One finely engraved head-piece. 4 p.l., LXXX pp. 8vo, attractive early 19th-century calf-backed marbled boards, flat spine gilt, orange & green morocco lettering pieces on spines. [Venice, ca. 1776].

[bound with]:

(PINELLI, Maffeo). Catalogo di Quadri raccolti dal fu Signor Maffeo Pinelli, ed ora posti in vendita in Venezia 1785. viii, 125 pp., one blank leaf. 8vo. [Venice: July 1785].

[bound with]:

(GRIMANI COLLECTION). [Drop-title on p. 3]: Pitture e Scolture nel Palazzo di Casa Grimani a S.ta Maria Formosa. Engraved frontis. Titles & text in double columns in Italian & French. 13 pp. 8vo. [Venice: ca. 1790].

A fascinating... More

Woodcut device on title, two folding printed tables, & one folding woodcut plate. Diagrams in the text. 2 p.l., 306, 35, [1] pp. 4to, cont. speckled sheep (upper joint with short crack, bookplate on blank portion of title patched, minor foxing), spine gilt, red leather lettering piece on spine. Basel: impensis Thurnisiorum, Fratrum, 1713.

[bound with]:

BERNOULLI, Nicolaus I. Dissertatio Inauguralis Mathematico-Juridica. De Usu Artis Conjectandi in Jure. 56 pp. 4to. Basel: J.C. Mechel, 1709.

A most attractive sammelband.

I. First edition of “the first systematic attempt to place the theory of probability on a firm basis and is still the... 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

Five thick vols, each printed on heavy laid paper. 8vo (230 by 150 mm), uniformly bound ca. 1847 by the atelier of the Imprimerie Royale for the Prince Royal, Louis-Charles-Philippe-Raphaël d’Orléans, Duc de Nemours (1814-1896) in crimson straight-grained morocco (minor & skillful repairs to several joints), sides and smooth spines richly gilt in the style of the “Rocaille Louis-Philippe,” the solid tools on covers connected with curved triple fillets, in centers the initials “LO” surrounded by a laurel wreath and surmounted by the royal crown (OHDR fer 2), inside gilt roll borders, light-blue watered-silk liners and endleaves, a.e.g. Paris: Imprimerie... 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

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...

Numerous full-page woodblock color-printed illus., some with delicate embossing. 16 vols. 8vo in orihon (accordion) format, orig. gray semi-stiff wrappers with orig. title slips. [Japan]: [1760-72].

A fine and rare Japanese edition of this Chinese “masterpiece of color printing and design” (Robert T. Paine Jr., “The Ten Bamboo Studio,” Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts 48.274 [1950]: p. 72). The Ten Bamboo Studio Collection of Calligraphy and Painting is a book of finely printed images of rocks, birds, plants, and other motifs, along with poetry reproduced in calligraphy. The book is most famous for its use of... More

14 double-page woodblock illus. 26 folding leaves. 8vo, in orihon (accordion) format, orig. boards (covers a bit worn), orig. block-printed title label on upper cover. [Japan]: 1836.

First edition, early printing, of this famous illustrated book of erotica. “This is the most important printed erotic illustrated book by 14 painters of Kyoto and Osaka, particularly artists of the Maruyama-Shijo and related schools, [including the well-known Kanō Eigaku 狩野永岳, Maruyama Ōshin 円山応震, Tosa Mitsubumi 土佐光文, Gantai 岸岱, and Okamoto Toyohiko 岡本豊彦]…

“It is a work of great subtlety, in terms both of the delicacy and reticence of the scenes of lovemaking... More

Wooden board with thick frame (1360 x 650 x 70 mm.), orig. metalwork pieces on sides & corners, with orig. metal fittings on top to facilitate hanging perpendicularly outside the shop. Both sides carved with characters of the same text, one side artfully carved in sosho tai (a calligraphic cursive script), the other side finely carved in gyosho tai (a semi-cursive script), with furigana reading marks. Characters painted with black pigment & highlighted in gold lacquer. [Japan]: date of manufacture of the board is engraved on one of the cornerpieces (in trans.): “February 1804” by “kazarishi Kinjiro Kamiya” (“ornamental metalwork... 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... More

Many fine full-page woodcut illus. 46; 59 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. yellow wrappers (wrappers a little soiled), orig. woodblock title-slips on upper covers (labels a little soiled), new stitching. Kyoto, Osaka, & Edo: 1808.

First edition of one of the three most important Japanese works on orthopedic medicine. The book is based on Chinese medical science, most notably the Sheng ji zong lu 聖濟總錄, written in the 11th century, and the Yi zong jin jian 醫宗金鑑 by Qian Wu (active 1736-43), who also wrote the famous Yuzuan Yizong Jinjian 御纂醫宗金鑑 [Imperially Commissioned Golden Mirror of Medical Learning], published in 1742... More