12 columns per page, 21 characters per column. Text block: 233 x 170 mm. 28; 29; 40 folding leaves. Three vols. Large 8vo (277 x 192 mm.), orig. persimmon-stained wrappers (wrappers somewhat worn), new stitching. [Probably Kyoto]: according to Kawase, “mid-Genna”(ca. 1620).

One of the great rarities of Japanese movable type printing; according to Kawase, this is the second-earliest printing of Aesop’s Fables in kanji and hiragana characters. All movable type editions of this text are very rare; WorldCat lists no copy preceding the 1659 woodblock edition.

“Western books were first imported to Japan by Portuguese missionaries, who printed copies... More

36 folding leaves, of which four are blank. 8vo (240 x 170 mm.), orig. blue semi-stiff wrappers (wrappers somewhat worn), orig. label, heightened in gold, with manuscript title, new stitching. [Japan]: n.d.

During the Edo period, there were 12 Korean delegations to Japan, whose purposes were mostly to congratulate a new Tokugawa shogun. The missions, which normally included 300-500 Koreans, accompanied by roughly 1500 Japanese escorts, symbolized the amicable relationship between the two nations and, in the early years, served to legitimize the Tokugawa shogunate.

These delegations, which usually took nine or ten months round-trip, were enormously expensive undertakings for... 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... 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

Lithographed title with vignette depicting both sides of the medallion of the Société lithographique de Mulhouse, lithographed leaf of table of contents, & eight lithographed plates (two in color). Large 4to, later blue wrappers (title a little dusty), newly stitched, uncut. Paris: “chez l’Auteur Rue Casette No. 18,” [1816].

First edition of one of the great rarities of lithography. Engelmann (1788-1839), a native of Mulhouse, first learned of lithography in 1813 and began to experiment on some stones. Realizing he needed more information, he decided to go to Munich to see the process at first hand. “For several weeks Engelmann... More

Finely engraved added title & numerous woodcut diagrams & printed tables in the text. Printed title in red & black. 9 p.l. (incl. engraved title), 323, 184 pp. Two parts in one vol. Large 4to, cont. vellum over boards, covers nicely decorated with coats-of-arms in gilt & silver (now oxidized) on each cover, a.e.g., ties gone. Hamburg: Frobenius, 1634.

First edition of this handsome and rare work on trigonometry by a student of Tycho Brahe. Frobenius (1566-1645), after studying in Tübingen and Wittenberg, went in 1591 to the island of Hven where he intended to live and study with Tycho... More

4 p.l., 281, [15] pp. 8vo, cont. vellum over boards (spine attractively rebacked with leather), trace of ties, spine gilt. Basel: R. Wynter, 1541.

First edition of Gesner’s very rare first book (he had two earlier appearances in books, one as editor and the other as contributor). Gesner published this work at the age of 25, and it reflects his lifelong interest in botany and classification.

This is an alphabetical list of plants’ names compiled from the works of authors on medical topics in antiquity and in the early Middle Ages. The alphabetical arrangement of plants both by their tradition... More

One map of Hokkaido, five double-page paintings, & five single-page paintings (all but two in fine color). 44 leaves. Oblong 8vo (132 x 192 mm.), orig. semi-stiff wrappers covered with silk (the silk has largely worn away), silk thread embroidery on upper cover, new stitching. [Japan]: at end of Preface (in trans.): “1839 copied.”

A well-illustrated and densely informative manuscript on the trade and shipping routes between the main island of Japan and Hokkaido. This trade started in the mid-15th century and continued through the Edo period. The merchant ships that sailed between Hokkaido and the cities on the main... More

Ten columns per page, 20 characters per column. The first leaf in Japanese, the remainder in Chinese. 1 p.l., 52 folding leaves. 8vo (275 x 173 mm.), orig. wrappers (wrappers quite rubbed & and somewhat worn), old stitching. From the colophon: “Kyoto: Tahara Ninzaemon, 1641.”

A very rare early 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. 213. The... More

Scroll (310 x 4130 mm.), with silk borders & silk brocade on outside of front endpaper, wooden roller, recently & expertly backed. [Edo: late Edo].

An important document for Noh theater. Our scroll depicts the buildings, stage, and back rooms of the theater constructed for the Kanjin Noh performances of 1848. They took place at Sujikaibashi in Edo and were organized by the Hosho ryu (school) of Noh, whose chief performer was Hosho Tayu XV. This school was founded in the 14th century and was known for its emphasis on its dignity and the sensitivity and refinement of its singing... More

Six albumen prints from wet collodion negatives (each 430 x 430 mm.), each mounted on stiff card stock panels (each panel measuring 620 x 430 mm.), joined together with the orig. linen, with the lithographed title at foot of the two middle panels. Preserved in the orig. green cloth-backed board portfolio, ties gone. [Essen: F. Krupp, ca. 1872-73].

A magnificent and rare photographic panorama of the Krupp Steel Works in Essen, consisting of six albumen prints, each mounted on paper board panels, measuring altogether 430 x 2480 mm. The industrial steel manufacturer Friedrich Krupp AG was the largest company in... More

14 double-page & three single-page fine brush & color-wash illus. 21, 19, 20 folding leaves. Three parts in one vol. Large 8vo (270 x 188 mm.), orig. semi-stiff blue patterned wrappers, manuscript title label on upper cover, new stitching. [Japan]: copied by Mokuro Kimura in Tenpo era (1830-44).

A very rare manuscript account of the two expeditions in 1808 and 1809 of Mamiya (1775-1844), hydraulic engineer, cartographer, and explorer, to survey Sakhalin Island (J: Kita Ezo or Karafuto), off the coast of Siberia. The “Todatsu kiko” is Mamiya’s main Sakhalin travel narrative. During these journeys, Mamiya discovered that Sakhalin is... More