Six double-page & two full-page woodcut illus. (all color-printed), most heightened with gold & silver pigment. 27 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. blue wrappers (extremities a trifle worn), orig. block-printed title label on upper cover, new stitching. [Japan]: 1831.

First edition of this scarce and richly illustrated collection of kyoka poetry, which translates to “crazy verses,” a comic genre filled with wordplay and figurative language. The woodcuts have been skillfully embellished with pigments and embossing to accentuate the patterns within.

Suikei (1780-1833), renowned for his figurative painting, provided the illustrations for a number of books in the late Edo period. One of the editors of... More

Black & white illus. (some full-page). 47 pp. Large 4to (277 x 205 mm.), pictorial wrappers, staple-bound. [Toronto: 1977].

A rare and early catalogue issued by Art Metropole, the first large-scale distributors of artists’ books and publications in North America. This catalogue offers dozens of works by European artists such as Abramovic, Beuys, Boltanski, Broodthaers, Buren, Darboven, Dibbets, Ehrenberg, Filliou, Fulton, Graham, Rebecca Horn, Hansjörg Mayer, Merz, Nannucci, Polke, Maria Reiche, Rot, Schwitters, Spoerri, Lea Vergine, Vostell, etc. Publications from Art Metropole, periodicals, records, and videos are also listed for sale, with prices. The graphic cover art comes from Rudolf Schwarzkogler’s Portfolio of the 3rd... More

viii, 32 pp. 8vo (215 x 137 mm.), stitched as issued, uncut. Paris: Félix & Regnault-Delalande, 1815.

The rare first edition of this sale catalogue; according to the Getty Provenance Index, much of the sale’s contents belonged to Jean Antoine Joseph Fauchet (1761-1834), French ambassador to the United States and author. Scheduled for March 1815, this auction was postponed and held the following year, when a second edition of the present catalogue was prepared (Lugt 8854).

This catalogue describes 146 lots of paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, and clocks. There are pictures by Fra Angelico, Guercino, Boilly, An. Carracci, Fragonard, O. Gentileschi, Miel, Guido Reni, Steen... More

72 pp. Small 8vo (200 x 125 mm.), cont. pink paper wrappers bound in late 19th-cent. aubergine calf-backed marbled boards, spine gilt. Paris: Constantin, Paillet, Chariot, 1814.

A scarce auction catalogue, fully annotated with prices and with many buyers’ names, that marks the ultimate liquidation of Lebrun’s rich personal collection and probably unsold remnants from his stock. Lebrun (1748-1813) was one of the leading art dealers of his time and erstwhile husband of the painter Elisabeth Vigée Lebrun. This copy contains contemporary marginal annotations, as well as late 19th-century additions filling in the gaps.

Alexandre Joseph Paillet, Lebrun’s principal rival, initially compiled this catalogue, and after his death, his son Charles undertook this catalogue’s final publication in collaboration with Guillaume Jean Constantin. At the beginning of this volume, there is a valuable biography of Lebrun, with details of his fascinating life and many accomplishments. More

63 full-page color illus., 26 double-page color illus., 8 full-page black & white illus., & several maps including a finely colored world map that continues for three pages. 16 parts in nine vols. Large 8vo (236 x 168 mm.), later brown wrappers, new stitching. [Japan]: from the last page of the final volume, in trans.: “copied 1815.”

An early copy of this famous and sensational text, which circulated in manuscript in Japan throughout the 19th century. Its account of travels outside of Japan remained effectively a “clandestine” work until it was ultimately published in 1899. The earliest surviving manuscript is dated 1807.

This beautiful calligraphic manuscript, which is richly illustrated, chronicles the extraordinary experiences of a group of 16 Japanese seamen who were carried by a storm in November 1793 to the Aleutians, where they were shipwrecked. After being rescued, they were summoned to St. Petersburg by Tsar Alexander I. There they remained until 1803, when five of them were sent on Krusenstern’s famous voyage into the Pacific — the first Russian circumnavigation. One of the principal objectives of Krusenstern’s voyage was to establish diplomatic relations between Russia and Japan. The five seamen, the first Japanese to circumnavigate the globe, finally arrived back in Japan in September 1804. More

Complete set of 20 original albumen photographs (image sizes: 170 x 250 mm. & 230 x 190 mm.) by Charles David Winter mounted on card boards (440 x 350 mm.). Folio, orig. portfolio with large printed title pasted on upper cover (cloth spine a little worn, some rubbing to boards), orig. cloth ties. Strasbourg: Winter Fassoli, 1870.

A fine set of this extremely rare portfolio of 20 albumen photographs by the Strasbourg photographer Charles David Winter (1821-1904). These photographs reveal the devastation that took place during the siege of Strasbourg in August and September 1870 by Germany in the Franco-Prussian War. This siege was the first example of “total... More

Six folding engraved plates. Title in red & black. 1 p.l., 308 pp. 8vo, cont. mottled sheep, flat spine nicely gilt, contrasting leather lettering piece on spine. Lausanne & Geneva: M.M. Bousquet, 1744.

First edition of this important book in which Cheseaux (1718-51), grandson of Crouzas and a fellow the Royal Society of London, first stated what was to become known as “the paradox of Cheseaux”: “With an infinite and uniform distribution of stars throughout space, the night sky should shine with a brightness corresponding to their average surface brightness.” A number of notable astronomers have struggled with this problem, including Halley, Olbers... More

Many fine woodcut views & street maps. 78 folding leaves (incl. leaf 16bis). Oblong 8vo, orig. patterned wrappers, orig. block-printed title label on upper cover. Edo: Komoto Oshiroya Ryosuke, Preface dated 1855, under the author’s pen-name (“Ryozan Ko”).

First edition of this invaluable travel guide, covering inns, restaurants, shops, and notable sights from Kyoto and Osaka to Hokkaido; we have rarely seen a book so packed with information, all of which can be exploited for many kinds of research. During the 19th century, there was a considerable increase in travel within Japan, both for commercial purposes and religious pilgrimages. This created a.... More

24 illus., including 13 figures of women with various applications of cosmetics, and a number of hairpieces & extensions, etc. 44; 15 folding leaves. Two parts in one vol. 8vo (273 x 193 mm.), later patterned wrappers, new stitching. [Japan: mid-Edo].

A fascinating manuscript, written throughout in one hand, concerning two seemingly unrelated subjects. The first part, of 44 leaves, is dedicated to waka kanjo, the initiation rituals performed to transmit knowledge regarding literary texts such as waka poetry, the early native poetry of Japan. Derived from esoteric Buddhist ceremonies created to transmit doctrines, waka kanjo began to occur in the late Kamakura period. “At these waka... More

Many full-page woodcuts in the text, all color-printed with gray ink. 70; 74 folding leaves. Two vols. 8vo, orig. green wrappers, orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers, new stitching. [Japan]: 1842.

First edition of this wonderfully illustrated collection of artisan-themed haiku poetry competitions. There are nine matches for each of the four seasons, with two teams participating in each match. The teams, whose participants are named, contribute many haiku for the individual matches. For the matches, the teams are given different topics to compose haiku. The themes for the haiku are all quite varied but are related in some way to the... More

Many full-page woodcut illus. in the text. 80 folding leaves. Oblong 8vo, orig. wrappers (a little rubbed), orig. block-printed title label on upper cover (largely worn away), new stitching. Osaka: Seitaien, 1837.

First edition and very rare, with no copy in WorldCat (a second edition, appearing in 1849 with a different title, Gyokai nodoku hinbutsuzu ko, is also rare). Osaka, known as the “country’s kitchen,” has always been the gourmand capital of Japan. In 1679, nearly all the fresh fish dealers of Osaka relocated to Sagishima on the Kizu River, the principal water artery of the city. It soon became known as... More

Many finely painted images of plants & flowers. Scroll (365 x 2850 mm.), with six joined sheets of paper, gold-speckled endpapers. [Japan: late Edo or early Meiji].

A very finely painted scroll, in rich colors utilizing some pigments with metallic elements or with a thickening agent to give a three-dimensional effect, of a medley of plants and flowers, symbolizing the seasons. There are images of cherry blossoms, violets, dandelions, Chinese milkvetch, fiddle ferns, morning glories, sweet William, passionfruit flowers, bush clover, Chinese silvergrass, kuzu flowers, coxcomb, Chinese bellflower, quince, etc.

The anonymous artist was extremely accomplished, and the transition of plants from season to season is extremely subtlety done. More