Woodcut illus., borders, & printer’s mark from designs by Geoffroy Tory. One large oblong woodcut inserted plate (142 x 375 mm.), printed on a double-page & folding sheet (known as “Triomphe de la Vierge” representing her on a chariot pulled by unicorns), & 17 wood engravings by Tory. Pages with woodcuts have woodcut architectural borders. Borders of text pages composed of four different pieces by Tory, those on bottom oftentimes signed with Tory’s Lorraine cross, and among the designs are the crowned “F” of François I, the crowned “C” of queen Claude, & a blank shield and plaque to be... More

Numerous woodcut illus., mostly full-page. 2, 14 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. yellow wrappers (first six leaves a tiny bit mouse-eaten in margin), orig. block-printed title label on upper cover, new stitching. Tokyo: Ishikawa Shibataro, 1892.

First edition of the first work on the artificial cultivation of shiitake mushrooms, which, when dried, became an important export crop for Japan. Tanaka (1849-1922), studied biology at Tokyo Imperial University and was the first to classify Japanese fungi using Western taxonomy. He wrote, with Nobujiro Tanaka, the classic Mycographia Nipponica (Tokyo: 1890), the first modern survey of the fungi of Japan. Tanaka, well-known throughout the country for... More

55 pp. 8vo, orig. tan cloth (extremities slightly rubbed), upper cover gilt with coat-of-arms, t.e.g. London: Chiswick Press, 1900.

Presentation copy of this uncommon catalogue listing 169 pictures. From the preface: “The collection of pictures at Hagley Hall mainly consists of family portraits, and of paintings bequeathed in 1687 to Sir Charles Lyttelton by his friend Henry, third Viscount Brouncker. These latter cannot be precisely identified, but in all probability the pictures by Van Dyck, Lely, and others of their time and school, for the most part representing persons of eminence who lived between 1630 and 1680, belonged to this collection.”

To house the collection, featuring a number of old master paintings, Lyttelton’s grandson George, 1st Baron Lyttelton (1709-73), engaged Sanderson Miller to build Hagley Hall in north Worcestershire. It was to be one of the last great Palladian houses built in England. More

European matchlock muskets (“hinawaju”) were introduced into the island of Tanegashima, Japan, in 1543 by Portuguese traders. The Inatomi school of gunnery (“Inatomi ryu”), founded in the latter part of that century, was one of the leading schools of marksmanship in early Japan, employing “hinawaju.”

These two finely illustrated manuscripts depict techniques of marksmanship. In the first volume each of the eight images (of nine, the first is lacking) depicts a musketeer in different positions, with targets in the distance. The musketeers are finely drawn in black ink with flesh-colored wash, and the muskets are painted in brown, gold, and silver... More

1 p.l., 24 pp. Small 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed paste-paper boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Paris: C. Hérissant, [1771].

An uncommon anonymous sale catalogue. 70 lots of drawings (most of which contain many items), 326 lots of prints (again, with numerous items in each lot), and 112 lots of minerals, as well as a number of books and a bronze mirror. Very erratic numbering.

Very good copy. Bottom of title cropped and several leaves misbound. We locate only two copies in institutions; none in North America. More

9 pp. Small 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed paste paper boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Paris: Joullain, 1771.

A very rare anonymous sale catalogue. Describes 29 paintings by artists such as Veronese, Van Dyck, Carracci, etc., two drawings, one print, and a medal housed in a frame with the arms of the Maréchal de Noailles.

Nice copy. We locate no copy in North America. More

Many woodcut illus. in the text. 45; 30 folding leaves. Large 8vo, orig. patterned wrappers, orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers, new stitching. Tokyo: Kinbe Yoshida, 1900.

Second edition, enlarged (the first edition of 1890, privately printed, is very rare), of this classic Japanese work on ivory carving. Kuninosuke Soma, whose pen-name was Senrei Soma, was one of the leading ivory carvers of his time (see Encyc. Brit.). George Frederick Kunz, in his magisterial Ivory and the Elephant in Art, in Archaeology, and in Science (1916), wrote “this new book of Mr. Sen-rei is a brilliant achievement. Students will understand what I.... More

19 pp. Large 4to, later wrappers, uncut. London: 1777.

The very uncommon separately paginated offprint of the first Bakerian lecture. Woulfe (1727?-1803), chemist and mineralogist, was an inventor of the familiar two-necked bottle generally known as a Woulfe’s bottle, a standard item of equipment in chemical laboratories. He was elected to the Royal Society in 1767.

This work is a description “of 25 experiments made to determine the extent of mineralization by acid of salt (hydrochloric) and acid of vitriol (sulphuric). The conclusion reached was that silver and mercury are the only metals mineralized by acid of salt and that the mineral... More

Engraved frontis. viii, 47 pp. 8vo, later wrappers (title a little browned), uncut. London: Printed for W. Parker…, 1777.

First edition of “an important milestone in the early literature of gas analysis…Magellan (1722-90), was an Augustinian prior who emigrated to England and Protestantism in 1764. Elected F.R.S. (1774), he published this account of his researches on gases, addressed to Joseph Priestley. The glass apparatus for impregnating water with fixed air (carbon dioxide) is described in detail. Newly improved by ‘Mr. Parker,’ the apparatus was superior to that used by Priestley and described by him in 1772. Carbon dioxide was prepared by dissolving... More

Two folding woodcut plates, three folding printed tables (plus two in duplicate), & several woodcuts in the text. 4 p.l., 138 pp., one blank leaf. 4to, antique 18th-century style calf-backed boards. Augsburg: Typis A. Apergeri, sumptibus S. Mylii, 1619–[20].

First edition, and a very good copy of a rare book; it contains the second observation of Halley’s comet. In this work, Kepler “discussed in detail the bright comets of 1607 and 1618. Reflecting on the ephemeral nature of comets, he proposed a strictly rectilinear trajectory, which of course appeared more complex because of the earth’s motion. Some decades later Edmond Halley made extensive... More

16 fine folding engraved plates (a little waterstained in lower corners). xii, 98 pp. Large 4to, cont. calf (some rubbing & a bit of worming), spine gilt. Bayreuth: Heirs of J.A. Lübeck, 1800.

First edition and quite rare. Baader (1763-1835), a prominent mining expert and Chief of the Bavarian Mining Council, resided in England and Scotland from 1786 to 1794, where he studied the most recent technological developments, both in mining and metallurgy. While in Edinburgh, he designed a new blasting machine for iron mines which had considerable success and became known as the Baadersches Geblaese. His greatest contribution to science was... More

Woodcut printer’s device on title. 19 leaves, one blank leaf. Small folio, later 18th-century half-sheep & speckled boards, spine gilt. Eisleben: A. Koch, 1674.

A most interesting volume containing a printed edition of mining laws of 1674 and three manuscript copies of mining laws of the 16th century, assembled by and bound for August Ferdinand, Graf von Veltheim (1741-1801). He was appointed in 1790 by Empress Catherine of Russia as general inspector of mines and saltworks in the western regions of the Russian empire. Geology and mining were favorite subjects and at his home in Harbke, he formed an important library along... More