Engraved arms on title. 5 p.l., xxxvi, 499 pp.; 1 p.l., [501]-1035, [78] pp. Two parts in two vols. 12mo, cont. speckled calf (two joints with short cracks at head), spines gilt, contrasting morocco lettering pieces on spines. Paris: P. Geffart & G. Martin, 1711.

Charles Bulteau (ca. 1630-1710), historian and the King’s secretary, took over the library of his brother Louis when Louis entered the Benedictine order. Charles greatly increased the collection and, upon his death, left a library of about 10,000 works. This is one of the most important and extensive catalogues compiled by Gabriel Martin and the first of 22 for... More

Double-page engraved frontis. & five engraved plates. 2 p.l., 2 , 32 pp., [2], 33-103, 11 pp. 8vo, cont. green half-morocco & marbled boards (extremities rubbed & joints a bit cracked at head). Edinburgh: Printed by J. Hutchison, 1833.

[bound with]:

(—). Catalogue of the Library of the late John Clerk of Eldin…containing a very Valuable Collection of Books in Law, Classics, History, the Fine Arts, and Miscellaneous Literature…which will be sold by Auction, by Mr C.B. Tait, in his Great Room, No. 11, Hanover Street, on Monday, January 21, 1833, and Nine following Days… 2 p.l., 58 pp. 8vo. N.p. [Edinburgh]: J. Colston, [1833]. [bound with]: More

Engraved title-page, one letter-press leaf of subscribers, 226 engraved pages, & a final blank. Folio, cont. sheep-backed marbled boards (rubbed, lower joint expertly repaired, foot of spine a little worn), orig. printed upper wrapper cut-out & mounted on upper board (a little stained). Mainz & Paris: B. Schott Sons; Antwerp: A. Schott, [1826].

First edition, the rare first issue with the leaf of subscribers, of Beethoven’s epic Ninth Symphony. “Even for Beethoven, the Ninth Symphony was a signal accomplishment, the most ambitious work in a series of pieces that changed forever the concept of the symphony. The Ninth required a gestation period of almost thirty... More

Engraved frontis. & an allegorical headpiece by J.M. Preisler after Ed. Bouchardon and an added engraved port. of De Boze mounted on the leaf facing frontis. 4 p.l., 332, xxxi pp. Folio, cont. Parisian dark blue morocco, triple gilt fillets round sides, spine gilt in compartments, broad inside gilt borders, doublures & endleaves of yellow watered silk, a.e.g. [Paris: Privately Printed at the Imprimerie Royale], 1745.

A famous private library catalogue, splendidly printed by the Imprimerie Royale, in an edition limited to 12, 25, 36 or 50 copies according to various bibliographers, and only distributed to friends of the collector. It... More

Woodcut royal arms on title. 1 p.l., 34 pp. Small folio, cont. French red morocco, panelled in gilt in the style of the “cabinet du Roi,” gilt arms & ciphers [Olivier 2495 fer 2] on covers, with ciphers on spine, a.e.g. Paris: de l’Imprimerie Royale, 1743.

First edition and very uncommon. This catalogue, the splendid Han Fürstenberg — Otto Schäfer — Jacques Bemberg copy, lists the plates made of the collections of the king, including paintings, medals, royal chateaux, fountains, grottoes, statues, busts, tapestries, and jewels, along with records of festivals, entrances, battles, etc., etc.

“Colbert, understanding that engraving was the best means to disseminate and preserve knowledge of the undertakings of Louis XlV, began to assemble a group of outstanding engravers. By 1660 they had achieved the stature of independent artists and by 1670 had become a special group under the protection of the king, joined together at the Gobelins around Charles Le Brun and Sebastien Le Clerc. From 1660 André Félibien was charged with providing descriptions of maisons royales and Adam Van der Meulen and Israel Silvestre were sent to the newly conquered territories to make views of the principal chateaus and fortresses. Other commissions for the Cabinet du Roi included engravings by Chauveau of the king’s paintings at the Tuileries; copies of paintings and sculpture by Claude Mellan, Rousselet, and Audran in the galleries of the king; copies by Ronelet of the king’s collection of medals; and other works of art and architecture by Rousselet, Silvestre, Chauveau, and Le Clerc. At the same time the Académie des Sciences began scholarly works commissioned by Colbert…Illustrators for these works were Abraham Bosse, Sebastien Le Clerc (who often made engravings for Claude Perrault), Nicolas Bailly, and L. de Châtillon… More

Five engraved plates, two finely engraved headpieces, & several engravings in the text (some full-page). 12 p.l., 810 pp. Folio, cont. polished speckled calf, spine richly gilt. Paris: Guerin & Robustel, 1715.

First edition of this monumental catalogue, compiled by Montfaucon, the eminent historian and founder of Greek paleography, of the magnificent collection of Greek MSS. owned by Coislin (1664-1732), French prelate. A very scarce book, this is only the second copy I have had in thirty years.

Most of the manuscripts come from the library of Pierre Séguier (1588-1682), the celebrated Chancellor of France and Coislin’s grandfather. “The manuscripts were given to the... More

[Jerusalem & London: ca. 1832].

The complete autograph working manuscript of Alroy, containing numerous authorial corrections, revisions, and deletions throughout. Disraeli (1804-81), politician, prime minister, and novelist, had spent the years 1830-32 on a tour of the Middle East, including a seminal week in Jerusalem. It was on this tour of the Holy Lands that Disraeli developed a strong sense of cultural relativism. While Disraeli was baptized into the Christian church at age 13, at the request of his father, a Voltairean sceptic, this was done mostly for practical reasons (Jews still faced significant legal discrimination in England at the time and... More

Engraved frontis. port. of Franklin & 12 engraved plates. 2 p.l., xxii, [2], 338 pp.; 2 p.l., xiii, [3], 318, [2] pp. Two vols. in one. Large 4to, cont. red morocco, spine richly gilt, green morocco lettering piece on spine, a.e.g. Paris: Quillau, Esprit, & l’Auteur, 1773.

First collected edition in French of Franklin’s Experiments and Observations on Electricity; it is described by Printing and the Mind of Man as “the most important scientific book of eighteenth-century America.” This is the most complete early edition of Franklin’s scientific writings in any language. Our edition is based on the fourth English edition of 1769 and includes correspondence... More

78 parts plus table of contents bound in 15 vols. (full collation supplied in the Hyde catalogue). Large 8vo (286 x 215 mm.), paper wrappers, new stitching. [Japan]: Chokuban or Chokuhan [privately published by the Emperor’s order], 1621.

First edition and a fine set of one of the very few surviving “imperial editions” printed with movable type in Japan. This enormous publication, by far the largest of the eight surviving “chokuhan” (imperial printings) and the only surviving “gen’na chokuhan” (imperial printing during the reign of Emperor Gomizunoo) is of very great rarity. The production of this large work was a very complex and difficult... More

More than one hundred very fine full-page woodcut illus. 40; 35 folding leaves. Two vols. 8vo, orig. wrappers (minor worming in lower corners, touching the images, very skillfully repaired), orig. block-printed title label on each upper cover, new stitching. Kyoto: Kamisaka Kanbei, 1736.

The chrysanthemum has been for many centuries the imperial flower of Japan, representing the Emperor and other members of the royal family. Such was the interest in this flower that in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Japanese botanists concentrated on cross-breeding species of the chrysanthemum to propagate more than 200 new hybrids, creating ever more spectacular varieties. A.... More

8 p.l., 193 pp. Small 4to, cont. sheep-backed patterned paper over thin wooden boards (three corners a little rounded, slight browning due to the quality of the paper). Copenhagen: P.J. Phoenixberg, 1725.

First edition of the very rare catalogue of the private library commenced by Anne Gøye (1601-81). Upon her death, the collection was passed on to her daughter-in-law Karen Brahe (1657-1736) who continued to make additions. The collection — one of the greatest of the early Danish private libraries — remains intact in the Landesarchiv at Odense and contains many unique Danish imprints and other rarities.

The present catalogue describes about 2000 titles. For full accounts of the history of the formation of this library see Victor Madsen, “Karen Brahes Bibliotek i Odense” in Nordisk Tidskrift för Bok- och Bibliotheksräsen, 6 (1919), (Isak Collijn, ed.), pp. 171-85 and Nielsen, Danske Privatbiblioteker, I (1946), pp. 96-123. More

Woodcut vignette on title. 167 (i.e. 157), [15] pp. 8vo, fine red morocco of about 1760, triple gilt fillets round sides, tiny gilt stars at each corner, flat spine richly gilt “á la grotesque,” green morocco lettering piece on spine, blue paper endpapers, a.e.g. Paris: F. Leonard, 1666.

First edition of the catalogue of the first of two print collections formed by Marolles (1600-81), abbot of Villeloin and man of letters. He began acquiring prints in 1626 and by 1644, his collecting activities governed his life. At that time there was little competition, and Marolles bought several important collections en bloc, including those... More