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 the job of... More

[Japan: early Meiji, ca. 1875].

An unusually finely illustrated scroll on copper refining, illustrated by Suian Hirafuku.

The Ani-kozan silver and copper mine in Akita prefecture has been in operation since the late 16th century. Silver was extracted in the early years. In 1672, veins of copper ore were discovered there, and by 1716 it became the largest producer of copper in Japan. The copper was ultimately shipped to Nagasaki for export by the Dutch East India Company to European and Asian markets. By the late 1670s, Japan had become the largest copper producing and exporting country in the world (replacing... More

2 p.l., lvi, 502 pp. 8vo, 19th-cent. sheep-backed marbled boards, flat spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Paris: Dessain, 1779.

A most unusual copy, very probably Chardin’s own copy, of this sale catalogue; it is the first of several sales, here held under the maiden name of his wife “Filheul,” by which Chardin, one of the most important Parisian booksellers of his time, periodically disposed of a portion of his vast stock. We know of later sales in 1806, 1819 (in London), and 1824.

This did not prevent Chardin from selling many rare books and MSS. directly to collectors throughout his career... More

[filled-in by a cont. hand: Dincourt d’Hangard]. Dont la vente se fera le Lundi 9 Mars 1789, & les jours suivans. ix, [1], 11-20, 270 pp., 1 leaf, [271]-316 pp. (“Tables des Auteurs”); 18 pp. (“Supplement”); 26 pp. (“Liste des Prix”). 8vo, cont. sheep (blank corner of title & pp. 181-84 torn away), spine gilt, red morocco lettering pieces on spine. Paris: Née de la Rochelle & Belin Junior, 1789.

[bound with]:

(LE VAVASSEUR DE LA HÉRONNIERE). Catalogue des Livres de la Bibliothèque de feu M. Le Vavasseur de la Héronniere; Composé d’articles précieux, tant par les Editions que par les Reliures. Dont la Vente commencera Lundi 20 Avril... More

Woodcut device on title, two folding printed tables, & one folding woodcut plate. 2 p.l., 306, 35, [1] pp. 4to, fine cont. vellum over boards (slightly warped). Basel: impensis Thurnisiorum, Fratrum, 1713.

First edition of “the first systematic attempt to place the theory of probability on a firm basis and is still the foundation of much modern practice in all fields where probability is concerned — insurance, statistics and mathematical heredity tables.”–Printing & the Mind of Man 179.

A very fine and large copy preserved in a box. More

Large woodcut printer’s device on each title & numerous woodcuts & illus. and printed tables in the text. 470, [7] pp., one blank leaf; 217, [1] pp., two leaves of dedication. Two parts in one vol. Large 4to, cont. binding from the south of France of red morocco (rather browned throughout as always with this book due to the quality of the paper, some minor worming towards end touching a few letters & carefully repaired), arms in gilt on covers of François de Rignac (1580-1663; see below), roulette border in gilt round sides, spine gilt. Frankfurt: J.G. Schönwetter, 1648.

First edition of this collection of writings on the famous new star of 1572-74 (first part) and the equally famous comet of 1577 (second part); this edition, containing two of Tycho’s most important works, is rare on the market. It was his observations of these two astronomical phenomena — here printed — that compelled Tycho to abandon the Aristotelian theory of the universe and replace it with his own geoheliocentric system. This was an enormously important step in the acceptance of the Copernican doctrine. More

Many fine brush & color and black & white paintings in the text. 26; 20; 27; 17; 32 folding leaves of mica paper. Five vols. 8vo (240 x 172 mm.), orig. finely decorated wrappers, each set of endpapers finely painted with botanical landscapes, orig. title labels on upper covers in manuscript, new stitching. [Japan: mid-Edo].

A beautiful and remarkable luxury manuscript, created on mica paper and richly illustrated in fine colors and brush, describing and depicting all the elements of the costumes for the emperor, the emperor “emeritus,” the crown prince, the prince’s son, male aristocrats, retainers, and guards of the court. Many of the costumes date from the... More

Titles within architectural woodcut borders & numerous woodcuts in the text. 20 p.l., 331, [1] leaves, one blank leaf; 300 leaves. Two vols. in one. Thick 8vo, cont. blind-stamped pigskin over wooden boards, upper cover dated in blind “1580,” remains of catches. Rome: V. Accolti, 1574.

First edition of Clavius’s main work, his rare and influential edition of Euclid; ours is a fine and handsome copy in a contemporary south German or Swiss blind-stamped and panelled pigskin binding over wooden boards. Clavius (1538-1612), was called by his contemporaries “the Euclid of the sixteenth century.”

“In 1574 a new departure in the matter of format was taken. A Latin edition in two octavo volumes with rather diminutive diagrams was printed at Rome by Vincenzo Accolti. The [editor] was Christophorus Clavius (Schlüssel) of Bamberg, of the Society of Jesus, a mathematician who gave the Gregorian Calendar of New Style its present form and made all the calculations necessary for its verification. It contains the fifteen books with very full scholia, and the addition of a sixteenth, De solidorum regularium comparatione. It was reprinted at Rome in 1589 in the same form, and in folio at Cologne in 1591.”–Thomas-Stanford, p. 11. 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 Latin names and... More

Four folding engraved plates. Four parts in one vol. [all published]. 8vo, cont. half-sheep & paste-paper boards (occasional minor dampstaining, first 40 leaves with two unimportant wormholes in lower outer margin), spine gilt, black leather lettering piece on spine. Leipzig: Roch, 1801.

First edition, all published, of this important mineralogical and geological journal; this set comes from the library of the great geologist and mineralogist Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749-1817), professor at the famous Freiberg Bergakademie. According to D.S.B., VI, p. 456, this is the first “special periodical for geology and mineralogy…Despite the recognition it received, it ceased publication on the death of its... More

Woodcut printer’s device of the golden compass on title. 119 pp. Small 8vo, 18th-cent. Belgian mottled calf (head of spine a little chipped, joints rubbed), sides gilt, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine (label partly flaked away). Antwerp: C. Plantin, 1570.

[as usual, bound after]:

PHILIP II, King of Spain. Philippi II. Regis Catholici Edictum De Librorum prohibitorum catalogo observando. Woodcut printer’s device of the golden compass on title. 8 unnumbered leaves. Antwerp: C. Plantin, 1570. More

An important and remarkable survival. “In general, the chonin, the bourgeois citizens of Edo and Osaka particularly, enjoyed literature that was light and entertaining: stories of love and intrigue, often with fantastic or occult elements; and verse that was very much on the surface, relying greatly for its appeal on word-plays that the nature of the language, with it innumerable homophones, encourages…from the beginning of the Temmei period in 1781, kyoka verse became a major leisure activity of the chonin and of some samurai…

“The Temmei vogue for kyoka — literally, ‘crazy verses’ —was a revival. The form had originated... More