Woodcut printer’s device on title. 55 pp. Small 8vo, attractive modern decorated paper boards. Rome: 1773.

This is the seventh and most complete edition of the list of the books issued by the printing office of the Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide, responsible for the spread of Catholicism. The first catalogue was issued in 1639. Amaduzzi (1740-92), Italian Hellenist, has provided a most useful foreword with a history of the printing house. The titles are arranged according to languages, starting with the alphabets in various types and ending with the published decrees and orders of the papal administration concerning the missionary... More about Catalogus Librorum qui ex Typographio Sacrae Congreg de Propaganda Fide Variis Linguis prodierunt...

4 p.l., 24 pp. Small 4to, early 20th-cent. green half-calf & marbled boards by Sizer, spine lettered in gilt. London: Printed for R. Wodenothe, [1652 or 53?]

First edition of this notable book on fruit culture, part of the growing movement during the Commonwealth towards the improvement of orchards. “The preface is by Samuel Hartlib who here states that the writer of the work was not known to him and that moreover he was unable to discover his name. However, it was said that he was ‘an aged minister of the Gospel’ of Loving-land near Yarmouth, who spent his leisure over a period of... More about A Designe for Plentie, by an Universall Planting of Fruit-Trees: Tendred by some Wel-wishers to...

One double-page woodcut & two single-page woodcuts. 18 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. blue wrappers (rather faded & tired, some repaired worming to the text touching a few letters), orig. block-printed title label on upper cover (label faded), new stitching. Kyoto & Edo: Jishudo, 1849.

Following the general introduction of vaccination by Edward Jenner, the practice spread widely, and it was warmly received by the Chinese. The first tract on vaccination in China was prepared by Alexander Pearson, a surgeon to the East India Company, and was based on Jenner’s books. It was translated into Chinese by Sir George Staunton and published in Canton in 1805... More about From the title]: Shintei gyuto kiho; [from the Preface]: Shintei toshu kiho; [Methods of Small...

Four parts in one vol. with continuous pagination. 2 p.l., 748 pp. 8vo, cont. marbled boards, paper labels on spine. Halle: “im Verlag der Waisenhaus-Buchhandlung, 1805.”

A rare and fascinating journal — which did not extend beyond its first four parts — concerning the Harz Mountains in northern Germany and the surrounding lands. “Hercynia” is the Latin name for “Harz.” The Harz Mountains are most famous for the rich mining activities which have taken place there since the Bronze Age. Silver was discovered in the 10th century and iron, copper, lead, barite, and zinc were also mined. Forestry has also been an important industry. More about Hercynisches Archiv oder Beiträge zur Kunde des Harzes und seiner Nachbarländer. Einziger Band...

Numerous woodcut illus. in the text. 17; 14; 15; 11 (but numbered 12); 21 folding leaves. Five vols. Small 8vo, orig. patterned wrappers, orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers (several labels a little defective), new stitching. Edo: Tsutaya Juzaburo, 1784.

First edition, and very rare, of this delightful collection of kyoka and other pieces by many of the most prominent Kyoka poets and Kabuki actors of the day, gathered here to commemorate the 60th birthday of the mother of Nanpo Ota (1749-1823). Ota was a high government official, popular writer, and a central literary figure of his time. This work was published during a golden and... More about Roraishi [sub-title: Kyoka kyobun] [trans.: Lao lai zi (the story of a Chinese filial son),...

Engraved folding frontis. & five folding engraved plates. xv, [1], 339 pp. 8vo, orig. grey boards, red leather lettering piece on spine. Munich: J. Lindauer, 1792.

First edition of this collection of sixteen monographs of scientific, natural historical, and practical articles written by the members of a private scientific society established at Ingolstadt, of which Schrank was the informal leader. The authors include Schrank (six essays on ornithology, botany, and geology); Joseph Bernhard Haim, a mining official at Salzburg (chemical and mineralogical observations); Johann Evangelist Helfenzrieder, professor of mathematics at Ingolstadt (on aeronautics and lightning rods); Matthias Brunswiser, physician at Burghausen (on city cemeteries);... More about Abhandlungen einer Privatgesellschaft von Naturforschern und Oekonomen in...