Finely engraved frontis. with profile of Le Bas (drawn by Cochin & engraved by C.E. Gaucher) & finely engraved tailpiece at the end of the biographical sketch (by same). xlix, 92, 19 pp. catalogue list. 8vo, orig. semi-stiff boards (head of spine a little split), leaves uncut. Paris: Clousier & Joullain, 1783.

The very rare sale catalogue of the engraver to the Cabinet du Roi; with a valuable list of 133 catalogues produced by Joullain since 1763. Le Bas (1707-83), studied under Antoine Hérisset and is famous for his skilled imitations of works by Teniers, Wouwerman, Falens, Coypel, Watteau, Oudry... More

1 p.l., xxiv, 74 pp. 8vo, self-wrappers, stitched as issued (stitching loose), leaves uncut. Paris: Regnault-Lalande, 1811.

The rare catalogue of this joint sale of the collections of Ozanne (1728-1811) and Coïny (1761-1809), which took place 2-11 December 1811. The former, a distinguished marine artist and engineer, collaborated with Duhamel du Monceau on several illustrated works and taught naval architecture and navigation to the sons of the royal family. Le Tellier de Courtanvaux used one of Ozanne’s ships as a platform to test Pierre Le Roy’s marine chronometer.

A student of Suvée and J.P. Lebas, Coïny exhibited at the Salon... More

viii, 175 pp. 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed paste-paper boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering-piece on spine. Paris: Bénard, 1806.

The uncommon sale catalogue of an exceptional print collection formed in Belgium. Wolfgang Guillaume, the third duc d’Ursel (?1730-1804), a Belgian general and husband of Flore d’Arenberg, focused his collecting on prints of paintings engraved by the painters themselves. The catalogue is arranged by school and within that by painter. We find engravings by Albani, Carracci, Maratti, Titian, Dürer, Hollar, Berghem, van Leyden, Rembrandt, Callot, Coypel, etc.

The catalogue thoroughly describes 948 lots of prints and drawings, many of which are... More

2 p.l., 72 pp. Small 8vo, cont. red sheep-backed marbled boards (extremities slightly rubbed), spine gilt, green morocco lettering piece on spine. Amsterdam: P. Yver, [1774].

[bound with]:

(—). Catalogue d’un precieux Cabinet de Desseins, Coloriés & Non-Coloriés des plus célebres Maîtres Hollandois & Flamands, &c. De même, que d’une tres belle Collection d’Estampes, de Choix. Parmi lesquelles il y a quelques Petits Oeuvres & des Ouvrages d’Estampes Reliées & non-Reliées presque Toutes Premieres Epreuves & des mieux conservées…La Vente s’en fera le Lundi 16 de Janvier 1775 & les Jours suivants…Par les Courtiers… 2 p.l., 235, [1], 78... More

126 pp. 8vo (195 x 130 mm.), late 19th-cent. blue sheep-backed marbled boards, spine gilt. Paris: Lebrun, 1788.

A rare auction catalogue, priced throughout in a contemporary hand, of a formidable collection of paintings. Although Lugt attributes this to Montesquiou (1739-98), it seems that most of the lots did not belong to him. Jean Baptiste Pierre Lebrun (1748-1813), this sale’s expert, was known to add his inventory and lesser consignments to prestigious sales for which he was responsible. Montesquiou, member of the Académie Française and a general, was close to many of the physiocrats.

The present catalogue describes 276 lots... More

36 folding leaves, of which four are blank. 8vo (240 x 170 mm.), orig. blue semi-stiff wrappers (wrappers somewhat worn), orig. label, heightened in gold, with manuscript title, new stitching. [Japan]: n.d.

During the Edo period, there were 12 Korean delegations to Japan, whose purposes were mostly to congratulate a new Tokugawa shogun. The missions, which normally included 300-500 Koreans, accompanied by roughly 1500 Japanese escorts, symbolized the amicable relationship between the two nations and, in the early years, served to legitimize the Tokugawa shogunate.

These delegations, which usually took nine or ten months round-trip, were enormously expensive undertakings for... More

Four vols. 8vo, orig. polished mottled green calf (a little rubbed), single gilt fillet round sides, flat spine gilt, orange leather lettering piece on spine, crown stamped in gilt at head of spine [Vol. I], orig. fine brown sheep maroquiné, single gilt fillet round sides, flat spine gilt, orange leather lettering piece on spine, crowns stamped in gilt at head & foot of spine, a.e.g. [Vol III], orig. boards [ Vols. II & IV]. Munich: 1832-33-48-72.

The first catalogue issued, with its three supplements, of the maps and plans in the Bavarian Army Library, founded in 1822. This was one... More

Expertly backed with later thick paper, gold speckles on back of scroll, decorative wrappers with gold-pigmented manuscript label: “Uraga joriku no ezu” [“Landing at Uraga Illustrated”]. Fine paintings executed with brush & ink, many colors of wash, and metal pigment, with manuscript captions. Japan: after “Kaei 6” [1853].

A remarkable example of a “Black Ship Scroll,”a rare contemporary illustrated Japanese account of Commodore Matthew C. Perry’s incursions into Japanese territory in July 1853 and February 1854. Ours is a composite scroll of drawings of varying dimensions by at least three artists; most of the images concern Perry’s first expedition, but... More

Eight engraved plates & one folding engraved map. xix, 247 pp.; 2 p.l., 285 pp. Two vols. 8vo, cont. mottled calf (extremities a bit rubbed), flat spines gilt. Geneva: J.P. Bonnant, 1781 [an early owner has added two I’s the Roman numeral date making it “1783”].

First edition and rather scarce. Bourrit (1735-1815), the son of a watchmaker in Geneva, was one of the first to systematically explore and record the Alps and their geological features. In the years 1784-85 he was the first to attempt the ascent of Mont Blanc (not conquered until 1786). In 1787 he reopened the... More

Lithographed frontis. xvi, 276 pp. 8vo, orig. printed wrappers, uncut. Freiberg: Craz & Gerlach, 1825.

First edition of this rare account of the great mining city Freiberg in Saxony which owes its origin to the discovery of silver mines ca. 1163. Freiberg has traditionally been the seat of the general administration of the mines throughout Saxony and is the home of the famous mining academy, which produced so many famous geologists and mineralogists.

Breithaupt (1791-1873), a leading mineralogist and professor of mineralogy at the mining academy at Freiberg (succeeding Mohs in 1826), has provided an extremely detailed account of the... More

[4] pp. Single folded sheet (520 x 520 mm. unfolded), laid-in printed folder as issued. Cologne: Walther König, 1999.

“1x1 royal cubit, royal cubit: ancient egyptian, measure of lenght ± 2500 b.c.” In fine condition. Edition of 500 copies.

❧ Harry Ruhé, ed., stanley brouwn: a chronology (2nd ed.: 2005). More

Engraved vignette on title & one large folding engraved plate (a little frayed at inner margin). xxxx, 78 pp. 8vo, cont. half-sheep & speckled boards (two corners a little worn, a little worming to covers), spine gilt. Moscow: “bey der Typographischen Gesellschafft,” 1785.

First edition of this translation, printed in Moscow, and edited anonymously. Cebes of Thebes (ca. 430-350 B.C.E.) was a member of Socrates’ inner circle. One of the speakers in the Phaedo of Plato, he was represented as an earnest seeker after virtue and truth, keen in argument and cautious in decision. One of the dialogues that has... More