33; 29; 30; 31; 30; 28 folding leaves. Six vols. 8vo, orig. pale brown wrappers, orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers (in Manchu & Chinese), new stitching. Jingdu: Long fu si Ju zheng tang, 1890.

First edition of this Manchu–Chinese dictionary of terms and phrases, arranged by subject, starting with astronomy and continuing through geography, architecture, medicine, anatomy, rituals, religion, music and musical instruments, literature, education, bibliography, military words, livestock, veterinary medicine, agriculture, natural history, gastronomy, measurements, numbers, transportation, etc., etc. At this time, Manchu was the imperial language of the Qing dynasty.

Fine set. More

14 leaves of differing color gampi paper treated with gofun, bound in two “quires” & sewn together (stitching a little loose). Small 4to (238 x 179 mm.), orig. semi-stiff pale blue wrappers with mica woodblock-printed designs of leaves & flowers, orig. printed label on upper cover. [Saga, near Kyoto: about 1607].

One of the series of 100 Noh plays produced at the famous private press in Saga, just north of Kyoto. These sumptuous luxury editions were printed for the wealthy and enlightened merchant Suminokura Soan (1571-1632), in collaboration with his calligraphy teacher Koetsu, a leading cultural figure of his day, famous as an artist, potter, lacquerer... More

12 leaves of differing color gampi paper treated with gofun, bound in two “quires” & sewn together. Small 4to (238 x 179 mm.), orig. semi-stiff pale brown wrappers with mica woodblock-printed designs of wisteria in a garland pattern, orig. printed label on upper cover. [Saga, near Kyoto: about 1607].

One of the series of 100 Noh plays produced at the famous private press in Saga, just north of Kyoto. These sumptuous luxury editions were printed for the wealthy and enlightened merchant Suminokura Soan (1571-1632), in collaboration with his calligraphy teacher Koetsu, a leading cultural figure of his day, famous as an artist, potter, lacquerer, and... More

13 double-page & 4 full-page woodcuts. 40 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. gray wrappers (a little tired), orig. block-printed title label on upper cover, new stitching. Nagasaki: Yamatoya Yoshihei, 1847.

First edition of this finely illustrated and witty account of the foreigners — both Chinese and Westerners — living in Nagasaki. We believe this is the earliest book dealing with Nagasaki and its foreign commerce to be published in the city itself. It is a most handsome and unusual book and displays the freedom of design Isono enjoyed in a self-published book. For instance, the six preliminary prefaces or dedications are printed using six different handsome... More

Woodcut frontis. 84 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. blue patterned wrappers, block-printed label on upper cover, new stitching. Edo: Okadaya Kashichi & Izumiya Ichibei, [1833].

First edition and quite rare. This is a collection of planned menus, each involving a number of dishes, arranged by the four seasons. The fine full-page woodcut shows a kitchen scene in a wealthy household, with a chef cutting a fish with a knife and preparing ceremonial dishes (all the ingredients are apparent in the background). A female server is carrying a dish to the dining area.

The main body of the text lists dishes with their ingredients. The broad categories from which dishes are drawn, listed in the index, include: rice, pickles, many categories of broiled and braised dishes, sashimi, sake-marinated fish, many categories of soups, shellfish, kinds of desserts, fruits, etc. At the end is a list of exotic ingredients with instructions on how to prepare and cook them. More

Four double-page & one single-page woodcuts. 87 folding leaves. Small oblong 8vo, orig. patterned blue wrappers, orig. block-printed title-label on upper cover. Osaka & Kyoto: Seishichi Shikata, 1850.

Second edition; the first was published in 1806. Both editions are very rare, and we find no copy of our edition in WorldCat. The well-known artist Okada Gyokuzan (1737-ca. 1812), illustrated both editions. Asano (active 1805), wrote several other works on gastronomic subjects, including one on vinegared sea products.

Kaiseki ryori is the traditional multicourse haute cuisine. Its origins are found many centuries ago in the simple meals served at the tea ceremony, but later it evolved into an... More

Fine & large woodcut vignette on title & one large woodcut in the text. 4 p.l., 52 leaves. Small thickish 4to, cont. finely blind-stamped panelled calf over bevelled wooden boards, lettered on upper cover “Gemein / Koch Boch,” lettered on lower cover “Koch Boch / Der Krancke,” panels with blind-stamped biblical scenes, rosettes, & fleurons (small hole to calf of lower board), orig. catches & clasps. [Augsburg: H. Stayner], 1544.

[bound with]:

RYFF, Walther Hermann. New Kochbüch, Für die Krancken. One large woodcut vignette on title, printed in red & black, & a few woodcuts in the text. Title printed in red & black. 4 p.l., 152 leaves... More

Calligraphic title, written in a very legible hand, each leaf of text within a framed border. 2 p.l. (the second a blank), 564 pp. (a few are blank), 10 leaves of index. Thick 4to (235 x 185 mm.), orig. calf with large panels of marbled paper on sides (minor wear), double gilt fillet round sides, flat spine gilt. Austria (?): 1827.

A fine and extensive manuscript cookbook for a bourgeois household; we believe it is Austrian due to the usage of certain words and for the extreme abundance of desserts, including over 150 pastries! In this volume, we find recipes for more than 50 soups, five... More

Many full-page woodcuts (some double-page). 21; 21 folding leaves. Two vols. 8vo, orig. blue patterned wrappers (rather rubbed), remains of block-printed title labels on upper covers. Edo & Osaka: Suharaya Ichibei & Izumiya Zenbei, 1781.

Second edition of this collection of samples of haiku, all dealing with nature themes; the first edition, published one year earlier, is extremely rare. Our work has been finely illustrated by Shigemasa Kitao (1739-1820), who “was unusual among ukiyo-e artists because he was self-taught. His family ran a bookshop, and the young Shigemasa probably learnt his skills from studying illustrations in books sold in the family shop. His first works... More

Many full-page & double woodcut illus. 33; 33 pp. Two vols. 8vo, orig. pale blue wrappers (rubbed, lower wrapper of first vol. rather wormed), later title labels in manuscript on upper covers, new stitching. Edo & Osaka: Chojiya hebei et al., colophon dated 1833.

First edition and very rare; WorldCat does not list a copy. Okura (1768-1856?), was one of the three most eminent agriculturalists of the Edo period. A reformer, he wrote more than twenty books on all aspects of agricultural improvement and technology; they were among the best of their period for range and clarity of explaining the new methods.

By the end of the 17th century, cotton had become a major cash crop in Japan, far more profitable than rice, as it had become the standard fabric for commoners. Okura wrote this work to increase the revenue of farmers by instructing them how to grow and process the cotton crop more efficiently. More

Four full-page woodcut illus. of distillation equipment. 51; 41; 20; 36; 49; 62 folding leaves. Seven parts in six vols. Large 8vo, orig. green wrappers, orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers, new stitching. Edo, Kyoto, & Osaka: Suharaya ihachi et al., 1814.

First edition in Japanese, translated by Shigenori Yoshida from an unknown Dutch translation, of Huxham’s best-known work, An Essay on Fevers (1st.: 1750). In this work, Huxham (1692-1768), who studied under Boerhaave, “gave careful and original observations of many infectious diseases, differentiating, in particular, between the ‘putrid malignant’ and the ‘slow nervous’ fevers, that is, between typhus and typhoid. Huxham devised the familiar tincture of... More

1 p.l., 357, [1] pp. 8vo, orig. printed wrappers. Leipzig: 1856.

Seyffarth (1796-1885), German/American archeologist, theologian and polymath, was the first professor of archeology at the University of Leipzig and became involved in a lifelong controversy with the school of the French archeologist Champollion, concerning the ancient language of Egypt and its basis. Seyffarth’s unfashionable views impelled him to resign his position at Leipzig in 1854. Two years later he moved to the United States, taught at Concordia College in St. Louis for three years, and then, in 1859, moved to New York, where he resided until his death.

Seyffarth’s library, sold at the time of his emigration to America, was large (9164 lots) and wide-ranging, reflecting his vast erudition. It was rich in language and archeology but also strong in science, medicine, travel, literature, and music. More