16 pp. (incl. wrappers). Small 4to (175 x 136 mm.), orig. white printed wrappers, staple-bound. [New York: 1966?].

The very rare first Something Else Press catalogue; not recorded in WorldCat. It opens with an article on book design and its limitations, as well as examples of attractive and structurally sound bookbindings. The article concludes: “We are not interested in built-in obsolescence. We want our books to be as fresh ten years from now as they are today, and as much of a joy to behold.” This is followed by a listing of the press’s publications, including works by Robert Filliou, Alison Knowles, Al Hansen... More

14 sheets, ranging from 2000 x 377 mm. to 670 x 385 mm. (the 12 drawings) to 567 x 380 mm. (the furnace), plus the wrapper. All on fine thin paper. [Japan: ca. 1855-63].

With the first demonstration of steam power in Japan, thanks to Commodore Perry’s visit in July of 1853, the feudal domains immediately began to organize the construction of a fleet of large Western-style warships. By the August 1853 arrival in Nagasaki of the Russian Admiral Yevfimy Putyatin, who gave a demonstration of a steam engine on his ship, the Palladia. Hisashige Tanaka (1799-1881), the founder of the future Toshiba Corporation and the “Thomas Edison... More

23 pp. 8vo (210 x 135 mm.), partially stitched (edge of title-page expertly repaired), uncut. Paris: Félix & Pérignon, 1825.

The surprisingly rare auction catalogue of Regnault-Delalande (1762-1824), one of the most prodigious Parisian dealers in the late 18th and early 19th centuries; WorldCat records no copy in North America. Regnault presided over a number of famous sales from the period, foremost among them those of the expert Basan, Count Potocki, Rigal, and the influential critic Saint-Yves. The introduction claims that Regnault-Delalande produced more than 300 sale catalogues (the Getty Provenance Index records approximately 222). This memorial concludes (in trans.): “This historian of... More

34 folding leaves. Small 4to (237 x 166 mm.), contemporary wrappers, new stitching. [Japan]: at end of orig. Preface & end of scribe’s introduction: “1813.”

Tongue and lip diagnosis has been a vital tool used in traditional Chinese medicine for both assessing the current health of a patient and providing a basis for prognosis. Our text is based on a portion of Zhongjing Zhang’s late 2nd-century work Shanghan lun. “Zhang is known to have compiled this text after an epidemic swept through his hometown of Changsha (in present-day Hunan province), killing numerous family members and decimating the general population. Over the next two centuries... More

Some illus. in the text. 86; 64; 57 folding leaves. Three vols. 8vo (237 x 164 mm.), orig. wrappers (some worming), orig. manuscript title-labels on upper covers, new stitching. [Japan]: on final leaf of third vol.: “1786” & “1791.”

A most unusual manuscript: a collection of texts, both Chinese and Japanese, entirely devoted to moxibustion, its theories, and its practices. Most Japanese manuscripts and books include acupuncture along with moxibustion. What is particularly interesting to us about this manuscript is that many of the texts by these authors seem not to have been published but passed on by word of mouth.

Moxibustion, or the burning of moxa, comes under the rubric of counter-irritation. It is the process burning of a combustible plant, usually mugwort, on or against certain areas of the skin. More

Eight full-page drawings & one illus. in the text. 17 folding leaves. 8vo (243 x 165 mm.), orig. blue semi-stiff wrappers (some dampstaining to upper portion of each leaf). [Japan: mid-Edo].

Kagawa (1683-1755), a member of the medical family dynasty, studied in Kyoto with Ryozan Goto and Jinsai Ito, from whom he learned moxibustion and the therapeutic value of the waters of hot springs. Kagawa established the successful Ippondo medical school and was one of the most enthusiastic practitioners of moxibustion of his time. There is another manuscript of this text at Kyoto University, attributed to Kagawa. Some of the illustrations are very different. More

Seven red & black ink illus. in the text, two full-page black & red illus., & one full-page illus. with two images in several colors. 39 folding leaves. Oblong 8vo (163 x 230 mm.), orig. blue wrappers (wrappers a little frayed), new stitching. [Japan: n.d., but mid-Edo].

An usual, well-illustrated, manuscript on acupuncture; a detailed and extended text on how to handle and apply the needles to acupuncture loci. This explicit account is the first such text we have encountered.

The manuscript is divided into two parts; the first (leaves 1-13) is entitled “Kyusho ken” [“Manual Book of our School of Acupuncture”]. This section contains... More

Many illus., mostly in black but some in red, pink, gray, green, yellow, blue, etc. Ca. 1821 folding leaves of text. 1083 chapters in 50 parts in 54 vols. (parts 14 & 15 in one vol., parts 24, 34, 42, & 47 in two vols. each, plus one vol. of table of contents). 8vo (266 x 188 mm.), orig. blue wrappers, orig. manuscript labels on each upper wrapper, new stitching. [Probably Kyoto: written in 1690 & this is a mid-Edo copy].

A rare and extremely important text, finely illustrated and complete in 50 parts; it remained unpublished until 1936. WorldCat lists no copy of this manuscript in North America (the NYPL’s copy is a microfilm). This... More

Woodcut frontis., woodcut vignette on title, 14 plates, & one folding floor-plan. 2 p.l., [iii]-xxiii, 390 pp. & 36 pp. of ads. Small 8vo, orig. patterned green cloth (corners just a tiny bit worn, minor foxing), sides stamped in gilt with an image of Curzon walking through the desert in Arab clothes in search of manuscripts on upper cover & a view of Jerusalem on lower cover, spine gilt. a.e.g. London: J. Murray, [second title]: New York: G.P. Putnam, 1849.

First American edition of “a great classic of the literature of travel, and one, moreover, which has book-collecting for its main theme.”–Munby, Phillipps... More

36 pp. Small 8vo (170 x 105 mm.), late 19th-century brown morocco-backed marbled boards, spine gilt. Paris: Chariot & Joullain, 1775.

A scarce priced auction catalogue, which is, according to the Getty Provenance database, incorrectly attributed by Lugt (and the inscription on the present book’s title-page) to Lempereur (1701-79), a Parisian jeweler — not to be confused with his son, the collector Jean Baptiste Denis (1726-96). This anonymous sale very probably consisted of the estate of a man with a similar surname (see Lugt Marques, 1740). A contemporary annotator has added all prices.

The catalogue describes 252 lots, including 18 paintings (by Lemoyne, H. Robert, Largillière, etc.), 169 drawings (by Maratti, Rubens, Jordaens, C. Vanloo, Greuze, Fragonard, Callot, Watteau, etc.), 56 lots of prints and books of prints, and nine sculptures. More

12 black & white illus. pasted on leaves. 32 unnumbered pages. 8vo (214 x 135 mm.), orig. blue cloth over boards (spine sunned), title in gilt on upper cover & spine. [Manchester: The Cloister Press, Ltd., 1943].

An exceedingly rare Epstein exhibition catalogue, signed by the artist; WorldCat records only the BL copy. As explained on the verso of the title-page, 50 percent of sales from this exhibition were to be given to the Merchant Navy Comforts Service. Epstein writes a brief introduction about the works he has selected: “The works in this collection which date from so early as the ‘Marcelle’ 1920 to the Chinese Girl... More

1 p.l., 20 pp. Small 8vo (185 x 138 mm.), printed paper wrappers, staple-bound. [Helsingfors: Handelstryckeriet, 1904].

The very scarce catalogue of a selling exhibition organized by Durand-Ruel in Helsinki. The artists featured in this show included Degas, Denis, P. Dubois, Alfred William Finch, Forain, Jeanniot, Constantin Meunier, Monet, Pissarro, Puvis de Chavannes, Renoir, van Rysselberghe, Signac, Sisley, Jacob Smits, Henri Thomas, etc. The title of each picture is printed in French, Finnish, and Swedish. All 69 entries are priced in francs.

Fine copy. We locate only one copy in North America. More