15 pp. 8vo, late 19th-century red cloth, title on spine. Paris: Folliot & Delalande, 1785.

A rare sale catalogue, of which we find no copy in North America. It describes a choice collection of 15 lots, with paintings by Poussin, Albani, Bril, Teniers, N. Berghem, etc. The experts write that normally with such a small collection they would not have issued a catalogue, but with the quality of these paintings, they thought it prudent to publish one. The Comte de Sauveterre was a high-level representative of the French king in Germany; however, we do not know his first name.

Fine copy of a rarity in a red cloth binding similar to those favored by the Goncourt brothers. Engraved bookplate of the Parisian art dealer Georges Pannier (1853-1944), and stamp of the Bibliothèque Heim in the usual location. 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

20 pp. 8vo, 19th-century brown half-cloth & marbled boards (spine a trifle rubbed), title on spine, spine gilt. [S.l.: 1737].

One of the very rare contemporary manuscript sale catalogues of the painting collection of the comtesse de Verrue (1670-1736), one of history’s greatest collectors of art as well as books. It is annotated with nearly all prices and a few buyers’ names. According to Lugt, there are no known printed catalogues of this sale of paintings — most likely never printed — and the Getty Provenance Index records 14 extant manuscript copies, all in institutional libraries, except this example.

“Verrue, may be best known today as Alexandre Dumas’s fictive dame volupté, a sobriquet she reputedly created and one that has too easily obscured her crucial role in the art world of early eighteenth-century Paris. She had the social confidence to renounce the traditional pattern of collecting that Crozat had eagerly embraced and turned from ‘serious’ Italian paintings to ‘petits sujets,’ bucolic landscapes, and amorous mythologies, primarily by painters of the Northern and French schools. Like Crozat, she shaped a remarkable and widely admired dwelling that was central to her identity and famous during her lifetime. The importance of each house was enhanced by the way it functioned. Each became a key site of artistic discourse, a place where art lovers and artists assembled, and a locus for assessing competing systems of value, where distinctive outlooks were forged, defined, and absorbed.”–Rochelle Ziskin, Sheltering Art (2012), p. 2. 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 of paintings by artists such as Giulio Romano, Guercino, Tintoretto, Veronese, Albani, Velazquez, Panini, J. Brueghel the Elder, Bril, Rembrandt, Brauwer, Hals, Teniers, Rubens, A. van Dyck, J. Ruysdael, Potter, Jordaens, A. & I. van Ostade, Metsu, Wynants, Wouwerman, C. Netscher, Miel, N. Berghem, Lairesse, Maes, J. Steen, Lancret, Weenix, Bega, Le Nain, Vouet, G. Poussin, S. Bourdon, Watteau, Coypel, C. Vanloo, F. Boucher, Natoire, Lagrenée aîné & jeune, H. Robert, Greuze, Fragonard, Norblin, etc., etc. The remaining lots consist of ceramics, sculpture, Japanese lacquer and porcelain, ornate pieces of furniture, chandeliers, clocks, and girandoles (for a grand total of 417 lots). The Dutch and Flemish paintings sold for extremely high prices. The annotations also show which lots were bought-in. 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 both countries. The Koreans... More

Engraved vignette on title, 19 finely engraved plates (some folding), one engraved headpiece & several woodcut diagrams in the text. 12, 116, 120, [2] pp. Large 4to (245 x 210 mm.), cont. paste-paper boards (slightly worn), red morocco lettering-piece on spine. Frankenthal & Mannheim: C.F. Schwan, 1779.

First edition of an uncommon history and examination of ancient warfare with a series of illustrations of formations, famous battles, and many types of siege craft. Baumgärtner (1743-1809), historian of classical Greece and Rome and civil servant, wrote several works on ancient art in addition to military history.

In this book, he expounds on and compares the military traditions of the Greeks and Romans. He exhaustively describes their tactics, formations, uniforms and their iconography, weapons, siege techniques, siege weapons, etc. There is also in-depth discussion of military leaders and what made them successful. The illustrations of battles, such as the one showing a phalanx (pl. XI), are quite dramatic. More

Engraved frontis. port. & one engraved plate. 32 pp. 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed marbled boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering-piece on spine. Paris: “Aux dépens de l’Académie Royale de Peinture & de Sculpture,” 1783.

First edition of this little-known work by Beffroy (1757-1811). A man of letters, he authored several dramas and comedic works, often under the pseudonym “Cousin Jacques.” He quickly fell out of favor during the Revolutionary period once it was discovered that he intended to publish a harsh critique of what he considered a deeply flawed demagogic movement. Subsequently, he and his works were largely forgotten.

In the late 18th century, French humorists targeted John Churchill, first duke of Marlborough, after his sudden fall from the graces of Queen Anne. The present work comically describes an imagined visit by Marlborough to the Salon in the form of a play with musical accompaniment (lyrics on pages 9-10). The author depicts the duke as a dimwit with little taste and of exceptional stupidity as he walks around observing the art on display. More

25, [1] pp. 8vo, 19th-cent. red sheep-backed marbled boards, spine lettered in gilt. London: Printed for the Author, 1799.

First edition of this scarce book. Rev. Bligh, who has signed and dated (25 August 1798) the final leaf, had the living at Romaldkirk, Yorkshire. This is his account of his lawsuit against his own parishioners regarding the payment of tithes. He gives many details of land and property held by the church and the rules of tithes set out in documents known as glebe terriers. This trial was rather famous in its time.

Title dusty but a nice copy. Stamp of the Lawes Agricultural Trust on front paste-down. More

Engraved vignette on title & four folding engraved plates. 111, [1] pp. 8vo, attractive antique speckled calf (some foxing), double gilt fillet round sides, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Bologna: Lelio dalla Volpe, 1769.

Fourth edition (1st ed.: 1751) of the history of the origins and activities of the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna (founded in 1714), one of the leading scientific academies of the 18th century.

Very good copy. More

xvi, 144 pp., one leaf of ads. 8vo, attractive antique half-calf & marbled boards, spine gilt. London: W. Bowyer & J. Nichols, 1774.

First edition. Bowyer (1699-1777), the son of one of the leading printers of the day, had an equally distinguished career professionally and was very active in scholarly projects. He became printer to the House of Commons, the House of Lords, the Royal Society, and the Society of Antiquaries. The present book, along with his edition of the New Testament in Greek with notes, are his principal works.

Fine copy. 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 history, the chief landmarks... More

Woodcut printer’s device on title, full-page woodcut heraldic device on recto of leaf preceding text, two divisional titles, & woodcut diagrams in the text. 38 p.l., 269, [3], 343 (i.e., 353)-798 pp. Three parts in one vol. Large thick 4to, cont. vellum over boards, yapp edges, ties gone. Cologne: J. Gymnich, 1591.

First edition, the very fine Bibliotheca Colbertina – Honeyman copy, of this important work on economics, the history of money, and numismatics. Budel (d. 1597), was director of the Bavarian mint.

This massive work is really a collection of texts on economics, money, and the study of coins and paper money by a.... More