published his attack on belief in witchcraft, on the only logical basis possible: that spirits, either good or bad (the existence of which Bekker did not deny), could exercise no influence over human affairs; nor should seemingly paranormal effects be attributed to witchcraft." [-R.H. Robbins.] Semler of Hale (1725-1791)was "...well known as one of Germany's leading theologians, a founder of 'neologist' interpretation, an approach to Scripture that started with the assumption that the Bible was a human document, to be understood within a historical context. Many Lutheran readers would have also recognized Semler as the expert on modern demonology..." [-H.C. Erik Midelfort, Exorcism and Enlightenment,2005]. Coumont B40.9. Cornell, Witchcraft. 43. Van der Linde, Bekker, 26.
Occult. Demonology. Possesssion. Witches. Witchcraft. DP20137 $1250.00
Barham, Richard Harris [pseudo. Thomas Ingoldsby].
The Ingoldsby Legends Or Mirth and Marvels. London: Richard Bentley, 1840-47. First Editions. [Second issue of volume one with text on 236.] 8vo. 3 vols. [2], v, [1], 338, [2], vii, [1], 288, [2], 364p. Early 20th c. crushed red morocco, gilt rule on covers with corner fleurons in gold with green morocco on-lays, spines banded and gilt with flower devices repeated [by Wood of London], gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers, minor rubbing, top hinges with minor cracking, some darkening to endpapers, clean copies. 3 engraved t.p.s, Contains 2 ports. and 17 plates by George Cruickshank (8) and John Leech. Barham, Richard Harris (1788-1845). "The success of the ‘Legends’ was pronounced from the first, and when published collectively in 1840 they at once took the high place in humorous literature which they have ever since retained. A second series was added in 1847, and a third was edited by his son in the same year....Barham owes his honourable rank among English humourists to his having done one thing supremely well. He has thoroughly naturalised the French metrical conte with the adaptations necessary to accommodate it to our national genius. French humour is rather finely malicious than genial: Barham carries geniality to the verge of the exuberant. He riots in fancy and frolic, and his inexhaustible faculty of grotesque rhyming is but the counterpart of his intellectual fertility in the domain of farcical humour. There is, indeed, an element of farce in his fun, an excessive reliance on forced contrasts between the ghastly and the ludicrous, and a not unfrequent straining after cheap effects; nor can the most successful work of the professional jester be compared to the recreation of a great poet, such as Browning's ‘Pied Piper of Hamelin.’ It is nevertheless true that no English author, with the exception of Hood, has produced such a body of excellent rhymed mirth as Barham; and that, if his humour is less refined than Hood's, and his gaiety not equally purified and ennobled by being dashed with tears, he excels his rival as a narrative poet. He may, indeed, be said to have prescribed the norm in our language for humorous narrative in irregular verse, which can now hardly be composed without seeming to imitate him."[-DNB]. Cohn 50.Sadleir 156, Tinker 216. Bleiler 881. Humor. Occult. Folklore. Ghosts. Demons. Witchcraft. Fantasy. Science Fiction. Fine binding. DP 20025 $500.00
Butler, Samuel.
Hudibras...Written in the time of the Late Wars... Tory NY: Wright, Goodenow & Stockwell, 1806. First American Edition. 8vo. xi, 286, [14]p. Modern full calf 8vo. Double rule, decoration and title in gilt on spine. Samuel Butler (1612- 1680), satirist; educated at Worcester free school; for some years, page to Elizabeth, countess of Kent, at Wrest, Bedfordshire, c. 1628; clerk to various puritan justices of the peace, including Sir Samuel Luke of Bedfordshire, and Sir Henry Roswell of Devonshire, from whom he derived traits for 'Hudibras'; sojourned in France and Holland; published an anonymous pamphlet in favor of the Stuarts, 1659; secretary to the lord president of Wales, 1660; steward of Ludlow Castle; married a widow with a jointure, and came to London; published 'Hudibras,' part i, 1663, part ii, 1664, and part iii 1668; was neglected by the court, and, according to most authentic accounts, died in poverty. Shaw & Shoemaker 10078. DP20102 $100.00
Cooke, Thomas.
A Practical And Familiar View Of The Science Of Physiognomy Compiled Chiefly From The Papers Of The Late Mr. T. Cooke of Manchester, With A Memoir, And Observations On The Temperaments... London: Mrs. Cooke, and sold at The London Lithographic Institution, 1819. First Edition. x,[2],328,[12]p. Old cloth over paper boards, lettering in pencil on front cover. Uncut copy. Minor marginal stains. Leaf B4 with tear. Contemporary inscription on half title. 7 lithographic plates, lacking silhouette portrait of Mr. Cooke. "...the plates of this work are the first production of the London Lithographic Institution." Cooke (1763-1818) of Manchester, physiognomer whose notes were collected after his death and published for the benefit of his family. Although forms of lithographic prints were experimented with in the earliest part of the 19th century, it did not become popular until 1820 when it exploded upon the scene. This is one of the earliest examples of English use of lithography. BM (Compact) 6,191,665. Gerlach Cooke 1819(var). Tyler 348:16. Occult. Science. Physiognomy. DP20090 $85.00
Allestree, Richard.
The Whole Duty of Man, Containing The faith as well as Practice Of A Christian; Made easy For the Practice of the Present Age, As the Old Whole Duty of man was design'd for those unhappy Times which it was written; And Supplying the Articles Of The Christian Faith, Which are wanting in that Book, Tho' essentailly necessary to Salvation. London: Edward Wicksteed, 1753. 8vo. π2,A-2N8,2O2. [4],x,546,[16]p. Old calf, worn at extremities; 2F1-8 are worn and soiled by use at lower edge with some loss, occ. soiling. Frontispiece with Moses, Jesus and masonic symbol. Allestree, Richard (1621/2–1681), Church of England clergyman. "Allestree's influence on the late seventeenth-century church may owe less to his preaching or his university lectures than to the series of moral and devotional works initiated by The Whole Duty of Man (1657). The Whole Duty of Man was intended to show ‘the very meanest readers’ how ‘to behave themselves so in this world that they may be happy for ever in the next’. This best-selling manual's prescription of morality and effort was balanced by an emphasis on divine grace and devotional practice: the result was sober, orthodox, common-sense advice pitched at the level of ordinary Anglican parishioners. This was an anonymous work and although it rapidly won acclaim among Allestree's peers, its authorship remained a mystery. " [-Oxford DNB]. ESTC: T109221.
Religion. Theology. DP20087 $100.00
Catherine of Siena. Federigo Burlamacchi, ed.
L'Epistole Della Serafica Vergine S. Caterina Da Siena... Lucca & Siena: Leonardo Venturini & Francesco Quinza, 1713-23. 4to. 2 vols. Mixed set. †*-†** 2,A-Z,Aa-5M4; π2,†-3†4,4†2,A-6O4,6P6. [20],831; [32],1044p. Contemp. Italian paste-paper covered boards, titles on paper labels, spines torn at ends, old library labels removed, edges speckled in colors; minor wormholes at start of volume 2, inner margin, no affect, Qq3 repair; some pages wiith light browning. 'The works of St. Catherine of Siena rank among the classics of the Italian language, written in the beautiful Tuscan vernacular of the fourteenth century... It is impossible in a few words to give an adequate conception of the manifold character and contents of the "Letters", which are the most complete expression of Catherine's many-sided personality. While those addressed to popes and sovereigns, rulers of republics and leaders of armies, are documents of priceless value to students of history, many of those written to private citizens, men and women in the cloister or in the world, are as fresh and illuminating, as wise and practical in their advice and guidance for the devout Catholic today as they were for those who sought her counsel while she lived. Others, again, lead the reader to mystical heights of contemplation, a rarefied atmosphere of sanctity in which only the few privileged spirits can hope to dwell. The key-note to Catherine's teaching is that man, whether in the cloister or in the world, must ever abide in the cell of self-knowledge, which is the stable in which the traveller through time to eternity must be born again. " [-Catholic Ency.] This is a mixed set taken from to different issues of L'Opera of Catherine of Siena. They are complete as a set and have been together since they were bound c1750. Theology. Religion. Occult. Mysticism.Women. DP20050 $125.00
Adams, Hanna.
An Abridgement Of The History Of New England, For The Use Of Young Persons. Boston: A. Newell for the Author and for sale by B. & J. Homans and John West, 1805. First Abridged Edition. 8vo. iv, 185, [1]p. Contemp. mottled sheep, spine with gilt rules, title in gilt on red leather label, spine head chipped off, rubbed, presentation label from George G. Mason to Scott County Library, stamp of library on recto of piii, contemp. signature of Sally Barr on f.f.e.p.,typical foxing and light browning, blank corner off pp103-4, other minor flaws but a good copy. "Hannah Adams (October 2, 1755-December 15, 1831), an early American historian and pioneer in the field of comparative religion, was also the first American author to make a living solely from writing. She was the first historian of religions ever to try to represent sects and denominations in terms which adherents themselves used and from their perspective....In 1799 she published A Summary History of New England and, in 1801 [sic, actually 1805], published her edited version of the volume as a schoolbook, An Abridgment of the History of New England. A legal dispute followed with the Rev. Jedidiah Morse, who was publishing his own book on the subject. Leading members of liberal religious families, in appreciation of her work and disliking the orthodox Morse, provided her with legal services and financial support. Morse was obliged to apologize and pay damages—withheld until 1814." [-Unitarians/Universalists. on-line] Shaw & Shoemaker 7830. Americana. New England. Education. Children. Unitarian.
DP 20022 $100.00
Censorinus Grammaticus. Heinric Lindenbrog, ed, & comm.
De Die Natali. Leiden: Johann Maire, 1642. 8vo. (?)8, 250, [38]p. Contemp. limp vellum, old library stamps on title page, bookplate of " Le Bibliophobe Bechtel". One folding diagram, 8 text cuts. Censorinus (3rd c. A.D.), Roman grammarian and author of this work on Natal days. "The first part deals with human life, particularly its origins, the second with time and its divisions." [-OCD].
"...De die natali, which is extant, is dedicated as a birthday present to a little-known patron, Quintus Caerellius; according to Censorinus' own statements, it was written in 238. The content of this comprehensive work can be divided into three parts... The first part, which is based on the Roman savant Varro, deals chiefly with human procreation and pregnancy, with excursuses on the influence of the stars and on music. In the second part, which is based on a lost work by Varro, Censorinus treats the different divisions of time (age, year, month, day, etc.). As in the first part, he mentions the doctrines of Greek philosophers. Not all of the De die natali has survived; the manuscript of the conclusion has been lost, as are its author and title. This work, now entitled Fragmentum Censorini, is a more important for the history of science...It contains a series of short tractates from an encyclopedic work on astronomy, geometry, music, and metrics. The chapter on geometry, which deals with the definitions, postulates, and axioms of book I of Euclid's Elements, differs greatly from the other known translations of Euclid. The chapters on metrics are very detailed. This part contains the oldest known information on Roman metrics and may be based on a work by Varro. Thus De die natali and Fragmentum Censorini enrich our view of Greek and Roman science..." [-DNB]. STCN 164208. Caillet 2135. Gardiner, Astrologica, 734. Schweiger I,101. Houzeau-Lancaster I,1046. OCLC C870. Neville I,253. Cantamessa I,950. Occult. Astrology. Astronomy.
DP 20005 $400.00
Dark Parks Books & Collectibles
Cruikshank, George.
A Discovery of Ghosts: With A Rap At The Spirit-Rappers. Illustrated with Cuts. London: Frederick Arnold, 1863. First edition. 4to. 48p. Modern antique quarter cloth gilt ruling over blue marbled boards title in gilt to spine. Bound with original blue wrap covers. An unusually neat and near fine copy. With 9 illustrations throughout. A beautiful copy. Cruikshanks skeptical views on the existence of ghosts, spirit writing and spirit tapping. George Cruikshank (1792-1878) British caricaturist and book illustrator. Englands most popular satirist of the 19th century. Illustrated. Ghosts. Apparitions. Supernatural. Occult. Caricatures. Ghouls. Art. Artists. Cariactures. DP20504 $750.00
[Burton, Robert].
The Anatomy of Melancholy: What It Is. With All the Kinds, causes, Symptomes, prognostickes, and Severall cures of it. In three Partitions, with their severall Sections, members, and subsections. Philosophically, Medicainally, Historically, opened and cut up, by Democritus Junior. With a Satyricall Preface, conducing to the following Discourse. The Eighth Edition, corrected and augmented by the Author. [Francis Hopkinson personal copy]. London: R.W. for Peter Parker, 1676. Folio. [4], B-R34. [8], 46, [6], 434, [12]p. Folio. Modern antique fine binding full calf binding Cambridge style with gilt to cover and edges spine with floral gilt designs and title on red label. New endpapers. Small ding to back cover no affect. A beautiful binding. Few leaves with scattered foxing and browning spots, heavier at the start lower inner margins. Few leaves with some outer margin wear no affect. A few tiny burn holes with no affect also Ss4 with a couple tiny holes just touching into text. R3-3 with minor fraying at top corner no affect. Old owners signature unidentified to top of title page also with ink note of purchase dated 1798 to last blank. Overall a nice copy.Bookplate to first endpaper of Francis Hopkinson “Semper Paratus” [Always prepared], an American Founding Father and signer of the Declaration of Independence. [See more biography notes below). This bookplate was on the original endpaper board of previous damaged binding and we have re-adhered it here with the new binding. 18th century notes on old endpaper freely tipped in. Unknown if they are in Hopkinson hand. Scarce with original advertisement leaf at end for books sold by Peter Parker. Eighth edition. Scarce. Last of the 17th century printings. Burton (1577-1640) " Wood gives the following character of Burton: ‘He was an exact mathematician, a curious calculator of nativities, a general read scholar, a thorough-paced philologist, and one that understood the surveying of lands well. As he was by many accounted a severe student, a devourer of authors, a melancholy and humorous person, so by others who knew him well a person of great honesty, plain dealing and charity. I have heard some of the antients of Christ Church often say that his company was very merry, facete and juvenile, and no man of his time did surpass him for his ready and dexterous interlarding his common discourses among them with verses from the poets or sentences from classical authors.’ [-DNB]. In appearance a medical work, the Anatomy of Melancholy is really a satire on human learning and endeavor, consisting of an introduction and three sections - on the nature, causes, and symptoms of melancholy, on the cure of melancholy, and on two types of melancholy, namely that of love and that of religion. The work in its entirity incorporates innumerable quotations and paraphrases from a plethora of authors so that it is a treasure trove of anecdote and maxim. It garnered high esteem for Burton even in his own lifetime, and was highly influential upon the likes of Samuel Johnson and Keats, among others. "This book is a whole man; the unconventional, free expression of a full man, compact of sly humors, endless curiosity, eclectic culture, sagacity, quaintness, and magnanimity." [-Jordan-Smith]. “The first psychiatric encyclopedia, citing nearly 500 medical authors, and also a literary tour de force” [-Garrion-Morton 4918.1]. Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791) Americam Founding Father, lawyer, author & composer. Designer of Continental paper money and two early American flags - one for the country and one for the US Navy. Signer of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate of New Jersey. First federal judge of Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania. Credited as the first American-born composer to commit a composition to paper with his 1759 composition “My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free”. One of the buildings at University of Pennsylvania is named after him. Wing B6184. Jordan-Smith 92. Honnold 10. Madan 197. Garrison-Morton 4918.1.
Melancholy. Sadness. Occult. Medicine. Philosophy. Psychology. Psychiatric. Americana. Francis Hopkinson. Pennysylvania. New Jersey. American history. Law. Declaration of Independence. US Navy. American Flag. Music. Composers. DP20524 $2000.00
Cicero, Marcus Tulius. William Melmoth, trans.
Cato: Or, An Essay on Old-Age...With Remarks. London: Dodsley, 1773. First Melmouth edition. 8vo. [6], 319p. Old sheep, hinges cracked, small pieces lost from spine ends, first advertisement leaf with small clean tear to inner margin, corners opened, some foxing, a few old notes,large margins, good copy. Engraved portrait of Cicero. Melmoth, William, the younger 1710-1799, author and commissioner of bankrupts..."he chiefly occupied himself in his retirement in translating Pliny and Cicero... In 1753 he published his translation of Cicero's 'Ad Familiares,' with a careful study of Cicero's character in the running comment. His next workæa translation of the 'De Senectute' appeared in 1773." [-DNB]. "We are here presented with one of the finest remains of classical antiquity, in the most elegant form of the English language; and the copius remarks annexed to the essay...discover learning combined with taste, and sentiment with liberality; but such translations as this bring both our language and our learning in their debt." [-Monthly Review quoted by Moss]. ESTCt138223. Moss I,358. DP20205 $100.00
Blavignac, Jean Daniel.
Armorial Genevois, Essay Historique sur les Armoires... Geneve: Principaux Libraries, 1849. First Edition. Rare. 8vo. xii, 368, 42p. 46 plates. Red morocco with gilt rules and floral corners, spine decorated in gilt, title at head of spine, scratch to back board, still a very beautiful binding. Bookplate remnants to first ednpaper, old owners signature to first blank. Contents fine. Frontispiece and 6 of the 46 plates, hand colored. Blavignac (1817-1876), historian, architect, archaeologist, Mason. he participated in the restoration of St. Peter’s Cathedral and served on the City Council of Geneva. Heraldry. Armorial. Military. Illustrated. Geneva. DP20169 $350.00
Cosin, John, Bishop of Durham.
Historia Transubstantiationis Papalis. Cui Præmittitur, atque opponitur, Tùm S. Scripturæ, tùm Veterum Patrum, & Reformatarum Ecclesiarum Doctrina Catholica, De Sacris Symbolis, & Præsentiâ Christi in Sacramento Eucharistiæ Hanc autem Disquisitionem Historicam ante Annos XIX Scribebat, & demùm instanti multorum rogatu excudi permisit paulo ante Obitum Joh. Episcopus Dunelmensis. London: Tho[mas]. Roycroft of Hen[ry]. Brome, 1675. First Edition. 8vo. A8, C-N8. [16], 165, [10]p. Full old calf, blind tooled ruling, stamped panelling, floral gilt spine, title label, hinges started, but strong. Few old pen and pencil notes. Corner off frontis, no affect (see picture). Engraved frontispiece bust portrait of Cosin by William Dolle. Cosin (1594-1672), chaplain to Charles I and a liturgical purist, was responsible for much significant revision in the Anglican liturgy during the Restoration. During the Interregnum, he was exiled to France, having been falsely accused of being a Romanist. "Cosin was a most uncompromising enemy to popery. In France he wrote his 'Historia Transubstantialis Papalis' at the request of Gilbert Talbot, who had undertaken to argue the matter out with a German princeÌ (the Duke of Newbourg), in the presence of Charles II at Cologne, and apparently did not feel quite equal to the task. Cosin readily consented, and showed in his treatise that the church of England held the doctrine of a real presence without in any way countenancing the doctrine of transubstantiation. It was not published until nineteen years after it was written (in 1675), and three years after the death of the author; but the title says it was 'allowed by him to be published a little before his death, at the earnest request of his friends.' It was then given to the world, with an interesting preface by Dr. Durel, in the original Latin." [-DNB]. Wing C6358. ESTC:R2240. Theology. Papal. Religion. DP20128 $250.00
Buchanan, George.
Poemata In Tres Partes Digesta. Pars prima—Psalmorum Davidis paraphrasis... London: B. Griffin, 1686. 12mo. A1[-A2-4], B-K12,L8. [Lacks all after Psalms]. [2 of 12], 234[of 621]p. One part only of 5. Modern 1/4 calf over marbled boards, title gilt. Torn title page with minor loss. This copy contains the Psalms only it lacks all after pp234. Buchanan (1506-82) was the tudor to the son of James V of Scotland. He satirized the Franciscans ans was forced to flee to France where he taught at Bordeaux, Montaigne was one of his students. He returned to Scotland and professed his Protestantism and became an enemy of Mary, Queen of Scots. Wing B5292. ESTC: R34415. Bible. Psalms. Scotland. Science. DP20126 $150.00
[Brathwaite, Richard].
Drunken Barnaby’s Four Journeys to the North of England. London: J. Harding, 1805. First edition with new introduction. xxvi, [9], 4-160p. Rebacked, blind floral decoration to spine, title in gilt, over marbled boards, rubbed. Minor foxing, few minor pencil notes. Vignette illustrations by J.W. Harding. Reprint of 1716 edition. Humor. Poetry. Illustrated. English literature. DP20125 $100.00
Alciphron. William Beloe and Thomas Monroe, trans.
Alciphron's Epistles; In Which Are Described, The Domestic Manners, The Courtesans, And Parasites Of Greece. Now First Translated From The Greek. London: G.G.J. and J. Robinson; Leigh and Sotheby; and R. Faulder, 1791. First English Edition. 8vo. A2, B-S8. With 1/2 title and errata. [4], 270p. Contemp. tree-calf, rebacked in sheep, spine worn, ends of spine chipped, corners worn, book label of Scott County Library gift of George G. Watson, library stamps, minor foxing. "The Letters of Alciphron (second century AD) constitute one of the most attractive products of the Second Sophistic. They are fictitious compositions based on an astonishingly wide variety of circumstances, though the theme of erotic love is constantly sounded. The imagination shown by the author and his convincing realism win him a place of distinction in the early development of romantic prose. The letters, which are highly literary, owing much to the New Comedy of Menander, purport to give us a sketch of the social life of Athens in the fourth century BC. The collection is arranged in four divisions: Letters of Fishermen; Farmers; Parasites; Courtesans. Senders and addressees are mostly invented characters, but in the last section Alciphron presents us with several attempts at historical fiction, the most engaging being an exchange of letters between Menander and Glycera." [-Harvard Edition.] ESTC:T86057. CBEL II, 1488. Schweiger, Greek, 21. Hoffmann I,112. Lowndes 26 "well done..." Classics. Greek. Sex. Manners. Farmers. Curiosa. DP20121 $125.00
Benedictis, Antonio (Anton) Ferdinand de.
Saeculum Cabalisticum, ab Anno MDCC. Usque Ad Annum MDCCC. Sub CCCCXLIX. Inscriptionibus, Octingentas Octoginta Quator Cabalas Chronographicas, Et In His Varia; Potiori Autem Ex Parte Moralia Effata Exhibens. Oeniponti: Michael Antoni Wagner, 1757. Second edition, re-edited. Rare. 4to. )(4, A-G4, H6. (8), 59, (6)p. In original paper wraps, with some wear. Light foxing, else nice copy. Fascinating book on Kabbalah and numerology. Not much is known about Benedictis, nobleman and diplomat, he was the author to a pamphlet titled “Corona Honoris” (1727 and later editions), and was perhaps, counselor to the King of Austria. A rare book, with no copies available online, no auction records we could find and no reference citations. Kabbalah. Cabala. Occult. Numerology. Predictions. Judaica. Mysticism. DP20096 $350.00
Crabb, James.
The Gipsies' Advocate; or, Observations on the Origin, Character, Manners, and Habits of the English Gipises: To Which are Added, Many Interesting Anecdotes, on the Success that has attended the Plans of Several Benevolent Individuals, Who Anxiously Desire Their Conversion to God. London: Baker and Sons, 1831. First Edition. 12mo. [4], viii, 9-167, [1]p. Contemporary cloth, worn, with title on spine, in manuscript. Upper portion of spine damaged. Some foxing. Crabb, James (1774–1851), Wesleyan Methodist preacher. "The work which brought Crabb the greatest public notice, though, was with the Gypsies. Crabb was drawn to the cause of a people seen as outcasts and aliens from society by the harsh treatment meted out to a Gypsy at the Winchester assizes for 1827. In November of that year Crabb formed a committee ‘to take into serious consideration, without loss of time, the peculiar habits, character, and condition of the forlorn Gipseys; and to adopt such measures as might be considered best calculated to promote their general improvement’... He also sought to bring knowledge of the Gypsies to a wider audience through his publication The Gypsies' advocate, or, Observations on the origin, character, manners and habits of the English Gipsies (1831)." [-Oxford DNB]. Black, Gyp. Bibl. 969. NSTC 2C41618.
Occult. Gypsy. Magic. DP20051 $100.00
Cureau de la Chambre, Marin Sr.
L'Art de Connoistre Les Hommes Par Sr. de la Chambre du Roy en ses Conseils & son Medecin Ordinaire. Amsterdam: [Elzevier] Jaques le Jeune, 1660. 12mo. π1, A-L12,M10. [2], 278, [6]p. Full old calf, worn, corners chipped. Banded spine with gilt decoration, damage to head and especially to tail (worming); red speckled edges. Lacks endpapers, worming to front pastedown and lower left margin of t.p. with no loss of text. Browning, occasional damp stain. Engraved title page. Cureau (1594-1675), French popularizing author, academician and physician to Louis XIII, was a protege of Seguier. One of the first to write of scientific and philosophical subjects in French, he produced works on chiromancy, on light and rainbows, on the passions, on the system of the soul, and on the question of rationality in animals. He was one of the most famous palmists of the 17th century. Richelieu singled him out to be one of the first members of the French Academy.
STCN 166012. Willems 1260. Caillet 2728 'Jolie edition'. Krivatsy 3007(incpl.). Cantamessa 1187.
Occult. Philosophy. Animals. Science. Medicine. Astrology. DP20032 $250.00
Brastberger, Immanuel Gottlob.
Evangelische Zeugnisse der Wahrheit zur Aufmunterung im wahren Christenthum. Reutlingen: Gottlob Heerbrant for Lorenz, [c.1758]. 4to. [Lacks t.p.] )(3, 2) (4, A-6Z4, Aa-Zz4. 18th century German dyed pigskin over wood boards, lacks clasps, front hinge starting. Cover in blind decoration with center cameo "Glebe das Gottes.." motto. Lacks title page. Bookplate Alexander E. Oberlander on inside front cover, also with two typed pages describing book content, and provenance from former family members, bound in at start, signed and dated by Oberlander. Brastberger (1716-1764) was a popular German preacher and Spezialsuperintendent at Nürtingen. His sermons on the Gospels are still read and have gone through many editions. GV 1700-1910, v19,359. Religion. Theology. Bible. German. Binding. DP20049 $200.00
Cooke, Thomas.
A Practical And Familiar View Of The Science Of Physiognomy, Compiled Chiefly From The Papers Of The Late Mr. T. Cooke of Manchester, With A Memoir, And Observations On The Temperaments... London: S. Curtis, for Mrs. Cooke, and sold at The London Lithographic Institution, 1819. First Edition. 8vo. x, [2], 328, [12]p. Contemporary decorated calf, gilt title label, chipped, boards rubbed, corners worn, front hinge started. Bookplate of W.H.W. Sabine. 8 lithographic plates, including silhouette portrait of Mr. Cooke. Cooke (1763-1818) of Manchester, physiognomer whose notes were collected after his death and published for the benefit of his family. Although forms of lithographic prints were experimented with in the earliest part of the 19th century, it did not become popular until 1820 when it exploded upon the scene. This is one of the earliest examples of English use of lithography. BM (compact) 6,191, 665. Gerlach Vooke 1819 (var). Tyler 348:16.
Occult. Science. Physiognomy. DP20028 $200.00
[Anonymous].
The Painter Gilder And Varnishers Companion... Philadelphia: Henry Carey Baird, 1853. 189, 24 pages of ads. Custom modern binding maroon cloth with title gilt to spine. First few leaves with damp stain at lower margin some minor inside margin wear. New endpapers. With 24 pages of ads at end. Priced to go. Painting. Gilding. Varnishing. Glass staining. Art. Artwork. Art instruments. Art technique. DP20541 $20.00
[Burnet, Gilbert]. John Temple.
A Relation Of the Barbarous and Bloody Massacre Of about an Hundred Thousand Protestants Begun at Paris and carried on over all France by the Papists in the Year 1572... [bound with:] The Irish Rebellion: Or An History of the Attempts of the Irish Papists to extirpate the Protestants in the Kingdom of Ireland... London: Printed for M. Cooper, 1745 & 1746. 8vo. 63p., xviii, 294p. Scarce edition. Modern half calf over marbled boards spine with gilt rules and title on red label. First blank with contemporary owners signature in ink and some pencil notes. Few leaves in first work with very small tears to bottom corner and some dings to inner margin no affect. Second title page with some browning to outer margins. Overall a very good copy of two scarce works. ESTC locates only one copy of The Irish Rebellion in North America & only three in the British Isles. The Relation of Barbarous and Bloody Massacre is a scarce edition as well. Massacre of St. Bartholomews Day in Paris on August 24-25 in 1572, plotted by Catherine de’ Medici and carried out by Roman Catholic nobles and other citizens. It was one event in the series of civil wars between Roman Catholics and Huguenots (Protestants) in the late 16th century. The Irish Rebellion of 1641 came about due to resentment felt by the Catholic Irish, both Gael & Old English, in regards to loss of their land to Protestant settlers from England and Scotland. Religion. Protestants. Saint Bartholomews Day Massacre of France. Irish. Ireland. Papists. Irish Rebellion of 1641. History. War. Rebellion. Catholics. Catherine de Medici. DP20562 $450.00
Bentley, Richard.
A Dissertation Upon the Epistles of Phalaris. With An Answer To The Objections Of the Honourbale Charles Boyle, Esquire. London: Printed by J.H. for Henry Mortlock & John Hartley, 1699. First edition. Scarce. 8vo. cxii, 549 [ie 545], [10]p. Modern fine binding antique full speckled calf with gilt rules to spine and title on red label. New endpapers. E7-E8 with very small corner tear at bottom no affect. Mostly clean and crisp copy with large margins. Armorial bookplate adhered to verso of title page “Thomas Isted of the Middle Temple Esquire”. Last leaf with errata. At time of description we locate no other first edition copies for sale. Richard Bentley (1662-1742), a noted critic and scholar in Classical Antiquities, was part of a close group of friends which included John Evelyn, Sir Christopher Wren, John Locke, and Isaac Newton. Often called the “founder of historical philology”, Bentley is considered the greatest of English classical scholars and is credited with the creation of English school of Hellenism. He was Master of Trinity College Cambridge. “Phalaris, Dissertation on the Epistles of, by Richard Bentley (1699). ‘The Letters of Phalaris’ was a Greek work purporting to be real correspondence of a ferocious Dorian tyrant of Sicily in the sixth century before Christ. The educated world of Swift’s time accepted them as genuine; and Sir William Temple, in a pamphlet assuming the literal truth of many of the wildest legends and myths of antiquity, and setting the ancients in general above the moderns in a series of comparisons curiously naïve for an educated man, had extravagantly lauded them. This led a young Oxford man, Charles Boyle, to edit the ‘Letters’ for English readers of Greek; and in doing this he used an insulting expression with regard to a fancied wrong done him by Bentley, who had just then (1694) become librarian to the King. Bentley had promised a friend, who wished to take the other side in the discussion with Temple, an essay on the Phalaris letters; and in this he showed clearly that they were a clumsy forgery by a Greek rhetorician of about the time of Christ. Boyle took offense in connection with the appearance of Bentley’s essay, and with the help of several Oxford wits brought out a sharp reply, January 1698. It was to dispose of this that Bentley, fourteen months later, March 1699, published his ‘Dissertation’; not merely a crushing reply to Boyle, but in matter and style, on lines which were then new, a masterpiece of literature. It was a brilliant piece of criticism, based on accurate historical research; it presented on several points, which are still of interest, stores of learning rarely ever equaled; and it abundantly testified Bentley’s genius as a controversialist. As a scholar, a learned critic, and a university educator, Bentley stands not only at the highest level, but at the head of the stream which has come down to our time. There began with him a broad and thorough scholarship in Greek and Latin literature, which before him was only beginning to get under way. He is thus to scholars one of the great names of learning and of letters.” [-H.R. Keller The Library of the Worlds Best Literature, 1917]. Bookplate: Thomas Isted (1677-1731), Barrister Virtuoso. Oxford (matriculated 1695). Member of Middle Temple (admitted 1695). His proposers were Samuel Pepys [1633-1703, English diarist and naval administrator. His diaries was first published in the 19th century and are considered one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period.] and Sir Hans Sloane [1660-1753, Irish physician and naturalist, collector with a collection of 71,000 items which he bequethed to the British nation thus providing the foundation of the British Museum, the British Library and the Natural History Museum London]. Classics. Criticism. Literary criticism. Phalaris. Hellenism. Philology. Language. Greek. Latin. Scholar. Charles Boyle. DP20498 $700.00
Byron, Lord.
The Poetical Works Of Lord Byron. With Copius Illustrative Notes and A Memoir Of His Life. Complete In One Volume. Illustrated with Elegant Steel Engravings. Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, ND. [c1850-1853]. Large hardcover. 715p. Later speckled calf with gilt rules and title label to spine. All edges marbled with marbled endpapers. Full page steel plates. First blank with old owners signature dated 1876 no affect. Contents clean and crisp. An excellent copy. Priced to go. Lord Byron. Literature. Poetry. Poems. Illustrated. DP20556 $75.00
Comstock, J.L.
Conversations On Chemistry In Which The Elements Of That Science Are Familiiarly Explained And Illustrated By Experiments and 38 Engravings On Wood...Hartford: Cooke & Co. & Packard & Butler, 1830. 8vo. 348p. Contemporary calf with minor rubbing to edges title label in gilt to spine. Two full page steam engine plates at front and numerous text illustrations throughout. Some minor foxing. intro page vii-viii with clean tear repaired. Overall a very good copy of a scarce edition. John Lee Comstock (1787-1858) American surgeon and educator. Published more than 20 books primarily on botany chemistry natural history and physiology. In 1828 Comstock was issued the first patent in the US for the waterproofing of cloth or leather. Chemistry. Science. Steam engine. Mechanics. Metals. Light and heat. Acids. DP20521 $40.00
Crayon, Geoffrey. [Washington Irving].
The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon. [In two volumes]. Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard, 1839. 2 vols. Two volumes custom modern binding in gray clothtop edges red and black title labels to spine. Beautiful newer endpapers multi color and gilt floral designs. Some very minor foxing and a short clean tear to p19 of vol.2 no affect else the books are near fine. Nice set priced to go. The Sketch Book is a collection of essays and short stories written by American author Washington Irving. The collection includes two of Irvings best known stories - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. Irvings use of the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon was employed throughout his career. Washington Irving. Essays. Stories. Fiction. Childrens. Adventure. Rip Van Winkle. Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Fine binding. DP20540 $50.00
Barckley, Richard. Thomas Heywood, ed.
The Felicitie of Man, or, His Summum Bonum. London: R. Y[oung] for Rich[ard] Roystone, 1631. First Heywood edition. Rare. 4to. [1], A-2A8, 2D-2X8. [18], 368, 367-526, 607-717, [16]p. Modern antique calf, Cambridge style, blind rules to boards, gilt ruled spine, title label in gilt. Rare frontispiece explanation leaf with top corner torn, chipped away at edges, no affect to text. First few leaves and last few leaves with minor corrosive chipping at outer margins, no affect to text. H1 with minor corner tear, no affect, L1 with clean tear to inner margin, 2H7 with minor corner tear, no affect. Some minor soiling and light browning. Overall, a very good copy of a rare book for an affordable price. Complete. Engraved allegorical titlepage. Barckley, Sir Richard [d.1604] "A garner filled with the most amusing and best histories and little narration, told in the author's own words, and occasionally enlarged, but in perfect keeping and consistency...it purports to be an ethical treatise on human happiness, consisting of six books. In the first, the author offers to prove, and by example to show, that felicity consists not in pleasure; - in the second,not in riches;- in the third, not in honour and glory;-in the fourth, not in moral virtue, after the academicks and peripateticks, nor in philosophical contemplation; - in the fifth, he declares his own opinion of happiness of this life; - and in the sixth, he shows wherein consists the true felicity and Summun Bonum of man, and the way to attain it..." 'To worship and gloriffie God in this life, that we may be joined to him in the world to come, is our beatitude, or Summum Bonum' [Allibone, Critical Dict. of English Lit. I,116.] Jaggard cites as a source for Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew and Antony and Cleopatra. STC 1383. Jaggard p15. ESTC: S100783. Hazlitt II:36. Philosophy. Morals. Classics. Shakespeare. Happiness.
DP20211 $900.00
Bright, John W.
A Plain System of Medical Practice Adapted To The Use of Families. Louisville: Morton & Griswold, 1848. Second edition. Modern black cloth with paper title label at spine with marbled edges and new endpapers. Some foxing throughout mostly to outer margins. Overall a very good copy in new binding of a scarce title. Important family medical work of the late 19th century. Though there is no ‘end’ or ‘finis’ page stated end OCLC confirms this edition ending complete at 928 pages as our copy matches. Priced to go. At time of description we locate only one copy [with no date on title page] for sale that is in poor condition. With 4 full page plates and numerous herbal illustrations at end. Second edition. A first edition of 1847 [no date on title page] is a different printing with different pagination. Our copy appears to be a first edition of the revised and updated version. All copies are very rare. OCLC lists only 9 copies worldwide. “It is destined as a friendly visitor to enter many a family and bring comfort to many who are suffering from the common maladies of life. The work is highly commended by the very first physicians and endorsed by them as every way worthy of universal confidence” [-Critical Notices from the Quarterly Review of Methodist Episcopal Church 1848]. Medicine. Science. Herbal. Medical practice. Diseases. Pregnancy. Midwifery. Children disease. Women disease. Men disease. Home remedies. Doctor. Surgeon. DP20490 $250.00
[Brockett, L.P.]
[The Camp The Battlefield And The Hospital: Or Lights And Shadows Of The Great Rebellion]. [Philadelphia:] National Publishing, [1866]. 512, [1]p. Custom binding blue cloth with silver gilt title to spine. Newer marbled endpapers. Lacks title page. With frontispiece and numerous full page plates. Clean and crisp priced to go. Appears to be first edition. Americana. American history. Civil War. Military. War. Spies. Military camp. Hospital. Soldiers. DP20537 $50.00
Brown, Thomas.
The Works of Mr. Thomas Brown, In Prose and Verse; Serious, Moral, and Comical. In Four Volumes. [Samuel Shellabarger copy]. London: Sam Briscoe, 1707-08. Rare first edition of all four volumes. 8vo. 4 vols. [24], 164, [2], 142, 128, [16], 164, [8], 242 of 246, lacks p23-26 supplied in fine facsimile, [2], [8], 156, 147, [1], 160, 388p. Lacks original blank endpapers.A very good copy of a scarce set. At time of description we locate only one other set for sale, which has later editions of volume three and four and is set at a much higher price than ours. ESTC locates only 2 copies (none in the US) of the 1708 first edition fourth volume, and only several of the third volume. All first four volumes are very rare. Modern cloth bindings with red and gilt title labels, very minor shelf wear, modern endpapers, overall excellent. Volume one with some minor foxing/browning, frontispiece and title with very outer margin edge wear, no affect, few leaves with minor corner tears, no affect, p121 [2H6] with few contemporary ink notes. Volume two lacks two leaves p23-26 in second part, supplied in fine facsimile on period paper professionally tipped in (see pics), frontis with small tear at inner margin, repaired, few foxing spots but over all clean. Volume three minor foxing/browning, p13 with tiny burn hole, p125 minor tear at outer margin, no affect, 3C2 with small corner tear, no text affect. Volume four with contemporary owners signature at top of title page, p 165 & 175 with small contemporary note at outer margin, else clean. Each volume with a bookplate of Samuel Shellabarger on inside front board, as well as a bookplate for ‘Morrell’ [Frederic of Broughton Grange - Oxford] on the verso of each title page. With three frontispieces for vols I-III, volume four has no frontis, as issued. First edition. Rare collection of all four volumes being first printings of this set. “Thomas Brown (1663-1704), English satirist, of ‘facetious memory’ as Addison designates him... entered in 1678 at Christ Church, Oxford, where he is said to have escaped expulsion by the famous lines beginning “I do not love thee, Dr Fell.” He was for three years schoolmaster at Kingston-on Thames, and afterwards settled in London... He was the author of a great variety of poems, letters, dialogues and lampoons, full of humor and erudition, but course and scurrilous. His writings have a certain value for the knowledge they display of low life in London... His collected works were published in 1707-1708. The second volume contains a collection of Letters From The Dead to the Living, some of which are translated from the French. [-Theodora-Encyclopedia]. "Tom Brown's life was as licentious as his writings. Much of his time was spent in a low tavern in Gower's Row in the Minories. His knowledge of London was certainly 'extensive and peculiar,' and his humorous sketches of low life are both entertaining and valuable. An anonymous biographer says: 'Tom Brown had less the spirit of a gentleman than the rest of the wits, and more of a scholar. ' As of his mistresses, so he was very negligent in the choice of his companions, who were sometimes mean and despicable." [-DNB]. Interesting to note that DNB states “A collected edition of Browns works in three volumes with a character of the author by James Drake, MD, was published in 1707-8, 8vo.” and lists the correct titles but incorrectly states no fourth volume at same time of publishing, as our copy.
Samuel Shellabarger (1888-1954), American educator and author of both scholarly works and best selling fiction. Often used the pen names John Esteven and Peter Loring. Popular novels of mystery, fantasy and romance, including a couple films starring Tyrone Power. ESTC: T52781. ESTC: T50097. ESTC: N19989. ESTC: N61475.
Literature. Satire. England. Poetry. Letters. Dialogues. Samuel Shellabarger. Frederic Morrell. DP20438 $600.00
Abbott, John S.C. & Russell H. Conwell.
Lives of the Presidents of The United States Of America From Washington to the Present Time... Portland: H. Hallett & Co., [1882]. Hardcover. Revised edition. Modern green cloth binding all edges gilt with original cover laid down on front. Beautiful floral endpapers. An excellent copy. Fully illustrated with numerous full-page plates most of them with tissue guards. A very clean and crisp copy. Of the few copies for sale most are in poor condition our copy is near fine. Priced to go. United States Presidents. America. Americana. American history. Politics. Law. Fine binding. DP20535 $50.00