6 p.l., iv, 120, [4] pp. Small 4to (205 x 145 mm.), cont. vellum over boards. Barcelona: Compañía de Jordi, Roca, y Gaspár, 1803.

First edition, and very rare, of a practical treatise on successful business practices. Coll y Alsina (active early 19th cent.), a businessman in the Maresme region near Barcelona, dedicates this work to his son and addresses him throughout the text. The author advises him on all the steps in the formation and running of a business, by presenting templates for the founding charter, appointment of directors, establishment of bylaws, the purchase of land, insurance, etc. Each section is followed... More

22 pp., 1 leaf of “Approbation.” Small 8vo (160 x 95 mm.), 19th-century calf-backed marbled boards (joints a little rubbed), red morocco lettering-piece on spine. Paris: Prault & Barrois, 1748.

A rare sale catalogue of the Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Gallic antiquities amassed by Valois (1671-1747), an early connoisseur of ancient objects, who was named antiquaire du roi. This was one of Gersaint’s final sales.

“Valois was the son and nephew of great 17th-century scholars, Adrien and Henri de Valois; antiquary of the king and pensionnaire de l’Académie des inscriptions, he accumulated sculptures, ancient bronze and more than 6000 medals, many from the age of... More

23 pp. 8vo (215 x 140 mm.), late 19th-century marbled boards, brown leather lettering-piece on spine. Paris: Me. Poquereau [sic.] & Joullain, 1778.

A very rare sale catalogue with no copy represented in North American institutional collections. The owner of this collection may have been Nicolas Le Sueur (1691-1764), the son of Pierre Le Sueur II. This catalogue describes 171 lots, mostly consisting of prints executed after famous paintings. The first three lots are “tableaux à gouache.” The prints include the works of Choffard, Woollett, Boullanger, Wille, P. Le Bas, Moreau, Strange, N. Porporati, A. Zingg, J. J. Flipart, etc.

A fine, wide-margined copy of this rare catalogue. Engraved bookplate of the Parisian art dealer Georges Pannier (1853-1944), and stamp of the Bibliothèque Heim on the verso of title. More

36 pp. 8vo, late 19th-century green morocco-backed marbled boards (extremities a little worn), title on spine. Paris: Joullain, 1775.

A rare sale catalogue describing an impressive group of paintings. Lassay (1652-1738), known as the “Don Juan du Grand Siècle” due to his dissipated personal life, was a man of letters and supporter of the libertines. His son, Léon de Madaillan, the comte de Lassay (1683-1750), commissioned the construction of the Hôtel de Lassay, now the residence of the president of the Assemblée nationale. Charlotte Guichard has written that unscrupulous experts continued to employ the Lassay family name to promote sales decades after... More

28 pp. 8vo (215 x 140 mm.), late 19th-century red cloth, title on spine. Paris: Fournier, Folliot & Delalande, 1789.

A rare sale catalogue with no copy in American institutional collections. Courval, vicomte d’Anizy (d. 1788), conseiller of Parlement, amassed a choice group of paintings and prints. This catalogue describes 127 lots, including 51 lots of paintings (by Carracci, Molenaer, Vignon, Hubert Robert, Licherie, Ferret, etc.), four lots of drawings, 52 lots of prints, seven lots of porcelain, ten lots of sculpture, and three miscellaneous group lots. A note at the end of the catalogue advertises the sale of Courval’s arms, jewelry, clocks, snuffboxes, desk... More

Woodcut vignette on title. 24 pp. 8vo (200 x 125 mm.), late 19th-century stiff marbled boards (spine a little rubbed), brown morocco lettering-piece on spine. Paris: C. Ballard, 1758.

A rare early sale catalogue of drawings and prints compiled by Basan (1723-97), one of the leading experts of the mid-18th century. Divided by vacation, the catalogue concisely describes 199 group lots, some quite large. Each section concludes with a portefeuille.

Very good copy. Engraved bookplate of G[eorges] P[annier] (1853-1944), the Parisian art dealer and collector, and stamp of the Bibliothèque Heim on verso of title. Contemporary manuscript correction on p. 7. More

One double-page woodcut & two single-page woodcuts. 18 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. blue wrappers (rather faded & tired, some repaired worming to the text touching a few letters), orig. block-printed title label on upper cover (label faded), new stitching. Kyoto & Edo: Jishudo, 1849.

Following the general introduction of vaccination by Edward Jenner, the practice spread widely, and it was warmly received by the Chinese. The first tract on vaccination in China was prepared by Alexander Pearson, a surgeon to the East India Company, and was based on Jenner’s books. It was translated into Chinese by Sir George Staunton and published in Canton in 1805... More

Paris: ca. 1730-33.

Two unpublished manuscript laboratory record books detailing one of the great hoaxes in the history of medicine. These handsome manuscripts list the secret ingredients and each step in the fabrication of the “Gouttes du Général La Motte,” which took place in the chemical laboratory of Louis XV, as well as notes on deliveries to those who trusted in its restorative powers.

The original creator of this elixir was Alexis Bestoujev-Rioumine, imperial chancellor to Elizabeth I of Russia, who first formulated it in 1728. This tincture was sold at exorbitant prices in Russia and neighboring countries... More

23 leaves. Small 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed paste-paper boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. N.p.: 1601.

Third edition; there were editions of 1594, 1596, our edition of 1601, and 1611. All are very rare, and there is no copy of any of these editions in North America. “Ritterorden des Podagrischen Fluss (Order of the Gouty Humor) is an allegorical poem which was composed in German by Georg Fleissner, a captain from Schoenberg, then residing in Schlackenwerth. These are two small Bohemian towns near Carlsbad. Its 1088 lines make this by far the longest poem about the gout. The... More

Title within woodcut architectural border. Printed throughout in black letter save for the “To the reader” on verso of title. 64 leaves. Small 8vo, 17th-cent. panelled calf (rubbed & a little worn, natural paper flaw to title with no loss of text, blank lower half of colophon leaf cut away without loss). Colophon: “Imprinted at London in Fletestrete, by Thomas Berthelet printer to the kynges most noble grace. An. M.D.xxxii.”
[bound with]:
[FITZHERBERT, John]. The Boke of Husbandry. Title within same woodcut architectural border. Printed in black letter. 6 p.l., 90 leaves. Small 8vo (E4 with a natural paper tear... More

Title within architectural woodcut border & many woodcuts in the text (many highlighted in red). Printed in black letter. [208] pp. Small 4to, modern calf (title with a few minor stains). London: “Prynted in Southwarke in Saynt Thomas Hospitall, by me James Nicolson,” [1537].

First edition of the first English work on surveying in the modern sense: the measuring and plotting of land. In the 16th century, “surveying” could also mean giving instructions to land stewards and overseers of the manor; John Fitzherbert wrote the first book on that subject in 1523. Our book is very rare and is a fine copy.

Benese (d. 1547), Augustinian canon and surveyor to Henry VIII, noted that sellers tended to overestimate the size of the land they were selling and buyers underestimated. He set out to devise geometric rules for the accurate measuring of land to be sold. More

1 p.l., ten numbered leaves. Folio (285 x 190 mm.), attractive antique marbled boards. [Valencia: ca. 1750].

An interesting document that describes the founding of an association to support Valencia’s principal silk production facility. Beginning in the 15th century, Valencia built a robust silk industry thanks to close ties with Genoa, which exported silk to the eastern Mediterranean. Within a century, silk had become one of Valencia’s most important exports and by the 17th century the city had consolidated control over the harvesting and manufacture of silk fiber. The mass-production of woven silk helped revitalize the Valencian economy in the 18th century after... More