Engraved vignette on title & four folding engraved plates. 2 p.l., xxvi, [2], 186, [2] pp. 4to, cont. marbled calf (extremities a trifle worn, preliminary leaves a bit discolored), spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Paris: David l’aîné, 1743.

First edition, and a fine copy, of d’Alembert’s masterpiece on dynamics; this has become a scarce book on the market. “The Traité de dynamique, which has become the most famous of his scientific works, is significant in many ways. First, it is clear that d’Alembert recognized that a scientific revolution had occurred, and he thought that he was doing... More

Two folding engraved facsimiles (one in red & black). xxviii, 583 pp.; 2 p.l., 473 pp. Two vols. Large 8vo, cont. red straight-grained half morocco & glazed red paper boards bound in Vienna for Archduke Karl (“Carl Ludwig”), flat spines gold-tooled & lettered in compartments, the Archduke’s initials “CL” in top compartment. Paris: De Bure, 1815.

[bound with]:(—).

Catalogue des Livres rares et précieux…provenant de la Vente de feu M. le Comte de Mac-Carthy-Reagh à vendre aux prix marqués à chaque Article. [iii]-vi, 57, [1] pp. 8vo. Paris: De Bure frères, 1817.

[bound with]:

(—). Liste des Prix des Livres… 1... More

Dont la Vente commencera le 4 Mars 1756. vi, 63 pp. 8vo, cont. vellum over boards, single gilt fillet round sides, flat spine gilt, gilt wheat sheaves in five of the compartments, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Paris: G. Martin & P.G. Simon, 1756.

[bound with]:

(SIREJACOB, J.A.J.). Catalogue d’une très-belle Collection d’Estampes, de Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordaens, Teniers, Callot & autres fameux Maîtres Italiens, François & Flamands. Assemblées depuis longues Années, & Délaissées par Monsieur J.A.J. Sirejacob, Ecuyer. Qui se Vendront…a Bruxelles, Lundi le 27. Août 1764. & jours suivans… 1 p.l., 76 pp. 8vo. Brussels: H.V. Lemincks, [1764]... More

Title within architectural woodcut border & many woodcuts in the text (many highlighted in red). Printed in black letter. [208] pp. Small 4to, modern calf (title with a few minor stains). London: “Prynted in Southwarke in Saynt Thomas Hospitall, by me James Nicolson,” [1537].

First edition of the first English work on surveying in the modern sense: the measuring and plotting of land. In the 16th century, “surveying” could also mean giving instructions to land stewards and overseers of the manor; John Fitzherbert wrote the first book on that subject in 1523. Our book is very rare and is a.... More

Woodcut ornament on title. 2 p.l., 112, [11] pp. Small folio, cont. half-calf & marbled boards (joints with some careful repairs). London: G. & J. Innys, 1722.

Large paper copy, limited to 50 copies, of the second catalogue of the 482 MSS. bequeathed to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, by Matthew Parker (1504-75), “England’s first great bibliophile…It is hardly conceivable that a man who played such a prominent part in the ecclesiastical affairs of the sixteenth century, should also have found time to publish a number of scholarly works and to collect a great library.”–De Ricci, p. 15.

A fine copy... More

45 woodcut illus. in the text. 29 folding leaves. Three vols. in one. Large 8vo, orig. wrappers (rather rubbed, some light dampstaining), remains of block-printed title label on upper cover, modern stitching. [Kyoto]: Osumi Seibei, [Foreword dated 1311, colophon dated 1675].

The third edition — preceded by an undated early 17th-century undated edition and a 1659 edition — of this collection of dissertations on moxibustion and acupuncture. It concerns moxibustion treatment for adults and children with 36 pictures of adults and nine of children, illustrating the locations of acupuncture points with explanations of efficacies. This edition is notable for presenting... More

20 fine brush & black ink drawings of deities & several smaller images. Scroll (290 x 11,980 mm.), delicately ruled in gray ink, wooden roller. [Japan]: 17th-18th century copy?

A copy of the eighth scroll from the ten-scroll set known alternatively as “Zuzōshō” 図像抄 [“Annotated Drawings”] or “Sonyōshō” 尊容抄 [“Annotations on the Noble Countenances [of the Deities Depicted]”], along with “Jikkanshō” 十巻抄 [“Annotations of Ten Scrolls”]. Our scroll is also entitled on outside of scroll “Sho myōō” 諸明王 [“The Various Wisdom Kings”]. The original was made in Japan in 1139-1140 CE (Hoen 5), towards the end of the Heian period... More

18 p.l., 123 pp. 8vo, cont. marbled wrappers (minor browning). Amsterdam: 1731.

First edition of a very uncommon book. Fourmont (1683-1745), “was the first scholar in France to deal with Chinese matters. He started his career in the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres as a Hebraist and had written several small books on Hebrew matters, but he left this discipline and turned to Chinese in 1711. At that time he met a young French-speaking Chinese man by the name of Arcadio Huang [(1679-1716),] in the Bibliothèque Nationale; Huang was the only Chinese speaking-person in France. Fourmont seized the opportunity to... More

40 parts in 12 vols. 8vo, orig. brown wrappers, new stitching. [China]: Liang yi tang, 1763.

A rare edition of this anthology of early Chinese writings, collected by Han Yu 韓愈 (766-824),

a major figure in the history of Chinese literature, comparable in stature to Dante, Shakespeare, or Goethe in their respective literary traditions. He was among that small group of writers whose works not only became classics of the language — required reading for all those with claims to literacy in succeeding generations — but whose writings redefine and change the course of the tradition itself...

11 columns per page, 20 characters per column. Written in Chinese with manuscript Japanese reading marks. 52 folding leaves. Large 8vo (290 x 205 mm.), orig. wrappers (wrappers somewhat worn & rubbed), manuscript title-label on upper cover, new stitching. From the colophon: “Kyoto: Kotetsu shoin, 1608.”

A very rare movable type edition — not in WorldCat or NIJL — of one of the “two priceless records of the earlier stages of the Chinese language.”–Edwin G. Pulleyblank, “Qieyun and Yunjing: The Essential Foundation for Chinese Historical Linguistics“ in Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 118, No. 2 (April-June 1998), p.... More

37 woodcut illus. & several woodcut diagrams. 165.5 folding leaves. Five parts in one vol. Oblong 18mo, orig. semi-stiff wrappers (worn), new stitching. Osaka: Honya Shinemon 本屋新右衛門, 1759.

An early Japanese edition of one of the first Chinese collections of texts on horse medicine. Our book stems from a “late 14th-century compilation [which] does contain genuine works from earlier times. This is the Simu anji ji (Collections for Pacifying Stallions When Administering Flocks), published in 1384. Judging from internal evidence, most of its components are apparently from the 11th and 12th centuries, but some may be later. In... More

68; 68; 75; 80; 66 folding leaves. Five vols. Oblong 8vo, orig. wrappers (rather tired & rubbed), orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers, new stitching. Kyoto: Yao Ichibei, 1692.

An early bibliography of Japanese printed books; essentially a Books in Print, it was the principal guide to the subject for two centuries. “By the middle of the seventeenth century the flood of publications was so great that there was a perceived need for information and guidance, and it was provided by the booksellers’ catalogues known as shojaku mokuroku.”–Kornicki, The Book in Japan, pp. 176-77. The first printed shojaku mokuroku... More