Large-scale colonization of Hokkaido Island (“Ezo”) began in the mid-18th century. Hata (1764-1808), a Tokugawa bakufu official who served in Hokkaido from 1798-1800, wrote a self-illustrated text concerning the ethnology of the Ainu, the aboriginal inhabitants of the island. A copy of his manuscript was prepared ca. 1800 with woodblock illustrations and the only known copy was in the Hyde collection (sold Christie’s NY, 7 October 1988, lot 48 for $66,000).

A series of manuscript copies of Hata’s original manuscript were made and circulated, each with notable variations. Our two scrolls are remarkably complete. More

Woodcut printer’s device on title. 4 p.l. (last leaf a blank), 79 pp. Small 8vo, somewhat later vellum over boards. Bologna: J. Rubrius, 1564.

First edition of an extremely rare book in which Aranzi (1530-89), professor of anatomy at Bologna, describes his discovery of “the ductus venosus of the fetus that runs to the umbilical cord.”–Castiglioni, A History of Medicine, p. 428. He was the first to state the maternal and foetal circulations were separate, and found the highly oxygenated blood supply was connected from the placenta through the ductus venosus to the foetal circulation.

“His De Humano Foetu was an important book…he was the first to maintain that the maternal and foetal circulations are separate, but he naturally did not, and could not, speak of circulations, since he lived before Harvey. Nor could he have proved his point satisfactorily with the means then at his command, and, as we shall see, it was to take another century before the proof was given. Apart from this valuable contribution to embryology, Arantius gave some admirable anatomical descriptions of the foetal membranes.”–Garrison, A History of Embryology, p. 105. More

liv, [2], 618 pp.; 2 p.l., 400 pp. Two vols. in one. Thick 4to, cont. speckled boards, excellently rebacked in antique calf, gilt, reusing the two red morocco lettering pieces on spine. Paris: G.F. de Bure, 1767.

A very rare large paper copy of the extremely uncommon auction catalogue of the first of three sales of duplicates from the library of the duc de la Vallière, who formed by the time of his death in 1780 the most important collection of books of the 18th century. La Vallière, born rich and richer still through several inheritances, began buying in a serious way at... 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

Engraved title & several engravings & numerous woodcuts in the text. 8 p.l., 412, [12] pp. Folio, cont. half-sheep & marbled boards (minor worming towards end), spine gilt, black leather lettering piece on spine. Ferrara: F. Succius, 1629.

First edition, Jesuit issue, and a very fine copy. “Perhaps the most significant discovery of the century following Gilbert was that of electrical repulsion. This effect seems first to have been noticed incidentally by Cabeus, who, in his Philosophia Magnetica (1629), describes how filings attracted by excited amber sometimes recoiled to a distance of several inches after making contact.”–Wolf, A History of Science, Technology, and Philosophy, I, p. 303. More

Fine medallion woodcut port. of the author on verso of title, numerous woodcut illus. in the text, one folding woodcut plate (pp. 769-70) with the woodcut volvelle unassembled on a separate slip bound-in, & one folding printed table (pp. 790-91). 16 p.l. (the last a blank), 1194 (i.e. 1204), [64] pp. Thick 8vo, cont. blind-stamped panelled pigskin over wooden boards (some light dampstaining) by Hans Bopp of Nuremberg, orig. clasps & catches. Basel: [H. Petri], 1557.

Second edition (the first edition was published earlier in the same year) of Cardano’s second great encyclopedia of natural science; it is a continuation of and supplement to his... More

[Japan: 17th or 18th century].

In the seventh and eighth centuries, when trade flourished with the rest of Asia, especially Korea and China, Japanese nobility melded foreign dance and music traditions with native Shinto songs. This amalgam was eventually incorporated into official court functions and became so important that it even merited the establishment of a ministry of dance in 701. Trained court nobles and professionals were the only ones permitted to execute these complex choreographies. Bugaku (now known as gagaku) was a type of dance performed at the imperial court during the Edo period.

At the beginning of the scroll, which takes place in the emperor’s palace, one sees large drums, called dadaiko, framed by flames and dragons. On top of one of the larger drums there is a motif of the sun. These drums are accompanied by musicians playing a mouth organ (sho), a bamboo flute (ryuteki), and smaller drums in the gakuya (the musicians’ section). They sit under an elaborately decorated banner and provide a steady rhythm for the dancers on stage before them. The elevated stage (takabutai), where two dancers are performing enbu, is adorned with a highly ornate brocade drape. More

Cum Commentariis C.G. Bacheti…& observationibus D.P. de Fermat…Accessit Doctrinae Analyticae inventum novum, collectum ex variis eiusdem D. de Fermat Epistolis. Large engraved vignette on title, several finely engraved headpieces & initials, & a few woodcut diagrams in the text. 6 p.l., 64, 341, 48 pp., one leaf of errata. Folio, cont. speckled calf (carefully rebacked with the orig. spine laid-down, light browning as usual, two corners discretely repaired), spine richly gilt. Toulouse: B. Bosc, 1670.

First edition, and a very fine and fresh copy. This edition is the first to contain Fermat’s observations on the Arithmetica of Diophantus, the first systematic treatise on... More

xvi, 125 pp., [3] pp. of publisher’s ads. Large 4to, cont. mottled calf (a few careful repairs to upper joint & corners), triple gilt fillet round sides, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine, a.e.g. The Hague: P. de Hondt, 1756.

First edition in French (1st ed., in English: 1755); this is one of the few copies which has fine and delicate contemporary coloring. Ellis (ca. 1710-76), whom Linnaeus termed a “bright star of natural history” and “the main support of natural history in England,” was one of the earliest marine zoologists. With the Swede Daniel Solander (1733–1782), he discovered... More

Engraved vignette on title & 24 finely engraved plates (three are folding). Both titles are printed in red & black. 2 p.l., 424 pp.; 1 p.l., 425-794 pp. Two vols. in one. Thick folio, cont. mottled calf (ends of spine & corners a little worn), single gilt fillet round sides, spine richly gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Göttingen: A. Vanderhoek, 1742.

First edition of Haller’s first great survey of Swiss flora.

A very fine and handsome copy. More

Circular silver photographic print, 92 mm. in diameter, mounted on paper incorporating a printed title and descriptive letterpress dated August 1890 with the signatures of two of Herschel’s sons, mounted on card. Some small areas of abrasions to the paper surface. In the original frame, by Ryman & Co. of Oxford, made from the rungs of the ladder to the telescope. With a fragment of an original (?) printed descriptive notice on the back.

This is the earliest photograph of a scientific instrument and the first photograph deliberately taken to record an object prior to its disappearance (the earliest “record” photograph). It is... More

One engraved title & 19 engraved plates (of which 17 are in magnificent mezzotint). Text: 16 pp.; 1 p.l., 9 pp.; iv, 14 pp. Three parts in one vol. Oblong folio, modern half-cloth & boards. [Part I]: Vienna: J.P. Sollinger, 1830; [Parts II & III]: Laibach (today Ljubljana in Slovenia): I.A. Edlen v. Kleinmayr, 1832-32.

First edition of this beautifully illustrated monograph on the famous karst caves in Slovenia. They were first described and studied by Johann Weikhard von Valvasor in the late 17th century. The fine plates, most of which are in splendid mezzotint, have been drawn by Alois Schaffenrath (1794-1836), an engineer working for the... More